Children's TV.

I am a writer and frequently write about children and teenagers. It is important for me to "keep in touch". One of the best ways to keep in touch is to mingle with kids and teens but watching the programs that are offered on TV helps enormously to see just what they are into and what new jargon is on the scene.

I don't know what kids' TV is like in the rest of the world but there are some things here in South Africa that slap me in the face as I am watching.

I don't know what you would expect to be advertised during ad breaks in a kiddies show. I know that I expect (not necessarily like) ads from fast food joints. We still allow toys with our kiddies meals so maybe an ad to show what toys you can collect. Maybe breakfast cereals or juices or cool electronics.

I do not expect to see insurance ads. But I get them. What child of 10 wants to know which insurance company offers the best deal? What is the ads target audience?

But the worst is the funeral cover ads. Certain population groups in South Africa pay a lot of attention to burials, spending thousands of rands (that they cannot afford) to cover funeral costs. I find these ads boring in the extreme and distasteful as they are aimed at bleeding a section of the population dry so that they can hold up their heads during the funeral. But to air these during a child's viewing time is iniquitous.

Come on SABC. Surely someone in program control can allow our little ones to have a few more years of innocence before they are bombarded by the harsh facts of life. We are a child for such a short time – there is time enough (up to 60 years) when we have to face the realities of life.

Let our children be children.