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The problem as i see it is not thongs. It is the trend of sexualizing children in general.
This is also related to the idea of emancipating the child consumer.
Advertisers have been drooling over your childs allowance for the past few DECADES. Did you really think they would give up just because you say NO?
They even have a term for this new target demographic: The Tweens. (As in between 6 and 12)
There is also a trend where the young children are making serious purchasing decisions for the household. People send thier kids to the store for groceries. by themselves.
Mercedes just launched an ad campagin with this idea in mind.
So, my point is that while on the one hand, it is getting out of control, there is nothing you can do to stop this trend. The only thing you can do is help you child to resist it.
"How is this accomplished", you ask?
1) Watch little or no TV. This is the primary and most powerful means advertisers have of isolating your children from you, and socializing them with a new set of pro-consumption values.
2) Read more. (If you read more they will follow your example. Until they hit 12, then its too late to change them. They are what you made them. Forever.)
3) Spend more time with them.
4) Critically discuss what they are being presented with. (Emphasize the means of achieving market penetration, what is the target audience, what is the subtext, what values system is being encouraged.)
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