| As my two year old daughter runs around the living | | | | they can buy everything in site. What sort of damage |
| room, sticking her finger into the air saying "or your | | | | this consumer driven mentality will cause in their adult |
| mattress is free!" I can not help but wonder how the | | | | life cannot be very good for them, for their country, or |
| world has come to be so commercial oriented. If you | | | | for the world in general. As the population expands at |
| do not live in Southern California the reference may | | | | the astronomical rate it is going there is simply not |
| not be as funny, so to clue you in a little, her statement | | | | going to be the natural resources needed to support |
| is a phrase in a television commercial for a large | | | | this continued mass-consumption lifestyle that the |
| mattress store here in Southern California. As often as | | | | television is trying to teach your kids. |
| they play this commercial it amazes me that they can | | | | Family Game Night |
| afford to stay in business because these commercials | | | | A good place to start is to make an entertainment |
| cannot be cheap. But, more importantly I do not quite | | | | schedule. Having a family game night with some quality |
| understand why they insist on playing this commercial | | | | educational games, or even just some basic board |
| on her favorite cartoon channel all day long. When did | | | | games with the family will provide much higher quality |
| two year old kids start becoming interested in buying a | | | | entertainment than the television. Simply gathering |
| new mattress? | | | | around a table and sharing minor details about your |
| I begin to wonder if there is much more too this | | | | day will go a long way in teaching your children the |
| marketing strategy that targets very small children. Are | | | | value of family time. |
| they attempting to brain-wash our children with some | | | | Dinner at the table |
| sort of subliminal message that tells them to buy | | | | Sometimes we get busy with everyday life, and an |
| anything and everything in site? As if it is not bad | | | | obvious place to save time is by going to fast food, or |
| enough they play so many commercials for toys and | | | | just letting your kids raid the fridge. This is fine on |
| candy and other things that kids actually want, now | | | | occasion, but what are you really teaching your kids |
| they are trying to get them to ask their parents for a | | | | with this fast-paced life if you live like that every day? I |
| new mattress! | | | | am afraid the lesson is that family time and |
| More Quality Time with Family | | | | togetherness is not as important as work, or chores or |
| All joking aside though, I think it is time for people to | | | | homework. This is really a shame... it really is. Family |
| start turning off the television and start spending more | | | | time should be the most precious time of our lives, and |
| quality time with their kids. The television is really | | | | sitting down at the table for dinner is a very good |
| nothing more than a giant advertisement that is trying | | | | place to start. |
| to teach your kids that they will never be happy unless | | | | |