Comments on: What Solves the Kids & Advertising Problem: Education, or Avoidance? http://redpillparents.com/?p=424 conscious parenting starts with conscious living Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:54:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Red Pill Mama http://redpillparents.com/?p=424&cpage=1#comment-217 Red Pill Mama Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:23:31 +0000 http://redpillparents.com/?p=424#comment-217 Forty each? Wow, that's impressive. I'm like you: I get a nice little dose of happy satisfaction out of seeing my kids' creations in the sea of cartoon characters. I don't know if they even register in the minds of any other parents, but the most important thing is for my kids to feel proud of what they've done: which they do! Props to you for being a 1-TV household! Forty each? Wow, that’s impressive. I’m like you: I get a nice little dose of happy satisfaction out of seeing my kids’ creations in the sea of cartoon characters. I don’t know if they even register in the minds of any other parents, but the most important thing is for my kids to feel proud of what they’ve done: which they do! Props to you for being a 1-TV household!

]]> By: Christine http://redpillparents.com/?p=424&cpage=1#comment-123 Christine Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:49:48 +0000 http://redpillparents.com/?p=424#comment-123 Some of us do not have the luxery of going to do errands without our kids. So out of necessity I have discovered my kids understand marketing ploys, and what we can spend our money on or not. They have learned not to succumb to the stimulus. As you stated, the friends at school give them so much education about the trends out there. We also only have 1 TV, upstairs in a room for it and is rarely on during the week. From my experience it is the outside influences that really push the desire for "Stuff". My kids hand made 40 valentines each for their schoolmates and family, and they are always the hit of the class, something special in the sea of cold cartoon character cards and pencil holders, we spend weeks ahead of valentine's day making them, and always have a blast. I have yet to read the Ped Pill Bible, but I'm off to the park to practice softball with my kids..... Some of us do not have the luxery of going to do errands without our kids. So out of necessity I have discovered my kids understand marketing ploys, and what we can spend our money on or not. They have learned not to succumb to the stimulus. As you stated, the friends at school give them so much education about the trends out there. We also only have 1 TV, upstairs in a room for it and is rarely on during the week. From my experience it is the outside influences that really push the desire for “Stuff”.
My kids hand made 40 valentines each for their schoolmates and family, and they are always the hit of the class, something special in the sea of cold cartoon character cards and pencil holders, we spend weeks ahead of valentine’s day making them, and always have a blast.
I have yet to read the Ped Pill Bible, but I’m off to the park to practice softball with my kids…..

]]> By: Anastasia http://redpillparents.com/?p=424&cpage=1#comment-92 Anastasia Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:57:25 +0000 http://redpillparents.com/?p=424#comment-92 How about doing both? Like you, my son's TV world consists of Nick Jr. (formerly Noggin), PBS Kids, Sprout, and whatever DVDs we may choose to watch. Now that he's in school and involved in an extra curricular activity, there is no time at all for TV, and weeks will go by where he hasn't watched a single show. (Of course, what with me laid up with flu-like symptoms and my husband working from home all week, TV has been my son's main activity for the past few days. But I'm glad to say that this is the exception, and I hope to be TV free again as soon as I can hold my head up for longer than ten minutes.) I nurse my daughter while watching TV sometimes (at 14 months, I am ecstatic to say she has no interest in it and has never watched more than five minutes. It's just not a part of her existence.), and I'll watch Food Network, or The Golden Girls--and the ads will, of course, make their mark on my son, who says, "Look, Mommy! If you buy that cleaner, it will make the floor sparkle!" However, I started teaching him about the evils of marketing and advertising since he was old enough to string two words together. He knows not to believe commercials, he doesn't ask for the toys he sees, he says the people doing the voice overs are "lying" and just trying to "make us buy something." He knows the soda, food and cereal at his eye level at the supermarket are "junk food," and calls them that, loudly (which can be embarrassing but mostly makes me pat my Red Pill Parent self on the back!). I'm also with you in that we do not take our son shopping at toy stores--what a nightmare that would be, even without the evil marketing and advertising ploys! I should say that we don't live in any extreme. Alex loves trains and cars, and we have a ton of Thomas the Tank Engine toys. Of course, we also have lots of trains that are completely unrelated to anything, and he likes those as well. He loves anything magical and enchanted, and since we watched Snow White, Cinderella, etc., he does have a penchant for toys and activities that are centered around that sort of thing. I cringe, however, when I hear him say "DISNEY princess," as if that's the only type of princess there is. He has no idea what he's saying, of course, but it's like the word Disney has been burned into his brain. Sorry for the horribly long comment; love this blog! How about doing both?

