Once upon a time, our TV only received three channels, the most watched of which was the blissfully commercial-free PBS. Since I don’t watch much TV myself, not having 100 different channels to pick from was just fine with me. Even better, my daughters had no clue who SpongeBob or other non-PBS-related characters were, and since they never saw commercials, they rarely asked for specific toys or cereal with SpongeBob emblazoned on the box.
Enter the era of my sons, who have had a multitude of channels from which to pick since they can remember. Hello advertisement-ridden Nickelodeon and Disney. Goodbye PBS. Gone are the refreshing commercial-free days of old; now, my children are inundated with ads for anything a kid could ever possibly dream about.
When we go shopping, the boys beg me for Dora macaroni and cheese, Diego toothbrushes and anything adorned with Spiderman. The character stuff always costs a lot more too. I say no to the mac and cheese because not only is it more expensive, with much less in the box than the regular kind to boot, I just don’t buy it on principle.
One day we were at the store and we went past the toilet paper. “Look, Mom,” said then-5-year-old Cody. “That’s Charmin Ultra Strong and that’s Charmin Ultra Soft.” I stared at him, speechless. He was right. I asked him how he knew which was which and he said, “Because I saw it on TV.” Great.
Though I would undoubtedly have a mini-riot on my hands, I’ve been considering pulling the plug on the variety of TV stations we have and going back to the bunny ears. The world is already full of items everywhere that advertisers convince us we need without being bombarded with more advertisements in our own homes. Much of it is so ridiculous and pointless too, and watching my kids coveting a toy dog that “swims” or a doll that wets itself almost makes me ill when I think of all the children in the world who don’t even have a roof over their heads or enough food.
We have so much in our country. So much, we take what we do have for granted every single day. Pointing this out to small children is pretty much fruitless though; all they know is the world around them, and, both fortunately and unfortunately, that knowledge just doesn’t expand to kids who are dying of starvation or disease. Kids who would be thrilled to have the bread crusts my youngest just threw in the trash, let alone a toy dinosaur on which they could ride.
Maybe it’s just time for some giving. I want my kids to grow up to be compassionate, caring, generous adults with a heart for those less fortunate. To help instill those qualities, I think this year I’ll have them use their allowances to put together a Christmas gift for a child who otherwise would not get one. I really want to get them out of this “gotta-have” mindset, as popular and prominent as it is in our society.
How do you help your kids with their toy-lust? Does your family do charity work such as volunteering at a soup kitchen or helping sort clothes and collect food for the needy? What are some ways during this holiday season that your family could focus on others?
Parenting By Trial and Error 