London - Raunchy television shows and adult-like clothes are forcing children to grow up too quickly, parents say.
Explicit advertising campaigns and “too adult” soap operas are also to blame, a study for the Department for Education found.
Nearly nine in ten parents believe children feel under pressure to act older than they are. And almost half believe the 9pm watershed - in place to protect youngsters - no longer has any force.
In the poll, 41 percent of parents agreed they had seen TV shows or advertisements before the watershed that they considered wrong for their children to view.
And 40 percent said they had seen window displays or advertising boards that children should not be exposed to.
Reg Bailey, who is leading an independent review into the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood, said: “Parents are telling us in no uncertain terms that they are worried about the pressures on children to grow up too quickly. It is clear that their concerns have not been created out of a moral panic but from their everyday experience.
“They are struggling against the slow creep of an increasingly commercial and sexualised culture and behaviour, which they say prevents them from parenting the way they want.”
The research comes a week after British fashion brand Jack Wills was accused of pushing the boundaries of decency too far. The latest catalogue by the popular brand was banned from being distributed due to explicit images.
One image inside its 2011 Spring Term Handbook featured a young woman wearing just a pair of knickers and with her leg draped around a near-naked man.
The Advertising Standards Authority said it had breached rules governing harm and offence to children and is now banned.
In September, more than 3,000 people complained that dance moves in the X Factor final by pop stars Christina Aguilera and Rihanna were too explicit.
Clothing store Primark also came under fire for selling padded bikinis for seven-year-olds. - Daily Mail