If the following trailer for Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood doesn’t convince parents that our children are being educated to be nothing more than slaves to the consumption paradigm, then nothing will. In fact, the only parents who could ignore the warnings have themselves likely fallen into the trap of a mentality that will lead to a life of emptiness, ignorance and financial ruin.
They’re at the time in their life when they’re forming all of their values and attitudes. They’re in the formative stages.
…
The philosophy becomes cradle to grave. Let’s get to them early. Let’s get to them often. Let’s get to them in as many places as we can get them. And, our goal is, not just to sell them products and services, but to turn them into lifelong consumers.
Trailer (via Rense.com):
#1
Terry
The first steps to defeating usury and materialism?
Turn off your Talmudvision. Boycott H✡llyw✡✡d.
John Q: Wow!. Your anti-semitism has reached paranoid dementions. Everybody in business, Jews and non-Jews alike, advertise their goods and services as they have since the days of Imperial Rome, and perhaps, even before. It’s not just TV, today’s advertising is everywhere; radio, magazines, newspapers, and billboards. It’s up to each us to accept or reject each offer; it’s called “Free Will”. If someone doesn’t have the self disipline and intellectual capacity to resist many of the things out there, too bad, it’s not the advertisers fault. TV, or any, advertising is not some Jewish conspiracy to get all of the Gentiles money. And no John, I’m not Jewish, I’m of Irish descent.
Judging by the response to my posting, there seems to be more mindless little Brown Shirts than I thought, with their rants on the “Jewish Conspiracy” and other such childishness nonesense. It’s easier to believe in some conspiracy theory that can’t be proven than it is to do some serious critical thinking.
So, what part of Israel are you from Gregory?
Another example of someone who has bought into commercialization; the commercialization of being “first.”
Thanks for making the point, Terry.
“Mommas don’t let your babies grow up to be Terrys.”
Teach your children what is TRULY valuable in this world. That’s the only thing we can do to combat the evils that they face.
Vaya con Dios.
From this day forward anytime this game is played. “I’m first and all the follow ups”. I am going to make note of the advertisers on the page and not use the products or services for at least a one month period. If we all do this the site might stop the children from playing so the grownups can talk.
Mike,
There’s no porn advertisers here.
I am not making a joke of this. Real issues that are important are discuss here and this waste of space childish notes need to go. This site’s comment pages are reading like a facebook’s teenagers page. Comment on the subjects are rarly ever made anymore. This was a good site, it is becoming clear that the traffic number are more inportant than the content. Proving the dollar can overpower ideas almost evertime. This is were James Rawle does the right thing (and many others) and keeps the site on topic.
And Rick99 You once again prove you are part of the problem.
Mike, there are plenty of us on here who are serious and we welcome your input. Ignore the trolls!
Is this the mike who everyone thinks likes dudes?
You have to be kidding me. That’s the best you can do
MYtM – You need to chill out. Really, your going to boycott the advertisers for a month…. How often do you use any of these? You need to take your seriousness someplace else maybe.
I spent about 3500I a month not including major purchases and have been doing this for a few years so yes I am a serious buyer to these sealer. It is also why I take these discussion so seriously. Because with my supply base I am still looking for input and knowledge. So if these games are what you are looking for you should look at yourself and see where you stand in your preps.
These aren’t the Troll’s your looking for.
Now, that’s funny! You obviously have Macrights to that name.
Mike,
Many of us are serious enough on the site that hopefully you get plenty of adult conversation here. One person being cutesy about being first is not enough to discourage me from coming here, or make me want to throw boycott daggers.
Those being silly are not the end of the world. When the actual end of the world comes, that will be another story.
This is why the more people that I meet; the better that I like my dog. The ‘lunatics’ are definitely running the asylum ….. and have been for some time.
It not the one. I enjoy the satire. But when we have to go though 15 comment of waste. It become tiring. The #1 is just an example of the silliness. A permanent form for commutation would solve this. And if someone does not speak out what happens. The site dies because everyone (Good ones)just goes away.
15 minutes of fame?
If that’s all you can accomplish during your day, I suggest you try for #2…………..
Its only getting worse. Then kids think that the easter bunny is just like santa claus, and keeping up with all their friends cool clothes, taking them to McDonalds 3x/week.
Unplug your tv and xbox, and give them a book.
I just ran into this video. At one point in this video explains why this is happening. Corporations run the United States.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEPnDmIDCzM&feature=share
Come on, computers are just as bad, just look at all of the ads on this site. This is the pot calling the kettle black. Most here have to have the biggest, baddest, coolest guns. My B.O.B. is better than your B.O.B., especially prepared preachers.lol
consumerism is rampant on this board too. To deny that is just hypocrisy at it’s finest. By the way did ya’ll see this really gotta have cool stove. I am gonna be first to order.
http://deadwoodstove.com/
I have to say that the parents are partly to blame. Seems that some can’t tell their kids NO, you can’t have that. Or they try to get the kids to like them better by buying every thing that they see on TV or out do their friends.
Trust me, my parents never had a problem telling us kids no and in the long run we appreciated the things that we did get.
