FREEPORT – A psychologist who specializes in children’s issues will give a public talk on the trappings of commercialism in children’s lives on Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Merriconeag Waldorf School in Freeport.

Susan Linn, founding director of The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a research associate at Boston Children’s Hospital and instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, will speak at 7 p.m., at Community Hall on 57 Desert Road. There will be a voluntary collection at the door for her presentation, entitled “The Gift of a Commercial-Free Childhood.”

Linn lectures about the importance of creative play and the impact of media and marketing on children. She grew up in Detroit, and now lives in Brookline, Mass. She is married, is a mother, a stepmother and a grandmother.

She is the author of “Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood” and “The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World,” and she’s written many articles about creative play and the impact of media and marketing on children.

Linn went into more detail on her beliefs regarding the effects of commercial in children for the Tri-Town Weekly.

Q: Many good families are struggling with just the kind of commercialism of which you speak. But is there a practical solution, other than shutting children off from television or the Internet?

A: The commercialization of childhood – unfettered advertising and marketing to children – is a societal problem that makes things a lot harder for families. And one family in isolation can’t combat the mega-corporations responsible to turning children into a consumer group. My organization, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, was formed because we need to change society. In the meantime, it’s not always easy, but parents do have options. Limiting screen time, and encouraging creative and active play are certainly important. So is taking a long, hard look at their own vulnerabilities to marketing and making conscious choices to try to live their core values. So is making sure that kids have lots of time outside. One nice thing for people who live in Maine: There are so many opportunities to connect with nature.

Q: Were children better off when they were running around free in neighborhoods and had the ability to be creative in their play, than they are now in day care?

A: Children are still born with the ability to be creative in their play. What they’re lacking are opportunities to develop that ability. So many of the best-selling toys, apps and digital games marketed to kids actually inhibit rather than encourage creativity. Children need unstructured time indoors and out. They also benefit from a connection to nature and play more creatively in green space. It’s a big loss that many children todaydon’t have the same opportunities to explore the world as they did a generation ago. I don’t, however, blame that lack on day care. There are programs that encourage the kind of active and creative play so essential healthy development. It’s really a combination of many problems, including the fact that parents are subject to intense marketing designed to make them fear for their children’s safety and keep a tighter rein on them.

Q: You’re reaching the people you want to help directly when you make appearances such as the one at Merriconeag. How much of an advantage is that, in terms of getting your points across?

A: I love giving talks for parents and professionals who work with kids. It’s great to be able to address some specific questions and concerns, and people enjoy coming together with others grappling with the same issue. People who come to my talks are often surprised at how pervasive and insidious 21st-century commercialism actually is and are relieved to discover that they aren’t helpless in dealing with it.

Q: We’ve had “Tony the Tiger” pitching Frosted Flakes and McDonald’s pitching Big Macs and toy makers pitching musts for Christmas for many years. How is it different now?

A: Advertising to children used to be limited to commercials. Now it permeates their lives. Marketers actually have a name for it – 360 degree marketing. Their goal is to surround children with brands. The new technologies give marketers more access to children than ever before. So does the fact that the U.S. now has so few laws regulating marketing to children – and marketing in schools is increasing.

Q: How do you work with someone, whether it’s a parent or a child, who in denial regarding commercialism?

A: Once people see specific examples of the whole range of ways kids are targeted, it’s hard for them to deny its existence. It’s more challenging to help people understand why it’s a problem and that they can do something about it.

Q: How much do you blame violence and precocious sexuality on commercialism?

A: Research shows that commercialism contributes to so many problems facing children today, including youth violence and precocious sexuality. It’s not the sole cause, of course, but it’s a factor.

Q: How can play heal children, as suggested in your book?

A: Children naturally use play to make sense of their experience, experiment with new roles, gain a sense of competence in an overwhelming world, and wrestle with life to make it meaningful. It’s also in play that we – both children and adults – can truly be ourselves. Play is exhilarating and liberating.

“The commercialization of childhood is a societal problem that makes things a lot harder for families,” says Susan Linn, who is speaking next week in Freeport.