If you ask Amy what she wants to be when she grows up she’ll give you one of two answers – either “a famous pop star” or “a horse riding teacher”.
It’s very hard not to take these responses as a indication that I’ve failed as a father. I’ve already blogged at length about my dislike of the horsey set. And as for aspirations of pop stardom – well let me assure you, if Simon Cowell or his ilk came within an inch of my daughter then I’d give them jolly good punch up the bracket.
But really Amy’s aspirations aren’t really my fault – it’s society wots to blame. Well, society and the Disney Corporation.
Hanna Montana is a bloody awful program. The acting is dire, the plotlines and humor humdrum, and the overall production values are just plain bland. What’s worse is that it implants the all pervasive obsession with fame and stardom into minds that are just too young. It contributes to that overwhelming modern pressure that drives girls towards adulthood far too early. And that is not good. It’s not good at all.
And furthermore, because it has the full force of the Disney marketing machine behind it, it can often seem like it permeates every single aspect of a child’s life. I challenge you to walk through a UK supermarket and not be able to find a Hannah Montana piece of merchandising on every single shelf. Shampoo, spaghetti shapes, tissue paper, magazines, sweets, donuts, it’s all there for the eager consumer.
I don’t approve of Hannah Montana.
So why do I let Amy watch it then? Because I’m weak, that’s why. And because I’m too liberal to start banning things in our house without a lengthy period of angst and indecision. As much as I’d love to indoctrinate my kids into liking only Peppa Pig, Laurel and Hardy, and Fraggle Rock I just can’t bring myself to enforce any form of cultural dictatorship. We’ve banned Bratz, but that was an easy one – anyone with half a clue can see though the camouflage and recognise the poisonous toxins beneath that particular product.
But Hannah Montanna, High School Musical, and all the rest are a little more complex than that. They walk their path in a very grey area, and if you start banning those you’re on a rocky road that can eventually see you smugly proclaiming that you only allow your children half an hour of television a week, and only then to watch a nature documentary hosted by that nice Mr Attenborough
So the theory is that the values that Kerry and I instil in our children should counteract any negative stereotyping she gets exposed to through popular culture. But I don’t know sometimes if that’s enough. Popular culture seems pretty big and powerful and we as parents seem pretty small. Plus we’re human, and therefore horribly inconsistent ad flawed (especially me).
As a society there has never been a time when our children have been more exposed to such powerful, pervasive, and homogenised cultural influences. I have no answers, but really hope our kids can stay kids as long as they can, and that they come out ok on the other side.
No related posts.
So it’s true when these numpties on the TV say it’s all they dream of since they were 5?
Good points dude, India Knight wrote a piece on the very subject on Sunday, will see if I can find the electronic version for you. She blamed society, and popular culture. Stating that 25 years ago the top three aspirational jobs were something like; doctor, pilot and surgeon. Now they are pop star, actor, footballer. Depressing really.
.-= SingleParentDad´s last blog ..Fat Club =-.
@SingleParentDad Thank you for pointing out someone else has covered this far more eruditely than I have. mind you, I wouldn’t want my kids to become a doctor either. But that could just be my inner nurse speaking.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
I have two daughters who are now 9 and 12, and when they were born I swore they would never play with Barbie dolls. It was one of those ‘over my dead body’ situations. But in the end, I didn’t want to ban them from just, well, playing even though I hated the insidious messages they might be getting from those anatomically distorted dolls. Instead, I made sure they knew that women didn’t really look like that (well, they only had to look at me…) and they seemed none the worse for it.
But much worse was to come when they went on to collect the even more hideous Bratz dolls and ended up with over 30 of the buggers. I don’t blame you for banning them, they are grotesque.
But do you know what, they were just toys, and I tried to counteract them with other things such as Lego, meccano and other construction sets which they also enjoyed. Now my girls are probably a bit too old for those sorts of things now – although they still like to mess around with the Playmobil. My daughters are levelheaded and sensible, and they have me dispelling any hopes they may nurture of becoming a Barbie lookey-likey.
.-= notSupermum´s last blog ..Proof – if proof were needed – that I am indeed An Unfit Mother =-.
@notSupermum, It’s interesting how Kerry and I have almost encouraged Amy to be interested in Barbie in order to try and distract her from Bratz.
I’m not convinced they ae just toys though, they have a set of values and assumptions inherent in them which help set the cultural language with which we talk about ourselves. However Kerry and i take the same line as you – it’s the upbringing that is important in raising level headed and sensible kids. I just that I’m up to it, that’s all.
And by the way, i still play with playmobil myself. I even got sets for my last two birthdays.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
@Dan, OK, I’ve been thinking about this because I have so much time on my hands since I stopped blogging, and I think I chose the wrong phrase by saying ‘it’s just a toy’. I suppose what I should have said is that they are toys with implicit messages, whereas I am their mum with explicit messages about equality, men and women, etc.
I would like to think that the way I raise my girls means they are exposed to lots of different views and opinions, and hopefully they can learn to make their own informed life choices. I don’t believe in banning things per se, mainly because young children just want to be like their friends and play with the same sorts of toys as them. However, I wasn’t best pleased with the recent marketing of girls’ stationery items emblazoned with the Playboy logo. That was just inappropriate and unsavoury. My 12 year old daughter wanted to buy some, but after chatting with her and explaining about the Playboy industry she chose not to and I was really proud of her.
