The scary power of commercials

My boys have just recently started to pay more attention to the commercials on their favorite television shows. Even though they don't watch much TV, it amazes me how quickly they will decide they want or don't want something based on how much an advertisement appeals to them.

McDonald's? Ick, because Ronald McDonald is just weird. They are Burger King men, all the way.

Verizon? Nope, the commercial's song is really annoying. "I like AT&T," declared my 6-year-old this morning. "What do we have?" Um, Verizon. "Then we should switch, Mommy."

On the other hand, the creative minds at Danimals yogurt must be brilliant, because my kids immediately started asking for three different products after seeing their ads: crush cups, smoothies and coolisions, which I soon learned are tubes that combine two different flavors of yogurt. I didn't mind this one so much, because it's pretty healthy stuff.  

But Froot Loops, I'm not so thrilled about. Same goes for Cool Ranch Doritoes. And I'm way over the requests for WWF action figures -- neither of my sons even WATCHES pro wrestling -- and some sort of fabric that supposedly sticks to hard surfaces so you don't need glue.

I've explained to them that commercials are just trying to sell them something, things they may not need or that may not be good for them. I've explained that ads often don't tell the whole truth about a product. The kids listen, at least I think they do, but the power of the advertisement is very strong. So much so that they now make disgusted noises whenever we drive past a McDonald's.

Obviously one of our big jobs as parents is to teach kids to think for themselves, to resist all the negative cultural messages and peer pressure constantly thrown at them. Sometimes they will disappoint us; for example, I was upset to hear my boys talking about someone being "fat" and certain boys being "too girly." We had a big chat that I'm hoping lodged in their brains.

I guess the best we can do is limit exposure to commercials and counter the ones we need to with different messages. I see now how important it is to watch TV and look at magazines WITH children, so we can discuss what they see and perhaps give them more realistic and kind perspectives. And how important it is to keep them outside, playing, and involved in activities, where few to none of those pressures come into play.

I also so appreciate kids and parents who buck the "norms," like the little girl in my son's first grade class who brings fresh fruits and vegetables to lunch every day and turns down offers of candy. Yesterday she chowed down on brocolli and blueberries. And since she happens to be my son's favorite friend in the class, he now is asking me to pack him fruit with his lunch (which I did before, but certainly not by request, and I was often suspicious it never really got eaten). I guess she's a type of commercial herself, just a good one. She's proof that a good parent is a powerful thing.

With most of the pressures to conform lying ahead for my boys, I know this is just a taste of the future. My husband and I will try to be ready. In the meantime, at least nobody's asking us to take them to McDonald's.