I was looking for new toys for my 2 year old granddaughters the other day and was completely dumbfounded by the assortment of unhealthy toddler toys readily available for our children. I was so appalled by the vast selection of unhealthy baby toys I felt I needed to vent here, both for myself and for those of you who want to leave comments at the end of the post.
It's regretful enough that we adults are bombarded on a regular basis with underhanded advertising strategies meant to brainwash and instigate hyper-consumerist tendencies, but so many of the ploys intended to hook youngsters through their toys is just plain corrupt! We as adults can at least detect the rouse. We might still bite, but at least we have the judgment making skills and (for the most part) the mind to decipher when we are being catered to for our betterment or our impediment. Our infants plainly don't have that skill; which is why it is up to us to cut out the detrimental toddler toys.
One egregious example was the McDonald's McKids toy line. Inside the french fry and burger boxes, the backpack, and the kitchen structure were several dozen mini milkshakes, burgers, fries, and cookies. I cannot blame the McDonald's corporation for trying to make a profit and let's be truthful, they wouldn't sell these toys if someone didn't buy them; but we have to understand that this is how our adolescents distinguish the logo and connect the golden arches with fun at a very young age. This kind of brand recognition marketing will keep the obesity rate at a steady increase until we as role models take the issue into our own hands and begin to say no to detrimental child's toys.
I also saw a donut shop toy set...yup, donuts. Let's face it, any child that recognizes custard filled donuts and iced mocha the inside of the shop is destined for cavities and diabetes... and that's the best case scenario.
Like I said, I shouldn't blame these billion dollar businesses for doing what they do first. We already know what they're all about. We know that for the most part they are cold, methodical, profit machines that will do whatever is necessary to ensure their fiscal well-being. Building unhealthy habits in our children only helps their future bottom line.
It is up to us to educate and inform our children so that these marketing firms that are successfully initiating brand recognition at such an early age do not continue to encourage the unhealthy baby habits that feed into the childhood obesity epidemic through unhealthy toys for our children and babies. They will continue to create and market these toys to our little ones, but we need to try to remember that the strength is always in our hands to say NO!
We can stop purchasing these unhealthy toys for our children and help our kids form healthful habits; or we can continue down the same path. Let our children be influenced by people who don't care about them or their well-being. Allow them to be yet another unhealthy statistics in an increasingly unhealthy society. Or we can do what is correct instead of what is easy. We can value our kids by valuing our purchases for them. We can keep our honor by giving our children a fighting chance against the illness and dysfunction both instigated and ignored by the fast food industry. Nevertheless, it all begins by what we choose to surround our kids with.
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