How often do we see the role our kids can play in social change. Here’s an amazing social experiment out of Thailand, developed by the health promotion foundation in the country, in which young children were used to “inspire” smokers to kick the habit. In the experiment, which is depicted in a pretty great commercial, the kids go up to smokers, holding their own cigarettes and ask for a light. All the adult refuse, and almost always go on to lecture the kids about the health danger of smoking. Afterward, the kids hand each of the smokers a brochure with a quitting-smoking helpline phone number. As the commercial notes, after the kids leave, none of the adult smokers tossed the brochure. (Although they did toss their cigarettes.) Calls to the helpline apparently increased by 40 per cent.
The commercial, I thought, made an interesting point about the power of children to spark behavioural change. We often think of our kids as inspiration, but how often do we encourage them to galvanize that ability in a real way?
If you want to watch the commercial, here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sabd1SbyLgQ
The commercial, I thought, made an interesting point about the power of children to spark behavioural change. We often think of our kids as inspiration, but how often do we encourage them to galvanize that ability in a real way?
If you want to watch the commercial, here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sabd1SbyLgQ
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