Unhealthful Toys For Babies May Lead To Harmful Habits Later In Life

Unhealthful Toys For Babies May Lead To Harmful Habits Later In Life

I was shopping for new toys for my 2 year old granddaughters the other day and was absolutely dumbfounded by the pick of unhealthy infant toys readily available for our children. I was so disgusted by the vast selection of unhealthy baby toys I felt I needed to vent here, both for myself and for those of you who want to leave comments at the end of the column.

It's regretful enough that we adults are bombarded on a regular basis with sly marketing strategies meant to brainwash and instigate hyper-consumerist tendencies, but some of the ploys meant to hook children through their toys is just plain corrupt! We as adults can at the very least spot the rouse. We might still succumb, but we have the judgment making skills and (for the most part) the aptitude to decipher when we are being catered to for our betterment or our disadvantage. Our children plainly don't have that facility; which is why it is up to us to cut out the damaging toddler toys.

One glaring violator was the McDonald's McKids toy line. Inside the french fry and burger cases, the backpack, and the kitchen sets were several dozen mini milkshakes, burgers, fries, and cookies. I can't blame the McDonald's corporation for attempting to make a profit and let's be truthful, they would not sell these toys if people didn't buy them; but we have to understand that this is how our little ones acknowledge the logo and connect the golden arches with enjoyment at a very young age. This variety of brand recognition marketing will retain the obesity rate at a steady incline until we as role models take matters into our own hands and start to say no to detrimental child's toys.

I also saw a donut shop toy set...yup, donuts. Let's face it, any child who knows custard filled donuts and iced mocha before they even see the inside of the shop is destined for cavities and diabetes... and that's the most positive scenario.

Like I said, I can't blame these billion dollar businesses for doing what they do best. We already know what they're all about. We know that for the most part they are cold, methodical, profit machines that will do whatever is required to ensure their fiscal well-being. Building unhealthy habits in our children only helps their future bottom line.

It is up to us to educate our children so that these marketing firms that are successfully initiating brand recognition at such an early age do not continue to encourage the unhealthy baby habits that feed into the childhood obesity epidemic through unhealthy toys for our children and babies. They will continue to make and market these toys to our children, but we need to consider that the authority is always in our hands to say NO!

We can stop purchasing these unhealthy toys for our kids and help our children form healthful habits; or we can continue down the same path. Let our kids be influenced by people who don't care about them or their well-being. Allow them to be yet another unhealthy statistics in an increasingly unhealthy society. Or we can do what is right rather than what is easy. We can value our kids by valuing what we buy for them. We can keep our integrity by giving our children a fighting chance against the illness and dysfunction both instigated and ignored by the fast food industry. Either way, it all begins by what we choose to surround our kids with.

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