Parental Responsibility...Extinct.

A recent article published online at adage.com touts a lawsuit being filed against the Nickelodeon and Kellogg companies for "engaging in unfair and deceptive "marketing and sale of food of poor nutritional quality" to children under 8 years old."

Full article here

While I realize it seems a little deceptive to target children for certain products, including, but not limited to, alcohol, tobacco, adult fetish toys and certain movies and video games, last I checked there are not many kids 8 and under who have the disposable income to spend on frivolous and unhealthy foods.

Can we really blame companies for targeting a market that is considered within their product demographic. Most people want to blame the ad agencies and marketing companies who work with and for these larger corporations, but aren't they just really doing what they were hired to do. I mean whether or not a child sees a commercial for sugar-coated, double chocolate, fudge bombs on TV should have no bearing on how that child's parent chooses to feed that child.

If your 8 year-old child has that much of an influence on what you choose to buy and feed him/her, I would greatly question ones ability to properly raise a child.

Is it at all possible for parents to take back a little responsibility in raising their children and to stop blaming everyone else for "ruining" their kids?