Many Super Bowl ads contained content not suitable for young viewers

By Staff Writer

Over the past weekend, many families watched the Super Bowl together. However, many of the commercials that were aired during the game were violent or contained advertisements for alcohol and erectile dysfunction medications.

Parents who view this type of content with their children ought to confront these issues head-on, according to a professor from Wake Forest University. The expert suggests that parents can use these awkward moments as a reason to discuss topics such as drinking and sex with their kids.

According to a study by the nonprofit group Common Sense Media, out of nearly 6,000 commercials that aired during 60 NFL games, 300 ads were for alcohol, 40 percent of the games featured ads for erectile dysfunction drugs, 500 of the commercials involved significant levels of violence and 80 contained sexual content, such as scenes with prostitutes and strippers.

For children who are pre-teen or younger, parents may want to mute the television during commercials or switch to a family-friendly station. Parents may want to ask older children how they feel about the images they see on TV.