I agree, kids need to read like I had to (enjoying it even now at 66),we read classics, novels, westerns and world book, etc. I’m glad I never raised kids..my age group in which most are losers in parenting, even has problems with their grown brats..always needing money or in trouble of some sorts. The younger parents even worse with their brats. I didn’t grow up on tv, we played outside and hated being inside. Materialism, toddler beauty pagents are run by dumb butt zombie loser parents, turning their girls into sluts when they hit 13. Mad M.: The more people I meet, the more I like my cats! Many retirees my age think everything revolves around golf and card games, vacations. They have no clue about “real events” in the gov. agendas.
Or, unplug the tv & xbox, and take them to the local range. Teach them the proper safety, techniques, sighting, etc. that are the foundation for the handling and shooting of a pistol, rifle, shotgun, whatever. Your children/grandchildren learn an essential skill and have fun at the same time. Plus, you get to spend some quality time with them.
ny child is the best sheeple I know
Would that child happen to have elongated canines, a full fur coat and pointy ears? 😉 If so, I have some similar “sheeple” children and agree they are the best!
Anyone remember watching black and white tv shows that always taught a lesson at the end of the show?
What bothered me about that video is that everyone was pushing for legislation. Why aren’t they pushing for parental responsibility? When I was a kid and would grab a box of cereal, mom would inevitably put it back and get Wheaties. Damn I hated wheaties, I wanted the sugar cereals but there was no arguing with mom.
Yes, those shows are available on dvd by the season. When the SHTF I will be commercial free TV Land 🙂
No point surviving if you can’t live.
Parents need to learn to “Just Say No!” And mean it. Don’t just say no and then give in a minute later.
And that is the problem. Parents say no but do not follow up. Their kids know that no means yes. If you say no you have to be willing to get up and jumb accross that room and make “no” happen in a bigger way than if the child has listened without you comming to them.
After a couple of years a good strong look or a sound and a look and they will back off. I am not talking about hitting your child but if you say no then no has to happen! In the end the entire family is happier and the child learns self discipline from the parents discipline.
We have some friends that spoil their kids to death. They said our dog (yellow lab) listens better than their kids. When we asked why they buy them all that stuff like it’s Christmas every day, they simply said because they don’t want to hurt their feelings. EXCUSE ME?! What exactly are they teaching them other than taking things for granted and no discipline? They just will not tell them no. That’s part of the learning lesson as one gets older or so I thought.
The thing that kept me eating Wheaties when I was a kid was because I got to stare at Mary Lou Retton while I had breakfast.
Rrrrrowr!
mike, I agree with you on the parental responsibility. The problem is the PTB have the CPS interfering with parental responsiblity, where even the children can call the police on the parents which then gets the CPS involved.
Actual event: A couple had applied (locally) to be foster parents. During the interview, the assesment agent asked if they had any guns. The man answered sure. He was asked how he would keep the child from handling the gun (the agent said it was for the child’s safety). He said it would only happen once and the child would never do it again. The agent told him quote ” he’d be more danger to the child than the gun and she could fore see CPS having to get involved”.
Parenting now comes with gov’t threats.
@mike, we only had Cheerios or Rice Krispies. Not bad I have to admit. We didn’t get Capt.Crunch until high school. Now a days the moms let the kids pick the food, that wouldn’t last 10 seconds with my Mom. Also no soda pop. Only Tab, milk O.J. and H2O or juices.
Uummmm, Tab IS soda pop.
Correct, what I meant was sugar-free and no reg. cokes. Plus apple juice that didn’t have the high fructose corn syrup that they have today. There’s so much chemicals in food/drinks any more it’s scary…
Wheaties were better than what we had, which was corn flakes, and not the frosted ones either lol. we were fortunate enough to grow up out in the country, worked on the farm and daddy would pay us in cheeseburgers 🙂
went to school, football practice came home ate, did homework took shower and went to bed. weekends worked on farm. in the 5th grade my brother and I collected walnuts from a walnut tree in front of our house, daddy took us to sell them to a local walnut processor got $200 for them and thats how we bought our first super nintendo.
ate dinner at the table EVERY night as a family and had no cable t.v, gas was 99cents a gallon, MAN! i miss those days and that America.
Yeah, those were the days….
I’m a bit guilty myself. My kids have “some” of the latest stuff but we certainly don’t go crazy buying it. They know the answer is usually “no”. I personally don’t care what little Johnny down the road has…..
For a glimpse of the future of America, just look at the “everyone gets a trophy” generation – occupy protesters. Out there screaming for free education, free this and free that. They want it all GIVEN to them.
Only a hard, deep depression will “cure” this disease and break the cycle.
Mr. B: What is sad about the “Everyone gets a trophy” thing is that one of the most valuable lessons in life I have ever learned was from a coach. It was losing with class. Knowing that you gave 100% but came up short that day, then going back and improving your skills so it doesn’t happen again.
Life is about learning from mistakes and improving on past performances.
