Bailey Review

Mothers’ Union has welcomed action taken in the past year to halt the commercialisation of childhood, in response to the Bailey Review, ‘Letting Children be Children’.  Industry and regulators have made a good start, with the ASA tightening up guidelines on sexualised advertising outdoors, internet service providers offering more visible parental controls and children’s clothing retailers signing up to a new code of practice.

The Government has welcomed Reg Bailey's Review, Letting Children Be Children.

Sarah Teather: "The Government welcome Mr Bailey’s analysis and the thrust of all the recommendations he has made. We note that the majority of the recommendations are directed at industry and the regulators and we look to them to see that these recommendations are implemented as fully as possible, while remaining open to industry and regulators devising alternative or additional approaches to delivering the outcomes that the recommendations are aimed at achieving.

The Bailey Review, published this morning, has made 14 recommendations to Government on how to tackle the issues surrounding the commercialisation and sexualisation of children.

Rosemary Kempsell, Worldwide President of Mothers’ Union, said today that the organisation “welcomed the recommendations made in the Review, in particular the focus on parents’ concerns about the issues.”

The Bailey Review on the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood has released preliminary findings into the views of parents on the subject.

• 88% of parents think that children are growing up ‘too quickly’ because of increasing sexualisation and commercial pressures
• 41% of parents have recently seen TV programmes or adverts before the watershed that they considered inappropriate for children to see
• 35% of parents believe that direct advertising through mobile phones is wrong.

The full Review is due to be published at the end of May.

As part of his Review, Reg Bailey has launched a public consultation on the commercialisation of childhood. He is seeking views from parents, carers and other family members; and industry and other stakeholders. The consultation closes on Friday 18th March 2011.

Read about the consultation here.

Fiona Bruce MP asks Parliamentary Question in the House of Commons on the Commercialisation of Childhood.

Fiona Bruce MP asked the Secretary of State for Education: What plans he has to address the commercialisation and premature sexualisation of childhood.

Mothers’ Union Chief Executive, Reg Bailey, has been asked by the Government to chair an independent review of the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood.