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Letting Children be Children

and so on), none picked up on the possibility that parents might fear ridicule or embarrassment.And while the retailers we spoke to for this Review clearly felt that a complaint direct to the store was the best avenue, some parents reported feeling intimidated or embarrassed by having to do this.

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Regulators and businesses could build parental confidence in raising issues of sexualisation and commercialisation in an overtly non—judgmental and reassuring manner by, for example, having clear statements on their websites welcoming such comments, reporting on such issues separately in their annual reports, and regularly seeking informal feedback from parents in a more dynamic way than they do currently. Such measures would help to convey a clear message to parents that it is OK' to say what they think and that other parents feel the same way: they are not the odd ones out.

"I felt prudish!"

"I feel that our society trivialises sex and treats people who complain about inappropriate imagery as prudish or old—fashioned. I don 't feel that I would be taken seriously."

"I was embarrassed to make a complaint!"

"My daughter doesn't like it when I complain in shops! Also, I don't want to draw her attention to inappropriate clothes etc."

Parents, Call for Evidence response

More people might complain... if you didn't have to speak to anyone." Parents, Review qualitative research

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The Government's new consumer empowerment strategy 'Better Choices, Better Deals; Consumers Powering Growth' (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Cabinet Office, 2011) commits all government regulators to greater transparency, both in providing timely and clear feedback and data to consumers on complaints, and in supporting and nurturing greater customer feedback, including instant feedback through new technologies. It would be extremely encouraging if regulators would choose commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood as an area of particular focus when considering how to act on this new strategy, and this could be a very positive way of helping to overcome the barrier of feared social stigma that some parents clearly experience:

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