I too will buy a few things that are not neccessary for my family members. I think it’s one thing to have a few luxury items, it is entirely another to buy crap just because the “Jones” have it. I’m grateful my family is not on the “consumer” mind set and it sounds like your family isn’t either sir.
Like you, I can’t say our kids live a completely sheltered life… We don’t have cable (hence my inability to watch the latest Doomsday Preppers), but we do allow them to watch a weekend movie and catch a show on Netflix once homework, reading, and chores are done.
But the thing is, it’s not just the TV… It’s everywhere… The strongest advertising influence comes from their school friends and neighborhood buddies… Peer pressure is always a tough cookie to crack, because kids naturally want to ‘belong.’ When every 4th and 5th grader they know has a cell phone or an ipod touch, or even a tablet pc, they of course want one too… My wife and I have steadfastly refused on all counts, especially cell phones… cell phones for a 10 year old? what?! I understand the ‘in case of emergency’ argument, but they are rarely out of our sight save when they are at school.
I have explained to them that the last thing they need is to be holding a microwave to their head… They get it, but their emotional immaturity still causes some frustration and unnecessary arguments from time to time.
I came to the realization rather quickly and early on that this is not a battle that can be won by parents in a single day or a single sit down at a family round table. These kids are getting pounded constantly with focused messages, not just from advertising agencies, but their schools as well. Thus, as parents we must pound that crap right out of their heads. It’s a day-to-day struggle…. Dare I say that we have to RE-educate them constantly? These commercialization efforts that target children are designed to form long-term habits of consumerism and non-critical thinking and directly target their value systems and emotions to accomplish these goals… They can only be countered with an even stronger effort at home.
Homeschooling is much easier than you think.
Well said. It IS a constant battle. Unfortunately many parents give in rather than fight the battle, because giving in is easier. It’s like pacifiers for kids that aren’t babies any more. Give them something shiny so they will quit whining.
You’re a real hard case. We need some more holidays so we can buy more junk. I’ve never been to Disney World but my husband bought me a nurse’s uniform. I’m not even a nurse.
Mac, I feel the same way with regards to parenting. Sometimes that tough love is what is required to not give in and spoil your child. Cue the video of the father shooting his ungrateful daughter’s laptop with his .45 please 😀
Tough Love – Dad Unloads .45 On Daughters Laptop for Disrespectful Facebook Post
I love this MAN!!! Made my kids watch this video all they did was laugh at the girl, and said she deserved what she got!!!!
He will be the next guy the feds come to take away his gun
Dont get me wrong, I completely agree with what he did..but TPAB are looking for any reason to take away arms
maybe the only reason they would leave this man alone , is fear…fear that he would use that .45
BTW..Nice grouping
VRF. The police and DSS/Child Protective Services have already showed up at this man’s house.
Can you even believe it?!!!!!!!!
yep Blutarsky I believe it..I would have liked to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.. i wonder if he told em ..hey this is my kid and im rasing her..go pound sand!..or did he play along?
Mac, a lot of what comes against our children is to destroy the family structure and set up the many gov’t agencys as the good guys coming to their rescue. These agencys act as though they care and give them something that many parents don’t give; they listen to them.
I live by this thought,’you can replace lost money and things but you can never replace lost time’.
Mac, good to see you are spending time with your children.
Aye to that DRD5508. I left my corporate job making good money 10 years ago… 12 – 15 hour days at the office or spending time with the family… it was an easy decision and one I never regretted.
I always said to myself,, if I had kids in this sis’tem I would b in jail>> don’t 4 get the pets
Don’t worry Mac, your kids could get cell phones at public school for free if they would tell them who YOU are!
All Patriots must be tracked! 🙂
We always refer to the old days— you know 3 TV channels, 1 home phone (not cordless), no video games… just the family dog, your friends that you had real conversations with outside while playing in the dirt or on the bicycle doing kid things. These youngsters of today will have a very hard time coping if the SHTF. But that’s where the blame falls back on the parents for not taking control.
I protest with occupy, and I’m not asking for goddamn thing from you. My kids aren’t either. I do want all the business back that a bunch of traitors took to China, but after that, fuck off and take care of your own self. Start with your own ignorance.
yes, instead of parents biting the bullet and yanking kids off the junk they’ve become addicted to, let’s just wait and use hope as a crutch and maybe someone else will fix the problem, or maybe some disaster (which might not come) will fix the problem.
as long as the responsibility does not rest on the shoulders of the parent.
good idea.
Just try to tell a parent that they need to control their kid and watch their reaction….geesh,they go ballistic! In the retail business it doesn’t take but a few minutes for the kid to tear something up and when you finally ask the mom to stop the kid they get bent out of shape. Now what is that teaching them? Nothing… that they are not responsible for any thing. No respect. And the mom leaves mad at YOU even tho you are left with damaged goods. “Oh my poor baby”
Add to say this does not include all parents. But any more we hate to go out to eat ’cause it’s like romper room in the restaurant the way the kids run around like rug rats. But the mom sits there texting on her phone ignoring them while we are getting heartburn from the mayhem. I guess that’s what you call a “free spirit”. I call that damn RUDE and INCONSIDERATE of others who are trying to enjoy a PEACEFUL dinner.
