Everywhere we turn there is an advertisement for the latest and greatest toy or cartoon character. Your children turn on the TV to see their favorite character and squeal in delight. Fast food restaurants help promote movies. Movies start with commercials for the next best movie! Commercialism is all around us and it is bound to cause clutter!
As parents (and grandparents!) we want to provide for our children and meet their needs but sometimes we can go a little overboard. When does it become too much?
When that “purple dinosaur” became popular was your child’s room and clothes decked out with the fun loving albeit slightly annoying creature? What happened when they grew out of that stage? Did you move on to the next character and then the next?
Have you ever thought about the clutter that these ever changing fads can create?
How do you think fueling this instant gratification in kids will affect their choices about stuff later?
What ways do you prevent commercialism from taking over in your house?
For the fun of it, what was the most annoying character you have had to put up with?
Let’s discuss this in the comments…
[photo: woodleywonderworks]
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
My wife is absolutely obsessed with movies. Whenever we see something on TV or get a mailing about the “latest” movie, I cringe.
The main reason is that I understand how quickly what we buy today will be obsolete. Just look at how we went from tapes to DVDs…then how Blue-Ray overtook the market. Technology won’t stop innovating…the movies we have today will get “better” tomorrow and we’ll want to replace them.
Thanks, but I’d rather rent…and thankfully, I have my wife 95% convinced.
My mom bought us a subscription to Netflix one Christmas and I just ask her to renew it for My birthday and Christmas every year. I love it! And now with the Watch Instantly feature I will never buy a movie again. I love that when the new releases are coming out you can have them within days. Not always the most economical choice to pay for a subscription but if if you watch enough movies it works! Friday night is usually date night and we will most times pop in a movie so it definitely beats the cost of going to the movie theater. Don’t get me started on that!
I forgot (probably because we don’t watch TV) & agree with Stacey on Sponge Bob – I guess that makes two annoying things for me.
I think that cartoon is too adult-ish in it’s jokes & such. And don’t tell me those jokes go over the kids heads….. they don’t.
Jennifer – I agree about the landfill. We usually buy used toys (I figure if it’s already made it through one kid, then it’ll probably make it through mine) but when they break…. I feel so bad there’s no way to really recycle them somehow. Surely all that plastic could be melted into something useful – like multicolored landscape path way stones or trivets.
Oh it’s not just the kids. I must admit that I love Eeyore. I’ve expressed my love of Eeyore so much that co-workers will indulge me with a little Eeyore keepsake they might come across (pens, mini-notebooks, etc). Family members know that if they’re not sure what to get me for a gift they can’t go wrong with anything that has Eeyore on it.
My 5 year old right now can’t get enough of Spongebob, who I loathe. When the show first appeared on Nickelodeon years ago he was cute and kind and very funny but over the years Spongebob has changed and become vulgar and stupid. Whatever happened to “The Wild Thornberrys” or even “Hey Arnold”.
We are overwhelmed with Dora stuff at our house. My MIL started buying Dora stuff for my daughter before she even knew who Dora was, and I think she buys stuff just because it has Dora on it for my daughter whenever she sees it. My daughter likes Dora, but has little attachment to the brand (thankfully!!).
I’m very lucky in that my 3 year old son does not ask for much. I tell him what he can have (ex: we need new bedding or a toothbrush or we can buy 1 book or 1 toy) and then he’ll choose. Usually he picks super heroes, but sometimes he surprises me. His room is puppy themed (since he was born) and when we go to his “big boy” room he will have super heroes (at his request). However, he still tells me that he doesn’t need new things, the old is fine, so changing the room will be a challenge. I hope I’ve instilled in him that NEEDing is different than WANTing and so far he seems to understand that we don’t get new things just for the fun of it. Of course, he also doesn’t want me to change his sheets to wash them, so go figure!
As far as characters, I can’t stand any of it. It’s all a money making scam aimed at people who have no concept of hard work and doing without. I tell my son every day that he’s lucky to have what he has – many children have far less. I certainly did. This could all change as he gets older, but so far so good!
I get upset when I think about the landfill and all the fad toys that must fill it up. Buzz Lightyears and Cabbage Patch Kids laying amongst the trash! We donate all our toys to a charity but you figure they must end up in a dump eventually. We invest in the quality toys you mentioned like legos and good wood blocks but the rest are hand me downs from friends and family. As my daughter says… reduce, reuse, recycle! I guess she’s gotten something from Bob the Builder… kid after my own heart.
