Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
1. Exploited or empowered? Constructing the child consumer
2. Understanding consumption
3. The making of consumers: theory and research on children's consumption
4. Histories of children's consumption
5. The contemporary children's market
6. The fear of fat: obesity, food and consumption
7. Too much, too soon? Marketing, media and the sexualisation of girls
8. Rethinking 'pester power': children, parents and consumption
9. Beyond 'peer pressure': consumption and identity in the peer group
10. Screening the market: the case of children's television
11. Consuming to learn - learning to consume: education goes to market
12. Conclusion: living in a material world
References

About the Author

David Buckingham is Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, University of London and Visiting Professor at the Norwegian Centre for Child Research, NTNU Trondheim.

Reviews

" The Material Child is well--structured, easy to readand informative ... By using a sociocultural approach, Buckinghamhighlights the importance of examining the 'whole picture' ratherthan just focusing on individual aspects of consumption. TheMaterial Child has wide appeal and will be of interest toindividuals working in childhood or cultural studies, education,media, marketing and politics." Cultural Studies Review " The Material Child cuts through the sanctimoniousmoral rhetorics and panics of contemporary life illuminating thecomplexities that have made the child consumer the site ofunrelenting cultural anxiety. With characteristic insightful anddeft analysis, David Buckingham successfully reframes how we mightcomprehend public debates regarding children and the commercialworld and thus how we may forge new responses to ongoing changes ineconomic and social life. This work immediately takes its place inas 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 intothe polarised and emotive debates about children and consumerculture. David Buckingham takes us on an authoritative journeythrough the twists and turns of the arguments towards a morenuanced understanding of the complexities of the unequal diverseand relationships children now have with the global commercialmarkets. This book is essential reading for those seeking tounderstand children's experiences of living in contemporarycapitalist societies." Allison James, University of Sheffield