Sorry for the rant, just a pet peeve of mine.Apologies.
Well, maybe if we weren’t getting ripped off by the healthcare industry, whose ceo’s are rewarded with HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars in salary, bonuses and stock options; and maybe if we weren’t getting ripped off by the military industrial complex spending a TRILLION dollars a year on their welfare program, who incidentally will ensure that there is no end to conflicts and so-called terrorists coming to get us simply because it’s job security for them; and maybe if we didn’t have this trumped up WAR ON DRUGS which has also wasted certainly over a TRILLION dollars in the last forty years; and maybe if we weren’t getting ripped off by Wall street and the national banks and ripped off by the insurance companies, why, maybe then the, as you call it, the “everyone gets a trophy” generation wouldn’t be out there trying to set things right. Right on to the occupiers!
We? You tear Americans down in one article here at SHTFPlan, then you say we. You must have Multiple Personality Syndrome. Douche
The problem today is most parents don’t know how to say NO to their kids.
I was chatting with an old man the other day. I asked him how people got by during the great depression, since there was no welfare.
He replied,’they worked or they starved to death.’
Some sources estimate more than 5 million people in the US died of starvation during the great depression, in an era where people still knew how to provide for themselves.
We are screwed, buy more ammo!
I don’t think anyone really starved to death during the Depression. United States is, after all, not Russia or Germany.
Then u r a tard comenius ppl starve in the u.s everyday
We may not be Russia but people starve the same way. It is almost impossible to “Starve to death” But death rates from small things go up. And yes people died.
They died from complications of starvation – like malnutrition. Basically the same thing…
its going to be a lot more than 5 million when hyperinflation sets in, and damn thats gonna be A LOT of ammo :/
“360 degree imersion” says it all. The corporations and companies are only out for one thing, and it isn’t ensuring your child has critical thinking skills.
If we as parents (and individuals) are buying into the materialistic, gimmie gimmie, I got mine, you are less than me because I have more than you, I’m pretty cuz I wear expensive clothes, I’m “cool” cuz I have expensive gadgets, etc. ways of thinking, and behaving, then we are modeling the very behavior that shapes our children into the “consumers” these companies are hoping for. We can fight back by not buying into this crap and teaching our young having something isn’t what makes you valuable, simply being who you are is.
you know what they say? Lucifer/satan/devil’s greatest trick is convincing everyone that it doesn’t exist. It’s Ok to but worthless crap and enslave yourself. Never a direct telling or forcing another but as God told it; only influence. Can I influence any of you? Got Sony bravia’s 42 inch 3D TV’s only 400 dollars! Exactly my point.
Its all gonna come crashing down when no one has the money to be a consumer.
The Credit / Consumer mentality era is just about over after 20 years of NAFTA. They say China is moving to a consumer based economy, but the problem is the people don’t have money. Case in point 64 million new unsold homes, and you think we have a housing bubble? They have spare Cities!!!
The only way back is production and manufacturing, but that’s a crazy idea in today’s world. Can someone please pass the Tin Foil, I prefer Reynolds wrap heavy duty…
Make sure the shiny side is out, reflects more rays.
I double wrap.
in our house, we don’t buy clothes, electronics, or anything else from retail outlets. if we do buy something new, it is via ebay after ample research.
when we see billboards, we talk about how dumb people must be to be deceived by advertising. my 4 y.o. is catching on. openly talk about frugality with your child. when they ask for something, ask them in return if they have the money to buy it. admit to them that you don’t have unlimited resources. if your kid asks for something again, tell them that you will think about it if you find it at a yard sale.
if your kid wants to watch shows from television, check them out from the library. if your kid wants to watch television, limit it to PBS because they don’t have contemporary advertisers, just show sponsors.
for the love of darwin, stop shopping at big box stores, or at least leave your kid at home if you do. they lack the ability to discern that just because millions of products are available doesn’t mean you can afford them.
You’re in the same league as those who call talk shows on the radio to say, “How are you?”
If I was the radio host and confronted with people like that, I would simply say,
“Hey! Don’t waste everybody’s time! Get to the point of the discussion !”
Re: watching only PBS because it doesn’t have contemporary advertisers, just “show sponsors”,
LISTEN to the code words of those “sponsors”.
One of the foundations motto is trying to establish, “A more Just, Verdant and Peaceful World”.
That’s CODE for Social Justice=socialism, Verdant= green revolution=green on the outside red on the inside, Peaceful= disband the military and submit all guns to the gummint and be a slave to the UN.
NO THANKS !!!!!
My oldest child did not know the tv changed chanels because it was tapes ( pre viewed an ok;d by me) until she was 4 and it was only PBS Barney etc,My youngest now has a whole channel geared towards her but I keep her busy wothhings, skills, and mindset when she is older. other things. I a m not a tv mom. My youngest is a toffler and understands dales an coupons. AWhen Dad comes home on grocery day she proudley tell him we had a sale with coupons Daddy. I am trying to teach her to garden and conserve things. I tell her not to waste things. Turn off the lights etc. She is very little but what I put into her now she will have these things such as skills and mindset when she is older. I am learning late in life and I pray she learns early.
