Thanks to Lisa, over at Corporate Babysitter for these two gross posts that have my anti-childhood commercialism mind reeling. ARGH.
First, commenting on Shrek’s outrageous full throttle marketing blitz and near complete ownership of the Macy’s Day Parade, she goes exploring at amazon and finds: Read the complete Post.
So, we did the Thanksgiving thing and it was great. The kids had a ball and I almost had the great pleasure of winning the family poker tournament (only to lose to my dastardly husband who used my 87 year old aunt as distraction). At least we’re keeping it in the family.
At any rate, I realized that this year blogging (well, reading blogs, which I like far more than posting) is very very high on my list of things for which I feel thankful, probably higher than it should be, but that’s another story that involves a dull tale of woe about Read the complete Post.
I like the ride-on radio flyer fire engine a lot.
I’m serious. It’s fantastic. The kids like it too. Thing 2 smiled when my MIL wheeled it in, festooned with a gorgeous heap of red and yellow curling ribbon. It has a rubber horn that honks easily and with a satisfying “ooo-ga ooo-ga.” She handed him a glossy red baby sized fire hat. My mother had also given him a red and gray striped outfit embroidered with the words “little hero” and a fire truck on the chest. Everyone said we should take a picture. We should. He’s too cute for words - beaming that uneven gap toothed grin, hat off-kilter. It was a nice day, a lovely little party.
For his first birthday my son got a total of nine vehicles. One toy airplane, two toy fire trucks, a toy globe with a train that goes around and around inside, a tractor, and a few other sundry transit items.
That’s what boys like.
Except he didn’t have a wish list. Nope — I didn’t take him, diaper and all, to do a registry Read the complete Post.
This weekend we had our extended family together in town for my son’s dedication and naming. It was chaotic and a little crowded and at moments undeniably awkward, since I have a complicated family tree shaped in the usual unusual ways by divorces and remarriages. (e.g., I have one brother, one half sister, and three ex-step sisters. Read the complete Post.
This post isn’t on-theme. Just so you know in advance.
Thing 2 turns one this week. I turn none-of your-god-damned-business (36) 5 days later. A year gone. It’s been hard. I hate his current family day care, and although I had the awkward fumbling overdue relief of firing her last week, he deserved better.
So did I. I went back to work when he was 9 weeks old. 9 weeks. If I had
Read the complete Post.
Okey doke. I had been thinking about how infrequently I mention Thing 2 on this blog and how you probably all think I am a neglectful, uncaring mother incapable of loving her baby. So, I was going to post a little memo about how much I adore him (I do, I do, I do - it’s SICK how much I love that baby) and all his adorable quirks (he has a intense hair fetish and likes to pull my eyelashes while we snuggle), and how I am actually very focused on him for a number of reasons (e.g., not the least of which is that he has “THE Read the complete Post.
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is having their annual summit in Boston in April.
The topic is sexualization of children(read as BRATZ et al - that image above is of Bratz Babyz, btw - I know my dd always wore a LOT of liquid eyeliner when she was part of the under 1 set.) Read the complete Post.
I don’t know about you, but when I was in middle school we called it two-faced. Can Mattel really claim to its customers here in the US that they were unaware that lead paint was being used because the production was outsourced (which also conveniently keeps them “unaware” that their toys are being assembled by 11 year olds. Mmmmm, nothing like an order of toxic fumes with a side of berating for breakfast, dee-licious!) in one breath and then in the next apologize to China for making Chinese manufacturers look bad when the “real” problem was their “design flaw”? Read the complete Post.
Well, here I am, the stinking would-be high priestess of media issues in kids lives, and I have dirty laundry. Here is my Dear Abby moment (Is Abby out there? Anyone wanting to pretend to be Abby? We need advice!)… Read the complete Post.
Last week, the news media gave decent coverage to an important story that revealed the power of marketing to children. The study, in case you missed it (which is easy to do if you have children!) showed that McDonald’s marketing was so effective that in experimental taste tests, children believed that food in a McDonald’s wrapper tasted better than identical food in a plain wrapper. This was even true for things not traditionally associated with McDonald’s, like apple juice, carrots and milk. Read the complete Post.