commercialism

Until now (almost 7 years) we have gotten away without Logan watching many TV commercials. Gotta LOVE the DVR and commercial free Nick Jr. and Disney Jr.! "They" say commercials are one of the biggest influencers of kids. That they can easily catch the "I want that!" bug from commercials. We have caught that bug on occasion, but not from commercials. And my kids had no idea who Ronald McDonald was when they saw him on something not to long ago. Side note-I have to say I am kinda proud of that! Again, "they" say that more kids can recognize Ronald McDonald than Jesus when shown pictures.

Last week Michael found the original G.I. Joe, Transformers, Jem, and a couple other cartoons on HUB. So he has been taping them for Logan and Melina. They are LOVING them, but these are not commercial free shows and since the kids can work the remote and and the DVR by themselves (which is a double edged sword!) they are watching the commercials in these shows. So Logan is coming to tell me about the things he sees on commercials, and has a slight case of the "I want that" bug. (Now, remember this is not a prime channel or even a highly watched cable channel) So here are a few examples of the things he is telling me about.

Call now for your $50,000 life insurance policy...he thinks if I call this number they will send us money and he can buy some new toys.

Add inches to your height instantly! "This isn't how people grow...is it?"

"Wow, mom look at those knives! We should get those!! Then look what you can cook." ...Thanks, buddy...are you saying my cooking is not good enough for you?

And he is always on the lookout for VW cars due to the commercials. He asked me very seriously the other day when he saw a VW Bug, "Now...is this VW a smart car?"

The one NICE thing that has come out of this is since he now understands the concept of pausing for a commercial break. When he plays action figures and I call him to do something or go somewhere he says he is pausing his game for a commercial break. 

Gets me every time!