Like you, my son’s TV world consists of Nick Jr. (formerly Noggin), PBS Kids, Sprout, and whatever DVDs we may choose to watch. Now that he’s in school and involved in an extra curricular activity, there is no time at all for TV, and weeks will go by where he hasn’t watched a single show. (Of course, what with me laid up with flu-like symptoms and my husband working from home all week, TV has been my son’s main activity for the past few days. But I’m glad to say that this is the exception, and I hope to be TV free again as soon as I can hold my head up for longer than ten minutes.)

I nurse my daughter while watching TV sometimes (at 14 months, I am ecstatic to say she has no interest in it and has never watched more than five minutes. It’s just not a part of her existence.), and I’ll watch Food Network, or The Golden Girls–and the ads will, of course, make their mark on my son, who says, “Look, Mommy! If you buy that cleaner, it will make the floor sparkle!” However, I started teaching him about the evils of marketing and advertising since he was old enough to string two words together. He knows not to believe commercials, he doesn’t ask for the toys he sees, he says the people doing the voice overs are “lying” and just trying to “make us buy something.” He knows the soda, food and cereal at his eye level at the supermarket are “junk food,” and calls them that, loudly (which can be embarrassing but mostly makes me pat my Red Pill Parent self on the back!).

I’m also with you in that we do not take our son shopping at toy stores–what a nightmare that would be, even without the evil marketing and advertising ploys!

I should say that we don’t live in any extreme. Alex loves trains and cars, and we have a ton of Thomas the Tank Engine toys. Of course, we also have lots of trains that are completely unrelated to anything, and he likes those as well. He loves anything magical and enchanted, and since we watched Snow White, Cinderella, etc., he does have a penchant for toys and activities that are centered around that sort of thing. I cringe, however, when I hear him say “DISNEY princess,” as if that’s the only type of princess there is. He has no idea what he’s saying, of course, but it’s like the word Disney has been burned into his brain.

Sorry for the horribly long comment; love this blog!

]]> By: mandy http://redpillparents.com/?p=424&cpage=1#comment-90 mandy Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:07:29 +0000 http://redpillparents.com/?p=424#comment-90 I'm following your plan Susan, and like you I'm unsure of the consequences. We don't even have a TV in the house. It wasn't intentional, but we were so horrified by the cost of a TV when we moved back to NZ we kept putting off buying one, then decided we didn't need it (partly because I'm a TV addict, so I'm better off being completely without). Our boys (4 & 2) watch the odd DVD (or 1/2 of one) on our laptop, and they get to watch TV when they go to Nanna & Grandpa's house once a week. They've seen enough to know about the Disney charachters, and some other pre-school shows. I rarely take them shopping as well, only for friends birthday presents, so they do see some stuff, but aren't exposed to much advertising . My concern is, will they know enough about the "real world" to be able to communicate with their peers when they get to school? or am I isolating them too much? I know that I "missed out" on much of the water cooler conversation when people said "did you see that show last night...." but I'm okay with that, how will my kids fare? Also will they rebel and become TV addicts later in life, as they've been so deprived for their childhood? It is after all a genetic trait (I got it from my father....) I’m following your plan Susan, and like you I’m unsure of the consequences.

We don’t even have a TV in the house. It wasn’t intentional, but we were so horrified by the cost of a TV when we moved back to NZ we kept putting off buying one, then decided we didn’t need it (partly because I’m a TV addict, so I’m better off being completely without).
Our boys (4 & 2) watch the odd DVD (or 1/2 of one) on our laptop, and they get to watch TV when they go to Nanna & Grandpa’s house once a week. They’ve seen enough to know about the Disney charachters, and some other pre-school shows. I rarely take them shopping as well, only for friends birthday presents, so they do see some stuff, but aren’t exposed to much advertising .

My concern is, will they know enough about the “real world” to be able to communicate with their peers when they get to school? or am I isolating them too much?
I know that I “missed out” on much of the water cooler conversation when people said “did you see that show last night….” but I’m okay with that, how will my kids fare?

Also will they rebel and become TV addicts later in life, as they’ve been so deprived for their childhood? It is after all a genetic trait (I got it from my father….)

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