My kids hated being in a store and asking for something, my answer almost always was
“Do you have any money?”
“No.”
“Then I guess you will have to do some work to earn the money to pay for it yourself.”
Didn’t make them happy, but it did make them think twice about whether the money they had to work for was worth giving up.
Be a parent first, you can be their friend later!
Justamom: I was fortunate growing up in the coutry, I was able to work for area farmers and bought calves in the spring and sold at butcher weights. Can kids in cities find work? Can they still do odd jobs around the neighborhoods so they learn the value of work and money?
When I was a kid growing up in a small town, we would go door to door in our neighborhood and offer to rake leaves, shovel snow, mow lawns, etc. In today’s day and age, I don’t know if I would even WANT young folks doing that in a large city because of the risks involved to their safety. If the kids know the people in their neighborhood, then I think it would be alright. I think folks in smaller towns are fortunate because they know each other. I think those in large cities would be risking their safety.
I’d die of shame if the neighbours who DS salted the paths for last week gave him money! In every block in a large city there’s an elderly person who could do with a hand with general chores if you take the time to look. What’s not OK is knocking on random doors. Cities can be very lonely places for those with no relatives living close.
We live in a large city and he’s taught to look out for a few old folk we know cos it’s the right thing to do – not for cash. Maybe that’ll change when he’s a teenager but at 7 the difference between doing the right thing and not bothering, is the lesson he needs to be learning.
Yea odd jobs are awesome, especially if you dont want to slave away on weekends or dont have to pay bills. Being just out of secondary school and in the ‘in between’ stage where i’ve just had about 4 months of holiday, moving the neighbours laws every 2 or 3 weeks is actually quite good. Whats especially good is that you dont have to make a cv or lie about how working at the supermarket/k-mart/warehouse has always been a dream of yours.
Though i would also have to say that earning money from a young age does not = a wise spender. I have seen people’s attitudes change dramatically as soon as their pay arrives.
Resourcefulness goes down the drain.
But yea for me, the rule is to always pay in cash. You don’t have enough cash in your wallet? To bad, you ain’t getting it.
It puts physical limitations on your spending and makes it easier to see what you are spending because you are actually handing stuff over and can see whether of not you’re blowing away 50% of your money on hand.
Once you do this, it puts everything into proportion and you’le pretty much lose that mindless compulsive buying attitute. Well i did
When my kids were smaller and wanted a particualr item they had to earn it. The conversation went like this: kid: “mom ! Can I have that new (barbie,game, shoe whatever)?? Please???” Me: “sure . But first I want to see an A in your math class(or your room spotless for two weeks or whatever chore I wanted complete)”. kid: “Oh ok!” When they did it, they got it. Result: Both kids know if you want something, you have to work for it. Both happen to be excellent students because they understand that good grades bring about REWARDS. A c means restriction. An A means reward. Graduation means a beater car. The job after high school means they can drive it. College means a career. Not going to college means working with daddy ( big nerd) and living with mommmy. ( worst punishment ever!) I take personal pride in pushing those kids out of the nest as annoyingly as I can. (Never underestimate the power of kissing your child’s whole face in front of their freinds and crowing : my sweet little baby!!!)My door is always open if they need a place to live if something really bad happens( crap happens) and I always have a meal on the table,should they drop by hungry. Everything else is up to them.
It is really scary how bad this has gotten. As a parent, it can be very painful to say no constantly to your kids. The bombardment of ads is relentless.
The solution: Teach your kids always that having everything is NOT the goal. Teach them that while you may be able to afford things, doesn’t mean you should buy them.
My wife and I have taken that route with our kids but I tell you it is a battle with the constant marketing to them from these companies.
Also start when they are young, don’t wait till they are teenagers ’cause that will just be futile.
I am not sure how many of you know that our country is probably the only one in the industrialized world that allows advertisement to children.
“In the United Kingdom, Greece, Denmark, and Belgium advertising to children is restricted and in Quebec, Sweden and Norway advertising to children under the age of 12 is illegal”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising_to_children
Also in our country we “baby” them until they are 30-40 years old (no offense intended). However in other countries they are usually on their own at a young age, surviving the best they can. Some even know how to work an AK-47 at the age of 8 or 9…. quite the contrast from our spoiled and pampered lifestyle.
Well, I talked about industrialized world, not babies with guns, but you made your point.
I do agree, however, that too many children I “worshiped” nowadays. And grow up to become spoiled brats adults, completely unprepared for the real world and a real job.
Sorry I’m in the UK and the marketing gets everywhere! Even into schools via “sponsorship” of sports days etc.
Every now and then someone gets in the media moaning about high sugar breakfast cereals being advertised non-stop on the commercial TV channels but nothing ever changes.
I didn’t notice any difference in marketing levels, it was just variance in techniques US between the UK and US when I worked in both places back in 2007.
The Brit approach is more subtle but no less insidous.
