A whopping 75 percent of children between the ages of 0 and 6 watch television every day – and often in their bedrooms. Unfortunately, this data from a recent study in the journal Pediatrics won't startle too many parents, even though the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of 2 not view television and that older children be limited to just two hours a day.

But it doesn't stop there. What comes along with television viewing? Commercials. Children are bombarded with advertisements about everything from cereals to toys. What parent has heard, "I want that!" or had an upset child on the cereal aisle because you won't buy the box with the red marshmallows and fun toy inside?

Mike Berenstain, son of Stan and Jan Berenstain, had enough of the advertisements aimed at children. His frustration resulted in a new adventure for those lovable bears, The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Commercials (HarperFestival, 2007).

"My wife and I raised three children, now ages 16 to 22, so I have experienced, firsthand, the constant bombardment of commercials that all children absorb when they watch TV," says Berenstain, who lives with his wife, Andrea, in Bucks County, Pa. "We experienced, too, the results – our kids wanted every toy, candy or cereal that was pitched to them. As a parent, I have been very frustrated by this, so I wanted to do something in this book to help other parents and children deal with this problem." Be Their Guide
Like all other issues with children watching TV, the main weapon parents have in helping their children is guidance, Berenstain says. "Parents should be aware of what their children are watching," he says. "Ideally, parents should watch TV with their children but, barring that, they should at least sample and observe their children's TV fare. They should comment on and analyze TV commercials while children are watching them. They should explain what commercials are for – that they are there only to sell things – and they should explain that commercials exaggerate. In other words, you shouldn't believe everything they say."

Parents should let children know where they stand on commercials. "When parents watch TV they should demonstrably reject commercials – turning off the sound is a good trick," Berenstain says. "And they should criticize and complain about them. They should make fun of them. If children see that their parents intensely dislike and disrespect commercials, it will make an impression."

And he reminds parents to lead by example. "Also, most important, parents should practice what they preach in the sales resistance department," Berenstain says. "If they don't want their children to beg for everything they see on commercials, then parents should be selective and careful consumers, too."

Berenstain recommends that children under 4 watch only a half-hour of TV per day, and older children watch only one hour per day. "But this is perhaps a lost cause," he says. "Virtually all children are permitted to watch far more than that. The best advice, then, is to let children watch TV as little as possible!"

Explaining Ads to Children
Have you ever really explained why television shows are packed with advertisements? Berenstain recommends that you do. "Parents should explain that the commercials are there just to sell things, that they are exaggerations," he says. "They should give examples from the child's own experience. 'Remember that toy poodle that you wanted for Christmas that walked and barked? Remember how the head fell off before Christmas dinner?'"

The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Commercials is another fun tool for parents. The book "explains all this in a funny, entertaining form," Berenstain says. "Kids will discount 90 percent of what you say if you just lecture them. But if you read them a storybook on the subject that they really enjoy, it has a better chance of getting through to them."

What would Berenstain like to say to the companies selling their products to children during cartoons and other kid shows? "I would suggest that advertisers think about their own children and consider how destructive it is to them to be bombarded with seductive ads for things that they don't need," he says.

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