Mothers' Union influences Government policy
The Mothers’ Union has had a very successful General Meeting in Edinburgh on June 9th this year.
On the previous evening, Wednesday 8th June 2011 the Province of Scotland welcomed around 1500 members and visitors from all over UK (and some worldwide) to services at St Mary’s Scottish Episcopal Cathedral and St John’s Scottish Episcopal Church. All the Scottish bishops attended and the preacher was the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Revd David Chillingworth, Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane. It was a truly moving occasion and we were mindful of what a privilege it is to be part of an organisation that encompasses members from "just everywhere!"
The General Meeting took place in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh and there was a great air of excitement for us all, as the Bailey Review, “Letting Children Be Children”, had just been published and there had been considerable coverage in the media about this. The Government had asked Reg Bailey, chief executive of Mothers’ Union, to carry out this independent review as the first step in fulfilling the commitment the government made to take action to protect children from excessive commercialisation and premature sexualisation.
Reg talked to us about it during the meeting and it was interesting to hear first hand all about his work carrying out the review. As he said, we all know that it is natural for parents to want the best for their children. It is just as natural for them to want to do what they can to protect their children from the potential risks to their health, happiness and safety. Among the concerns that parents have is that their children are under the twin pressures to grow up too quickly and to become consumers or sexualised adults earlier than is appropriate. These pressures on children today are greater than they were for previous generations. They reach children through all forms of popular culture, including television, film, magazines, newspapers, music and the internet. Children and young people encounter them in their homes, when they go shopping or out with friends and family and on their mobile phones and games consoles. He has built on the important work of other reviewers in this area and one such notable person, Professor Tanya Byron, had given us a highly entertaining presentation earlier in the day.
Reg has been particularly interested in hearing the views of the people most affected by the unwarranted pressures to grow up too quickly: parents and children. The review commissioned face-to-face surveys of the views of parents and children and qualitative research with parents, undertook a call for evidence from parents, and drew on the results of a survey of children and young people carried out by the Children and Young People’s Advisory Board of the office of the Children’s Commissioner.
In the course of his review Reg met representatives from retailing, advertising, marketing, broadcasting and internet service providers, their trade associations and their regulators. He also met experts in child protection, parenting champions and a range of academic and other experts in this field.
The voices of parents and children come through strongly in the four key themes identified in his report. Children and young people today are surrounded by sexualised imagery that has become an all-pervasive, ever-present backdrop to their lives, whether on television, the internet, in shops or public spaces. Parents find that goods and services for children in reputable high street shops are sometimes overly sexualised or needlessly gendered. Businesses in the children’s market too often treat children only as consumers and not as children. Parents find it hard to voice their concerns or make a complaint and fear they will not be listened to if they do. Reg said that he has listened to the concerns of parents and takes them seriously. He understands that they want to set the standards and values their children live by and that they want support from businesses and others in doing this. He believes that their views have a special status as they speak for children, not just for themselves.
That is why, in making his recommendations, Reg is seeking ways to make businesses and regulators more responsive to the views of parents and to give parents more direct influence on how the decisions affecting children are made. Reg said, "I wanted to understand the nature of these pressures on our children and young people. I hope that parents would feel that I have listened to their concerns and that they will be taken seriously. I hope that our regulators will work consistently to connect with parents, recognising that they should have a much larger say in what is appropriate or desirable for their children to see and hear."
Reg recommends in his review that the Government take stock of progress in 18 months’ time and consider what further measures may need to be taken to achieve the recommended outcomes. The day before he arrived in Edinburgh, Reg had been meeting with the Prime Minister who had been impressed with the review and had felt that 18 months was too long to wait, so he was keen to come back to these issues in October, in just 4 months time.
Reg also paid tribute to his colleagues at Mothers' Union and the Buy Bye Childhood campaign launched by MU in the autumn, which prompted his being asked to undertake the government independent review. Mothers’ Union wishes to see the end of childhood being treated as a marketing opportunity and children being targeted with or exposed to the ‘sex sells’ approach. Two years ago, MU members were asked their views on this subject - many of our members here, at local level, responded - and this prompted independent research which led to the Bye Buy Childhood campaign. Mothers’ Union welcomes the recommendations made in the Review. In particular we appreciate the focus on parents’ concerns, building upon previous research into the issues. Whilst rigorous research is important, we do welcome the ‘common sense’ approach adopted in the Review and we will continue to campaign to ensure that the Government takes steps to carry out the recommendations.
This is just one example of how being a member of Mothers' Union can help influence government policy!
www.themothersunion.org
Margaret Beringer
Mary Sumner House