Replying to MR Blutarsky. The hard deep cure has arrived ….. The cycle is currently being broken by the imminent collapse of all currencies and for those who are blinded by elite class bullshit and are not mentally prepared their cure will be catastrophic.Part of preparedness is to guide our youth. Crafty.
Yup…get them buying junk they don’t need, but”gotta” have….early on makes a better consumer addict….
Ive been teaching my kid how to do without since birth..She still gets the pressure from kids at school.
Its like I told her, you have a warm home and bed to sleep in, always a full belly, plenty of friends and toys, a dog a cat, and every chance we can to do something nice.
Ive been hit with the cell phone request, so I asked her when she would use it..cant at school, have a home phone when shes at home..and when shes with a parent we each have a cell phone if she were to need one..it turned out, there is no dam point of a school age kid to own a cell phone, at least until they start driving.
I can count on one hand and have fingers left over , of how many times she has called me from another persons cell phone..in the last 6 years!..and not one of those times was it an emergency.
I think the peer pressure has become rediculous
my wife would be happy if the school decided to go with uniforms rater than the constant social pressure to be wearing the latest. even though the fact remains , we dont give into it at all.
Shes clean, well dressed, and everything fits and works.
This is where the “golden oldies”in our communities have such a role to play! The time you spend with the little uns is priceless!
Little girls STILL love making cardboard cut dolls and colourng them, same as they always did. My lad and his friends collect a load of old cardboard packaging from the local corner shop every school holiday and use it to build dens and “spaceships” with. Doesn’t cost us Mums a penny as we sit and chat and drink our coffee while the kids use their imaginations & creativty for a few hours without any adult interference for a few hours.
We do history weeks where my son and his friends improve their cooking skills. My lad learns how to train his hunting dog from the old codgers – again no money changes hands but they do appreciate a bit of his home baked cakes ; ) Same with his veggie patch.
My son does use my laptop – hs Autism means there are educational programs he needs access to (such as headstart) that are most cheaply administered home & school via computer. That’s using the computer as the most efficient tool to do the job required NOT as a constant source of force fed entertainment. A massive difference I think many have forgotten.
He also uses it to stay in touch with his 12 bro and Granny that live overseas – email (so he has to type and get his spelling corrected when Gran replies lol!) and skype only so that we are sure who he is talking to. As he is 7 he writes them a letter once a month too to help his handwriting & to let them see for themselves the progress made on his occupational therapy with his fine motor skills. A kid’s face lights up when the postman brings them an old fashioned letter. How to encourage literacy for those of you with Grandkids in one easy step – write them a pen and paper letter and pop it in the post!
We have 5 terrestrial channels (I refuse to get cable) and TV watching is limited to what I approve of.
On the prepping front DS is streaks ahead of his friends through all the old style skills he’s picked up despite growing up in London. He can do lots of things like crab fishing and knowing how to harvest and cook seaweed that most city born kids can only dream of. Camping hols for us are spent foraging, hunting with the dog and practicing all sorts of things yet cost me, a lone parent VERY little.
He EARNS rewards, last school report got him a couple of books to help with the stick insects he’s breeding (don’t ask originally he wanted cockroaches!). Next report will equal the snail eating plants to complement the slug eating ones he got Xmas 2010 for his veggie plot.
He has a nintendo DS – we use it for train rides, doctors visits and other situations where his Autism = high anxiety NOT as a daily babysitter. He has a very varied diet – lots of exotic fruits and veg that weren’t available in my day, (we’ve learnt to grow oriental winter greens after we found them tasty).
His friends love coming round as we do lots of stuff thy find interesting and that appeal to that natural sense of curiosity ALL kids have till the “system” sucks it out of them so I don’t buy the pathetic “peer pressure” argument, at least for pre-teens.
Parents not children decide whether to buy into the consumerist pap. Utilise the senior citizens in your community to help your kids resist the “borg”. The very old and the very young have traditionally throughout human existence ALWAYS benefited from each others company – it’s only the last 5 years or so this knowledge transfer has been allowed to deteriorate.
This is just as bad in Britain. Kids’ tv is about 20% ads at the weekends and always for expensive crap they just don’t need. We also brought ours up in the “if you can’t afford it you can’t have it” environment. They all took part-time jobs while still at school and are all working now, but none of them has a credit card and they won’t have them. (If they can’t afford it, they still can’t have it) I pity younger parents whose kids can’t get part time work to earn their own money. Nothing teaches them better than having to spend their own money when they want something.
So, how long before DHS adds “parents who teach their kids not to fall for consumerism” gets added to the list of suspicious activities of a possible terrorist?
Any one else notice that some of the things on the terrorist watch lists are anti consumerism?
Using cash, not wanting to show ID, purchasing items that have a long shelf life?
Just saying.
Bill hopefully what happens is that “the list” grows so long that anyone not on it will become suspicious.
We’ll be on the list then! That darn hand sewn sock monkey I made was DS’s favourite Xmas gift by far! Cost = $0.
(I’m now taking orders for his friends too lol!)
