Consumer education

Objectives for learning

To guide children to observe different labels and symbols
To help children imitate adults’ responsible behaviours
To guide children to try various ways of making a purchase through play and games
To help children get an idea of owning, lending, sharing and exchanging

To motivate children to take into account instructions, product information, product symbols and labels when using products and services
To encourage children to discuss responsibilities, risks and rights of ownership
To help children get an overview of the ways of buying goods and services
To motivate children to analyse and consider daily life situations, limitations and rules from the perspectives of right and wrong, truth and lie
To encourage children to discuss consuming and how peer pressure can affect our desires and choices

To motivate children to practise seeking information to relevantly compare and contrast, extrapolate, evaluate and apply in commercial decision-making
To encourage children to read product information and labels, for safe and ethical choices and usage
To help children get an idea of concepts, such as basic consumer rights and responsibilities
To offer children the possibility of practising online shopping under guidance, and to guide them in paying attention to the risks of online contracts and providers
To instruct children on making a complaint in the case of a faulty product or service

To motivate adolescents to seek consumer information and learn about making a consumer complaint
To increase adolescents’ knowledge about consumer rights in Europe, cross-border commerce and consumer complaint handling procedures
To guide adolescents in choosing reliable actors in the market before making transactions
To motivate adolescents to use manuals and labels, to minimize future problems and risks
To motivate adolescents to practise reading and understanding advertisements and contractual texts
To help adolescents detect the difference between commercial messages and unbiased consumer information
To draw adolescents’ attention to the consumer’s role and obligations, and to the importance of comparing contract terms when signing a contract
To help adolescents understand how consumer rights are applied in the most common situations and how to utilize them, if needed
To draw adolescents’ attention to the fact that shopping online and abroad involves different rights, rules and risks than shopping in local shops

Know the core concepts of consumer transactions, forms of transactions, contractual obligations and individual rights and be aware of how to use these rights to their advantage and find information on them from reliable sources.
Be aware of their right to receive safe products and services, be able to assess the safety of products and take responsibility for their own safety.
Understand the significance of regulations, agreements and trust as prerequisites for the well-being of society and the markets. Be familiar with the basic concepts of Internet governance, which shape the development of the online technologies that influence consumer rights.
Understand and use the basic functions of public digital technologies and services for the purpose of participating actively in societal processes.

Updated 27.2.2015 Print

Updated 27.2.2015 Print