I worked in the world of media and marketing for many years before I became a full time Mommy. So I try really hard not to be a hypocrite when it comes to allowing media or marketing into my home or into my kids’ world. I already wrote about how I get sucked into marketing, so I can’t be surprised when it happens to my kids.
I am definitely cautious when it comes to my children’s television viewing habits. Daniel and Annabel are only 2 1/2 years and 16 months old, so they definitely should not be watching TOO much television. They watch an hour in the morning and 30 minutes before dinner. I also believe that there are some benefits to educational television like the shows found on PBS or Noggin. One of the benefits is that I get a break. (Ha.) Some days I really need that extra time in the morning to get dressed, check my email, or even go to the bathroom. The hour program they watch each weekday morning is the ol’ classic, Sesame Street. It’s a PBS program, it’s educational, and I watched it when I was little, so I feel pretty good about it. The characters are familiar (although we never had that crazy ELMO), so I enjoy it as well. Daniel loves the “Letter of the Day,” the “Number of the Day,” and all the fun songs. We love the family life vignettes when the children take a bath, bake a cake, or go to the dentist. It’s a great show and they are LEARNING something too. (Win-Win!)
The funny thing is sometimes Daniel gets most excited at the very beginning BEFORE the show actually starts. He loves to recite the Sesame Street show SPONSORS. (Each sponsor has a colorful 15 second “commercial” with a voiceover that thanks them for “sponsoring” Sesame Street.)
“Mama, Mama!…NEW BALANCE!” “Mama, Mama!…BEACHES!” “Mama! Mama!…MCDONALD’S!”
It’s hilarious because the professional side of me is thinking, “Wow! These corporations are super smart. They even have my two year old son shouting out their brand names!” Then, the other side of me is thinking, “Wait. The entire point of watching a show on PBS with my kids is to avoid the infiltration of advertisers.” But they found a way around that by having corporate “sponsors,” not advertisers. Well, good for them. This is America.
We also listen to a lot of music in the house. Most days I throw in a children’s CD to sing along with while we play or do projects. My husband works in radio so, other days, we just leave the radio on. Well, today I’m making lunch and the radio is on in the kitchen. A commercial comes on for “Money Pages” (some coupon mailer) and after listening to it for about 10 seconds, Daniel starts singing the jingle. “The Money Pages..la la la..in your..MAILBOX!” He’s been listening to 50 different kid songs on the CD all morning and THIS is what he decides to sing along to while waiting for his PB&J?! It’s a little scary, but still so darn cute! I start clapping my hands and singing along too. Annabel starts to laugh and we all sing the chorus, “The Money Pages..la la la..in your..MAILBOX!” (If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, right?)
BTW, today’s blog entry WAS NOT brought to you by The Money Pages or Beaches Resort or New Balance or McDonald’s. (Although I sure could use one of their new Caramel Iced Coffees right now – Yum.)
"Hey Kids! Tell your parents to buy you this cute rubber duckie!"
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