Lord help the parent that build his kids a den or tree house from scrap pallette wood at this rate.
There are videos all over the web re child labour in 3rd world countries for labels like NIKE -make your teen watch some before they go shopping.
Spot the “yellow label” or (reduced produce) was a favourite toddler game. Now it’s $ per gram on the pack sizes, (helps maths skills), and if the cashier makes a mistake on change & DS spots it he gets to keep the difference.
We embrace “frugal cool” in this house and look down on those that pay full price when you can get it for less. Luckily my close friends and family have similar mindsets.
Young Kids get a kick from a sense of real achievement – having made or grown something with their own two hands that can’t be replicated by going to a store. Tap into that as it’s instinctual if catch em young enough.
Mum’s favourite word is “NO” and not only DS but his friends know this.
Give Okie a jumbo can of new car smell, a box of Slim Jim’s, a heads up display and he’s in heaven.
The peer pressure is rough, I’m assuming that the reason some of these kids have been provided with stuff they don’t need is because:
#1 their parents can’t say no
#2 their parents are divorced & trying to make up for it by buying their love.
#3 (my favorite) they buy it for their kid so they can take it away as a punishment when the kid messes up.
I was just given the silent treatment this week by my 14 year old for not even considering letting her have texting. I told her to get a job.
Legislation? these people are like a pitbull running through the neighborhood .come here puppy..anyway every time my grandson says he wants this or that i tell him its junk, poison or its a girly toy. ill make him one…… wait till he gets his own baby black bear to play with this spring. they dont need to be licenced or given shots. at least no one ever said they did.
Well, Mac, you’ve put me into quite the quandary. My soon-to-be-6-year-old daughter has requested a Star Wars themed birthday party after watching several of the movies. This will necessitate the purchase of a Pricess Leia outfit for her, a Yoda outfit for her little brother, a Darth Vader outfit for her father (I guess that will make me Padme, but it would be cooler to be a stormtrooper) and, ideally, the Red 6 action figure for her birthday cake, or possibly the Lego Chewbacca, C3P0, and R2D2.
And I’m supposed to feel BAD that my daughter is a complete rock star? It’s not like we’re getting her Barbie or Princess crap. C’mon!
Ok, I am going to probably get a bunch of flack for this… But I am a Star Wars fan, and so is our son. On his 5th birthday I dressed up as Darth Vader… The costume cost me $150 + $30 for the spring loaded light saber… I wanted as close to the real thing as I could afford at the time so i was willing to spend the cash… In my defense I use the costume to this day every year for Halloween, so it has stood the test of time and saves me $20 – $30 on a costume each year.
It was really fun. All the kids had a great time fighting the dark side of the force with their foam light sabers. It cost us more money than it should have, but it was a great party. It was the last time we went ‘full out’ on a birthday…
It’s all about the memories.
Thanks for the memories Mac.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07IhWD2Lr2A
Great stuff!
that was one of the most awesome birthday parties i have ever witnessed. the “kill shot” was the best!
Get the kids to MAKE their costumes. You make the cake and decorate it.
UK Mum = tight Mum here lol!
I believe that Darth Vader would be the only Halloween costume my husband would agree to wear nowadays. So yes, he would be bringing the dark side to our neighborhood every Halloween (and the kids would love it!)
that video makes me sick, can’t even watch the whole thing. funny thing, though. my nephew was raised without TV for the first 10 years of his life. the first time he went to a Chucky Cheese birthday party he had a meltdown of nuclear proportions. having never been bombarded with that kind of overt targeted commercialism, he literally went into vapor-lock.
of course, now he’s 14, has friends who have “everything”, and is killing himself trying to keep up…beats, ps3, xbox, ipod, etc. he is, at least, a bit more capable of filtering the advertising than his peers, though.
Lady Kaka, Madoona, or a quick, mindless chant of “Yes we can,” anyone?
Now come on! Tell me how many of you have a non essential prep! Huh…come on….I got mine: 338 Lupua 🙂
Jim: I have plenty of what you consider non essential preps, but under the right circumstances that 338 could become a pretty handy tool to reach out and touch someone. I look at guns as my hobby and a pretty good investment.
I guess silver would be a non essential, but I continue to buy and look at it as a savings account that hopefully accrues interest.
Should I be buying more food instead of silver? Probably. But I am trying to prepare for shtf and trying to protect myself if it doesn’t. Now don’t everyone jump on me for that last statement, it is also a possibility.
The snail eating plants my lad will get if his next school report is good? Well my 7 year old tells me they are “essential” to protect his strawberry plants, but at least he found out about them by reading a book rather than just mindlessly demanding a bit of chinese plastic tat he’s seen on a TV advert.
We have a limited budget so I’m not wearing a hair shirt or joining a nunnery till I have to, BUT I’m not touching the credit card either.
A little bit of silver might help us if the worst ever happened and we became refugees, if that awful scenario never comes to pass I can cash it in to treat my future grandkids. Either way it protects my limited assets in this climate better than a bank would.