We have a garage sale every couple of years and get rid of the toys that way but yes, eventually they will end up in the landfill. I wasn’t as careful about things like than when my youngest was little but have become more conscious of it over the years. I love that the legos and wooden blocks and toys like that can be passed on for many years before even looking worn.
As a single low income Mom, most definitely I have thought of it. I will indulge him in maybe one thing of that character & that’s it. Décor, clothing, ect I keep simple & classic that way it matches his “accessories”.
I think it definitely affects how they grow as human beings – my son’s Dad had his every whim when he was a kid. Now he can never keep his basic living bills paid because he just has to have the newest _____ . Even though he makes very good money he has a lower standard of living then us because of all the stuff. And also, it seems like there’s a void he’s trying to fill with the stuff and that the acquisition of those things defines who he is somehow. I’m trying very hard to make sure my son isn’t like that.
I try to prevent commercialism/materialism from entering by not watching TV and by living my life in a way that the “things” don’t matter. I try to spend my money on toys that are sturdy and will last through his developmental stages. Any not well made ones that make it through the door are either gifts or from the dime box at a garage sale. My son is 9 now & what I find funny is that his friends (7-12 year olds) want to come here so they can mess with his toys!
The most annoying thing would be the Pokemon toys – I dunno why but I can’t stand them.
I wish my family & his Dad’s would get on the same page. Every major gift giving holiday we get flooded with junk to the point we need a shovel. I’ve asked that they get him one toy and any other money they want to spend on him to put in his 529 plan or a movie theater gift card or to take him out to dinner, fun , ect but they just don’t get it.
So far I have talked one grandmother into gifting savings bonds at Christmas. I think she would much rather get toys. I wish we could do one year with only one gift each and the rest for gift certificates to the science museum, zoo and other fun places for the kids. That would make the rest of the year so much easier!
I’m not big on Pokemon either but so far my oldest only has a few of those cards. HE is a book worm and could care less about other stuff. He will have a small History library soon though!
All of the kids rooms are decorated in a classic theme as well. For my daughter I wouldn’t say fairies or princesses because I knew we would get bombarded with stuff. Her room has stars and stripes but in girlie colors. We also have an antique table and heirloom quilt hanging on the wall. One son has a car and street sign theme and the “history lover” has world maps.
My kids have 2 favorites right now. I’ve said that their rooms will not be decorated with a favorite brand as that changes with the wind but a theme is okay (sports, planes, etc). We have a wonderful channel on TV that does not play commercials so that is pretty much all our kids are allowed to watch. That helps tremendously as I’ve noticed when they watch a DVD which now have toy commercials (ugh) they come asking for whatever they just saw.
I agree about the grandparents getting on the same page, the ones who live close are NOT and bring toys over often for no reason. They have wised up after asking them several times to limit the number of gifts for birthdays/holidays but maybe feel more justified then in giving them gifts for no reason. As I type this, I’m realizing it’s whenever they babysit them, a few new DVDs and toys show up (trust me, we have enough already) and I don’t see them before we leave so she must hide them deep in her purse…
My nephew was addicted to the purple dinosaur so much so that I HATE it. Of course, what was one of the “no reason” gifts? None other than a Barney DVD. That is the only one they will get and it will “disappear” sometime soon.
First of all I used to be the parent that bought all the “in” stuff when my first son was born. Before he even knew what “in” stuff was. After watching his toddler years filled with too much TV we turned it off. For about 2 years. We started bringing it back slowly but was much more conscious of what was being watched. I noticed that some of the more educational shows didn’t really have a lot of plush characters being sold so it was much easier to handle.
As far as toys go, I am more drawn to items that promote pretend play like dress up and the kitchen. Classic toys like wood blocks, trains and Lego’s. Matchbox cars are a favorite around here. I think the hardest part is having the grandparents on the same page.
As far as clothing goes, I figured the kids might complain about what they wore if something had a character on it and they liked it more that their other options so I have always refrained. Unless it is pajamas, then I let them have wear the cartoon characters.
My kids were not yet here when the big purple dinosaur was most popular and now that they are the age of recognizing (and getting excited) about particular characters we’ve been working hard at dissuading them from wanting any of the show’s paraphernalia. We have just a few princess things and a stuffed Minnie Mouse for each daughter. All the other characters we’ve played down a lot and even try not to accept any hand-me-down of those ever present (and slightly annoying in my opinion) characters. I’m ok with Minnie, because she’s a classic character that won’t be going out of style. But I still don’t deck out their rooms with any one theme, in case that theme goes to the “dislike” pile sooner than later.