Toy Makers Can’t Outsmart this Mommy!
I do my very best to limit the amount of advertising my kids are exposed to. They never spend much time in front of the TV and I either toss or hide away for future reference any catalogs for kids products that make their way into our home.
Lynnae at being frugal recently posted an article about how advertising can so easily affect our children ( read her story here) and this article reminded me of the time my son asked me about Labatts after watching a hockey game with Daddy. He was under the impression, and naturally so, that it had something to do with hockey or sports equipment. Yes, they are so impressionable!
Last night, with all these thoughts fresh in my mind, I took to the task of wrapping the children’s gifts after they had all gone to bed. As I began laying them all out on the dining room table, I noticed that almost every single package had advertising on it. Oh, great. Just when you think it’s all going so well! I could just picture in my mind my daughters asking for “all the accessories in stores now” for their new dolls, or my son asking to “collect them all to complete the set” of his new Legos. All the advertising was pure genius, perfectly worded and pictured to entice my children.
So, I freaked out a little. What was I going to do? Open all the packages and wrap the gifts without the pretty boxes they came in? Well, I decided against that, part of the fun is having the kids recognize the toys they picked out of the catalog and asked Santa for and I think having them in the package adds to this experience. So, I thought about painting over the ads, putting masking tape on them, you name it, I ran through all sorts of ideas.
Bingo! I got out my handy Exacto knife and strategically sliced and peeled back the ads and cut them right off the cardboard (this may not work for all toys,but worked for the ones I had). It worked like a charm and since all the ads were on the back of the packages, you can barely notice anything is missing, and I am sure my kids won’t. They will wake up Christmas morning to their presents, complete in the package, minus the sneaky advertisements!
Yes, I know maybe this is a tad bit extreme, but I feel like I need to protect my children from confusing happiness and possessions. I would hate to see my kids turn into the “gimme” type children who assume every wish shall be granted. It is important to me that my children learn to appreciate what they have and understand that many things in life are privileges and not guaranteed.
What are your experiences with this sort of thing? Do you try to keep advertising from from affecting your children? I would love to hear your stories!
Topics: Life & Family |
December 19th, 2007
I definitely get your point with this article, as I have two kids and experience this problem with my older daughter, who’s now three. Limiting the tv is a good idea, I agree. I think it’s very important that they also learn that they can’t have everything they want. Advertising is just everywhere, and it’s a good idea to learn how to deal with it as well.
I like your blog and I have added it to my wordpress directory, I hope you don’t mind. Keep up the good work.
Regards.
December 19th, 2007
Fontadoni-
Thanks for the feedback!
I am happy to be added to your directory!
Take Care
LJ
December 20th, 2007
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December 23rd, 2007
[...] johanson presents Toy Makers Can?t Outsmart this Mommy! posted at Mommy Gets PAID, saying, “Keeping advertising from affecting our children, [...]
December 26th, 2007
Great article, and I totally agree with your point. Thank you for submitting to the All For Women Carnival - I have now discovered your blog!
Anne Maybus’s last blog post..All Women Blogging Carnival - 24 December 2007