mary1212 re TV Selling to Children and All of US
Dear Mary1212,
You mentioned in one of your posts that you were worried about your little boywanting you to buy him toys that he seemed to learn about on television.
Over here that is what happens, and the British are saying that children havebecome much more materialistic than they used to be.
I don't think children have as much creative play with many of the commercialtoys. When our children were young I used to give them big cardboard boxes,
to play with. Also wooden blocks, books, paper and coloured pencils. I expectyou do the same.
Adults are also heavily influenced by the things they see on television in the
tv programmes. If you think about what you are seeing you will often realizethat the jobs people in the shows have could never support the lifestyles theyare shown living. Their homes and apartments are far too big and expensive andhave the most up-to-date furnishings. This is an indirect way of getting intoour minds so that we compare what we have with what we are supposed to have.
If I had a child today I would buy the movies and stories for children thatI thought were good and interesting. I would have a good collection of them,
or I would borrow what I could from the library. I would not allow my childto watch television, but rather would play these good stories and movies instead
.
In fact, this is what Ben and I do, ourselves. We don't subscribe to cable tv,
so we only get two local stations on which we may watch news. We have no satellite dish. We watch our own collection of videos and cds or we borrow one or a few from the local rental outlet.
I assure you, it makes for a much more pleasant life. And a much more
contented life. Most people have either satellite dishes that offer hundredsof channels or they have a number of levels of cable tv. This can be quite
expensive because the cable people know which programmes certain kinds of peoplelike to watch, and they make sure they scatter them in higher and lower levels.
That way the only way you can get a good range of choice is to subscribe to anumber of levels. It can cost 40-60 dollars a month easily.
We prefer to stay away from advertising and propaganda, and to have time to read
, and to select our entertainment for ourselves. I hope you find this idea of not letting your little guy watch tv to avoid the advertising useful to think about.
Warmly, from Canada, Auntie Mary
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