[ecrea] The Material Child: Growing Up In Consumer Culture

THE MATERIAL CHILD: GROWING UP IN CONSUMER CULTURE

David Buckingham
Institute of Education, University of London


'The Material Child cuts through the sanctimonious moral rhetorics and 
panics of contemporary life, illuminating the complexities that have 
made the child consumer the site of unrelenting cultural anxiety. With 
characteristic insightful and deft analysis, David Buckingham 
successfully reframes how we might comprehend public debates regarding 
children and the commercial world and thus how we may forge new 
responses to ongoing changes in economic and social life. This work 
immediately takes its place as a standard and must-read for anyone 
interested in childhood, politics, media and consumer culture.'
Daniel Thomas Cook, Rutgers University

'This book represents a timely and most welcome intervention into the 
polarized and emotive debates about children and consumer culture. David 
Buckingham takes us on an authoritative journey  through the twists and 
turns of the arguments towards a more nuanced understanding of the 
complexities of the unequal and diverse relationships children now have 
with the global commercial markets. This book is essential reading for 
those seeking to understand children's experiences of living in 
contemporary capitalist societies.'
Allison James, University of Sheffield


Children today are growing up in an increasingly commercialized world. 
But should we see them as victims of manipulative marketing, or as 
competent participants in consumer culture?

The Material Child provides a comprehensive critical overview of debates 
about children’s changing engagement with the commercial market. It 
moves from broad overviews of the theory and history of children’s 
consumption to insightful case studies of key areas such as obesity, 
sexualization, children’s broadcasting and education.

In the process, it challenges much of the received wisdom about the 
effects of advertising and marketing, arguing for a more balanced 
account that locates children’s consumption within a broader analysis of 
social relationships, for example within the family and the peer group. 
While refuting the popular view of children as incompetent and 
vulnerable consumers that is adopted by many campaigners, it also 
rejects the easy celebration of consumption as an expression of 
children’s power and autonomy.

Written by one of the leading international scholars in the field, The 
Material Child will be of interest to students, researchers and 
policy-makers, as well as parents, teachers and others who work directly 
with children.


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