At 15 I was holding a job,ran a table at the local flee market, going to school, helping My folks with a 20 by 20 addition on the family home, in the High School Band. I didn’t want to keep up with social cliques at school because they spent money like mad on junk no one needed. I didn’t get a drivers license until I was 18.
My little brother got everything he asked for no work required now he is a drug addict and useless.
Love all the replies that attempt to redirect or soften the blame. The answer for dealing with your children is simple… Lead by example. You can’t preach “books before electronics” if you’re just gonna break you’re own rule. What message does that send to the child? Life sucks until adulthood? Rules don’t matter? Hypocrisy is best? Everyone in my house has a screen in front of their face blasting them with color and drivel. Can’t enact change before changing myself.
Hey Eric, you know what’s so ironic? There are some schools actually thinking about replacing books with the IPAD – give me a break!! They said something to the effect of the kids wouldn’t have to carry all those books (oh my gosh) plus might not cost as much as the books. Say what?! So much for being able to make notes on the page of the book or reading the notes left over from the year before. Our society is getting really weird.
It was all downhill when they started letting students use calculators to do math problem in school.No wonder so many today can’t multiply or divide or even use a tape measure
A lot of young kids have trouble making change at the register. If it’s $4.26 and you give them either a penny or say .06 cents to go with a five/ten dollar bill they get a brain freeze. And god forbid if they don’t enter the correct amount given to them on the register. They have no clue how to make change. I usually have to tell them what the difference is and they still look confused. It tickles me when I hand them a bunch of change and they count it 2 or 3 times. For some reason the dimes throw them off.
Tell em they can keep the difference if the cashier makes a mistake counting the change – AMAZING how sharp their mental arithmetic gets if they think they can win the “game” ; )
Eric, “lead by example” works up to a point, about age 12,
after that you could be the model parent and it still won’t matter when it comes to the “gotta have’s”. They gotta have what the cool kids have, gotta have what’s latest & greatest even though the latest & greatest of last year is now going in a landfill somewhere.
I have led by example and all that makes me is out-dated.
Gotta love them teenagers…
All, I have coached baseball since 1993 when I was 20 years old. Over the years I have witnessed the work ethic of the kids deteriorate and the “me first” attitude becomes more common. With that said, I have recently witnessed more and more parents becoming more “old-school” with their kids. They hold them accountable for their actions and they don’t get on my case when I get in their face for something during practices or games. This just might be an exceptional group of parents and kids but I just wanted you to all know that not all is lost with this generation of kids. There are many parents like myself and my wife that still read the Bible to their kids and teach them to hold fast to what the Bible teaches even though the world around them crumbles.
Wildman: I coached youth hockey while in college. Was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. One of my former coaches when I was young is coaching HS now. I look him up everytime I am up north. I view at him as almost a parental figure. He says he loves coaching but wishes that sometime he could coach 20 orphans.
I’ve been calling them “Sheeple-brats” for years….
There is no excuse for this blatant over reach of government which we see today, weather it be state or federal government. The American people must refuse to except this situation, and see it for what it is. Or the freedoms which we think we have are already lost! “The Massive Government Storm” that is spending and eroding away our freedom must be stopped! Or we will soon be schooled in the brutal reality of histories past, where incredible hardships are suffered by those barley able to endure.
Yet, if we are still truly a free people then let our voices and actions be the storm. If our government dose not fear this storm, we will know that we are no longer truly free! (“and they do fear it!”) We must come to terms with “Reality” by absorbing it. We must cut ourselves free, form the womb of the main stream media. We must regain balance, toward a zone of safety and secure our freedom as our forefathers did. We must stand with Ron Paul…! Vote for Freedom, VOTE! Ron Paul 2012!!!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/
“How Target knew a teen girl was pregnant before her father did.”
Read this link as it’s a great demonstration of what we are up against.
Paying cash maintains your privacy – just something to ponder. I find this kind of thing creepy.
Maybe we can get Michelle Obama to save us from this. She could mandate, through Obama, that our children not consume anything but what Michelle says they can consume. That way we know they will all turn out just great. So, anyone want to ask Michelle?
I have to tell my daughter NO more often than my son. I don’t know if it’s a personality thing or a gender thing. She will literally bug the shit outta you until you end up screaming at her. It starts first thing in the morning with the arguing (when I tell her no) and it goes off and on all day long. Between her insatiable desire for material things and her addiction to candy and sweets it’s pretty much non stop. Then when I blow up, I’m made out to be the “bad guy” by my spouse. It put a wedge between us and between my girl and I, but I have to stand strong. I hope one day in the future she will somehow appreciate it….and understand…
Mac,
I’ve never once bothered to address you directly, but this is getting a little ridiculous. Just about every major topic on SHTFplan is addressed by the latest Zeitgeist movie, including this one. A lot of people get really riled up about Zeitgeist because the ’07 release completely and utterly debunks Christianity and religion in general. I take no position on that. I only care about the financial, social, and PEAK OIL truths that are so well documented by Peter Joseph. Please comment on the two segments below…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4Z9WVZddH9w#t=3825s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4Z9WVZddH9w#t=8623s