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I Want it! Untangling the Tentacles of Commercialism

by Roslyn Duffy
March/April 2006
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Article Link: http://www.exchangepress.com/article/i-want-it!-untangling-the-tentacles-of-commercialism/5016836/

�" Situation �"

Any time my child sees a new princess doll advertised on television, a cartoon-related display at the mall, or a cereal box picturing a favorite movie character �" she wants it. I hate to say, “no” to everything, but it doesn’t feel right to me to pay more for a box of cereal or a toy because of a pink princess on the package. Any suggestions?


�" Solution �"

Who really cares about your child?

The tentacles of commercialism, like an omnipresent octopus from cyberspace, entwine us all and our children are particularly tempting tidbits. Unless you have tucked your family away in a remote mountaintop cave, the media will find you, although I suppose the cave could be outfitted with a satellite dish . . . .

Children absorb what they see and hear. I remember asking one little girl what a new movie being advertised was about. She said, “Coming to a theater near you.” I found that answer scary �" don’t you?

The truth is that it isn’t just the kids who are tempted by those fur-trimmed pixie slippers or shiny princess lunchboxes. Surely a few bowls of double-gunk cereal can’t be all that bad . . . right? What ...

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