Raising Healthy Children in a Commercialized World

Commercialism has been linked to many of the problems facing children today, including obesity, eating disorders, increased materialism, excessive media use, and the erosion of creative play.  Marketing is so ubiquitous that protecting children from its effects can seem overwhelming or even impossible. Josh Golin will describe what we can do – as parents and communities – to give children the commercial-free time and space they need in order to thrive.

Josh Golin is Executive Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which educates the public about commercialism's impact on kids' wellbeing and advocates for the end of child-targeted marketing.  CCFC organizes campaigns against corporations that target children with harmful marketing, helps parents and professionals reduce the amount of time kids spend with ad-supported screens, and advocates for policies that limit marketers’ access to children. Josh is regularly quoted in major media outlets about marketing to children and CCFC’s advocacy efforts, and his media appearances include Today, NPR, Good Morning America, and Fox and Friends. His writings about the commercialization of childhood have appeared in a wide range of outlets including USA Today and the Boston Globe. He and his wife Jennifer are doing their best to raise their 9-year-old daughter, Clara, commercial-free.