The Kids

The Kids

Saturday, January 23, 2010

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I was so good at blogging while Nick was away. Then he came home. Perhaps it is because I have an adult in the house with whom to share my thoughts and do not feel the need to type them all out for you few readers to read.

Or it could be because my time has been spent washing his two week pile of dirty clothes.

Either way, it is nice to be back and ready to share a few more stories.

While Nick was gone, I will admit that the television was on a little more often than usual. I mean, I have to take a shower somehow! I have recently noticed the effects of too much entertainment. Apart from the over stimulation, the commercials have been speaking through my children.

Normally, the only stations they are allowed to watch do not have actual commercials. Sometimes, however, they will watch Nick Jr. which carries a couple of ads between shows. I knew they had caught one of the ads when Abby came running up to me and said, "Mom! You have to buy this thing! You can make cupcakes so easily! You just 'bake and decorate'! And it's only $19.95! I really need it!"

Really Abby? You really need it? And you just "bake and decorate?" Perhaps I am wrong, but is that not what we already do with regular cupcakes?

She also came up with a good one recently that has nothing to do with advertising to kids-just their moms. She exclaimed, "Look Mom! Smooth Away! It works on all areas with no bumps and it even works on your bikini area!"

I had to bite my tongue to ask her what my bikini area was because I did not want to actually answer it.

It is not just on television, either. Now that Abby can read, she notices billboards. Why do you think her first movie theater experience was The Chipmunks Squeakquel? It was advertised down the road from our house for weeks.

Ah well. Cannot avoid it, but I can say, "no" to everything they beg for. It is going to be a long 13+ years.

1 comment:

JMCOOPER said...

Advertisements are the bane of my existence. I am in the same "school" as you in that my kids always watched PBS when they were small, not only for the programs but for the lack of commercials. I no longer enforce the PBS only rule, but I am strict about their TV watching and a bit part of that is because of the commercials. Even if they are watching a kids show, if it's at night, the commercials are rated worse than the show. I mute them often and the kids go crazy. They WANT to hear them.

But the best part is that there is a teaching moment every single time. I remember my parents pointing out the faults of commercials--just the fact that they are deceptive--and it made me always watch with a skeptical eye. I do the same thing with my kids and when they come running with some product that offers hours of fun and no mess, I quickly point out the tricky language or fact that the only way to keep it mess-free would be to never open it. ;-)