Dr. Norah Campbell:

A colleague who works in TU Dublin is an expert in marketing to children and she says the child consumer is variously referred to either as a fragile angel, with the need to protect children and wrap them in cotton wool, or as an enlightened enthusiast, which is the viewpoint that these kids are literate and can engage and want to learn through these fun ways using these types of toys, clothes, etc. Knowing what I know now about children's cognitive development and the pervasiveness of marketing towards them, they are definitely more in the fragile angel category than the enlightened enthusiast one. Certainly the enlightened enthusiast is the frame in which all of these industries wish policymakers would view children but it patently is not the case.