The hue and cry about children's television overlooks the more basic question of whether commercial interests have a right to, or should be allowed to, attempt to sell products to children.

We complain madly about the political and moral message of the shows but are silent about the content of the much more elaborately produced, commercials. Not only do they exemplify the impulses we most disdain, violence, sexism, poor self-image, etc, but they also glorify desire for consumer products and, since children have to coerce their parents to achieve the actual purchase, motivate children to resist and manipulate their parents.

Most of us would consider it a horrible intrusion if a local parent was seriously proselytizing for a foreign religion when our children were playing together. We would think it inappropriate for someone, not the parent, to be trying to manipulate gullible children for their own ends. Yet we allow a far more professional, and ruthless, video neighbor work on our children for long periods. The goal is to encourage them to want to become consumerist couch potatoes and to manipulate their parents.

The whole bargain needs to be rethought. With advertising as the backdrop for every programming decision, there will never be a wholesome decision made without detailed government supervision. Changing the game to make advertising equivalent to 'statutory rape' of our children's minds would go a long way toward removing the motivation to make bad programs, reducing the sheer number of program hours stealing from homework time, and eliminating a large amount of tension from the parent/child relationship.