Adoption is very, very expensive, but the costs are not prohibitive if it’s a route you really want to take. My husband works in theatre, and I’m an entry-level editor, and we’ve got a pile of student loans. Needless to say, we’re not rolling in buckets of cash, but we adopted twins from Ethiopia in 2006, and came out of the process debt-free and with retirement accounts still intact. Feel free to e-mail if you want more info. (P.S. – Can I gently suggest that you watch how you throw around lingo of bribery and lined pockets? Most reputable agencies have managed to curb the corruption, and focusing on the money and propigating the misconceptions surrounding the money can be very sensitive, even offensive, to families touched by adoption.)

When I was a preschooler it was before VCRs were widespread and back then this was not possible. It just seems creepy to me.

Do any of the parents here have experience with this? Am I overreacting?

Furthermore, the idea that my generation (especially of girls) is worse for wear because we grew up wanting to be Ariel (and not judging people by where they came from) or Bell (and seeing through the outward appearance) is ridiculous. My earliest Disney related memories involved, yes watching the movies, but then playing outside with friends based on common ground (or at least a story line we already could agree on). I remember playing with a dozen girl whose love for singing and dancing was encouraged by these “evil” flicks. And I don’t think anyone can say that their idea of compassion for animals is not at least loosely tied to Bambi’s mom.

I agree we should not give in to our child’s every movie or TV based whim. And we should not let our TV be the babysitter. But to steal our kids opportunity to be completely immersed in a magical, fictitious world (even for 1.5 hours at a time!) is just cruel. Let them think that animals can talk, and that toys come to life and “live” to be played with. I promise they will be ok.

Don’t worry about it. Jen is pretty obviously a newer reader who hasn’t dug into the archives much.

And further, I am suggesting that you buy the Pull-Ups with the Cars characters if they work well for your kid (as different kids fit different products better) and you can afford them and you need them.

And I am also suggesting that when he points out the Cars fruit snacks, you say, “Yeah, look at that” and move on.

At this age, most print ads are just interesting pictures that he may or may not make a connection to the advertised product. And billboards, I doubt he even notices them at all.

I say keep the advertising away from the kids until they’re old enough to think rationally, which for a 2.5yr old, is a LONG time off. They’re too young to understand comparative shopping at this age, their brains aren’t developed that way yet. The easiest and most effective way to do that – limit the TV.

There are other reasons to limit the TV, not related to advertising. The content is not appropriate for this age, not because they can’t learn the letters and numbers on everyone’s favorite PBS show, but because they are still learning to manipulate a 3-D world. TV is a 2-D medium. There was actually a study last fall that showed those Baby Einstein videos actually delayed language skills. And it’s time that they are not active and exploring. Also the images change too frequently to develop concentration skills. If your kid likes to stare at TV for hours, it’s because they’re changing topics 6 times a minute, not because he can focus on anything for any length of time. When you see a little kid staring at the TV, that’s not good. It’s something you should be very concerned about.

My son is obsessed with Cars because he has a Lightning McQueen blanket and several of the Matchbox-style toys from the movie. They are his favorite toys, and he’s now partial to anything that depicts Lightning McQueen on it.

So, what you’re suggesting is that I throw his toys and blanket into the trash? Get real. Every kid on Earth has particular items that he’s partial to – my concern is that it ramps up into consumerism.

As a long-time fan of your writing I am looking forward to the cooking blog, and the book club.

I look forward to Erin’s guest post. I believe guests posts are a great way to expose your readers to different perspectives. I like the way Darren does it on ProBlogger.net by posting a guest post that ties in with a subject he recently wrote about himself. It helps him expound on an idea without coming across as repetitive.

The easiest way to keep your kids from becoming obsessed with a character or being exposed to ads is not to let them watch TV.

This is something the APA recommends – no TV before 2, very limited TV after that.

My son is about 4 mo older than yours. He’s obsessed with cars too – the toys, the big vehicles people drive around in, but not the movie. He’s also obsessed with trucks, fire engines, helicopters, and animals. The only TV he ever watches is “Planet Earth” in high def in 20min increments when he’s sick (We have the whole series on HD Tivo, and there are 22min between the comercial breaks. So he watches up to the comercial break, then we turn it off, the next day, we pick up right after the commercial break).

I understand this may be more difficult now that you stay at home. Luckily, we’ve been a daycare family, and our daycare doesn’t let the kids watch any sort of TV. Then there’s only a few hours between getting home and bedtime, and that’s all family time.

There’s other aspects to the book, but thats their take on consumer behavior.