Just wanted to say what a great post this was Dan, really thought provoking. Now, don’t even get me started on McDonalds…
.-= notSupermum´s last blog ..It’s Not Goodbye….more like Au Revoir =-.
I couldn’t agree more. Except that I would even settle for being the pompous parent that only lets them watch David Attenborough documentaries if the alternative is to crumble under the onslaught of the money and power that is behind the endless stream of thinly disguised consumerism and appalling life values that are pushed out through the TV screen and into my childrens’ brains.
And breathe.
I have an ongoing battle, with myself as much as my son, about how much TV he should watch. And I dread to think what role models Lucy is going to be presented with should she ever choose to watch much TV (which thankfully she doesn’t).
As you can probably tell, I’ll be wrestling with this in a blog post near you soon.
.-= Steve´s last blog ..BBC NEWS | Special Reports | Aid group in child mortality plea =-.
@Steve, I felt comfortable with TV until amy was about 5 – then she started to grow out of cBeebies and the like and started to hunt around for others – and settled on the dreadful Ms Montana.
I’m so torn on this issue it’s untrue. I had a friend who’s parents disallowed TV and the result was he just spent all his time at our house watching ours.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
Here’s an entertaining if slightly OTT look at the subject: http://timesonline.typepad.com/alphamummy/2009/09/carol-midgley-10-ways-to-teach-kids-about-sexism.html . I think it’s worse for girls – I don’t remember everything being so relentlessly bloody PINK back in the day. On the bright side of life, every 5 year old has no clue what they want to be, they’re just saying what they think is a popular/acceptable answer imho; also, parent’s opinions are considerably more important to them than anything else. Unless of course they’re overbearingly strict in which case the kids’ll run away at 16 to a life of vice.
.-= Catherine´s last blog ..Who snores loses =-.
@Catherine, I hadn’t seen that (although I do dip into alpha mummy on occasion. It’s rather good.
It certainly is worse for girls, although there is a tendancy for violence in the boys stuff.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
I asked Big E what he wanted to be when he grew up a few days ago and he said ‘Daddy’. He’s not yet 3 hence the cute answer.
We allow Big E to watch Cbeebies and various DVD’s (current favourite is Kung Fu Panda). I dread Little E wanting all that horrible over sexualised stuff like Bratz. We shall be trying to avoid those for sure.
I read the India Knight piece that SPD mentioned and it too was very interesting.
I do wonder how easy it will be in today’s hyper branded, aggresively marketed, pop culture society to steer out children away from cloud cuckoo land. I’m sure some of children will have what it takes to act, play football or top the charts. I just all seems go get rich and fanous quick fixated and only a minority will have any career longevity.
I’ve no idea what Big E and Little E will want to be when they grow up (hell, I still don’t know what I want to be) and sincerely hope I that I don’t become a pushy parent. I inamgine it must be very hard to find the right balance of support and honesty when it comes to our children’s career choices.
Will stop waffling now…
.-= Insomniac Mummy´s last blog ..I watch him grow….. =-.
@Insomniac Mummy, no, you’re right. that balance is a hard one to find. And it’s also hard to know when to stop on the banning side of things. I’m pretty sure amy wouldn’t be so keen to have a bratz doll if I hadn’t told her she wasn’t allowed one.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
so you’ve already punched out Amy’s front teeth to make sure she doesn’t watch Bratz, good going there ;)
You could also try and steer her cultural upbringing by supplying good stuff..although kids will probably reject anything you shove at them and only stick to the really crappy stuff…
I don’t know what I’m really trying to say ..maybe it’s just hopeless.
.-= Arjan´s last blog ..I’m sooooo retro =-.
@Arjan, problem is that she is resistive to the good stuff. I can’t get her to sit through an episode of the muppet show to save her life – and the main reason for that is unfortunately the kids in the playground aren’t talking about Kermit and Fozzie in the dinner break 9although they should be, damnit)
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
You know, I’m a fluffy liberal like the best of ‘em, but I’ve no issue with banning things.
Flea’s only four and as far as I’m concerned this house is not open to Hannah Montana, Bratz, High School Musical or whatever the equivalent is in another year or two. Ultimately, I’m her parent, it’s my decision.
While I can discuss the messages that something like HSM presents about women with a 10 year old, that’s not a conversation a 4 or 5 year old can understand. And without that understanding, she’s horribly vulnerable to those messages and images. Because I don’t believe anything I say to her at this age will resonate as strongly as the billion-dollar marketing messages of the Disney or Mattel Corporations.
I know it’s “just a toy” but it isn’t. Or not to me, at least. It’s an incredibly sophisticated sales tool that delivers an incredibly compelling and seductive idea of what it means to be successful and popular and female. And guess what? To be all those things, you need to look a certain way, talk a certain way, watch certain things and (this last one is especially important) BUY certain things.
It infuriates me that kids are no longer allowed to choose a chocolate bar or t-shirt or any consumable without it becoming a brand-influenced decision. Our children are extremely vulnerable to these messages – I consider in banning something I’m protecting her in exactly the same way I protect her by not buying nuts and putting a lock on the cleaning cupboard.
So there ;-)
.-= Sally´s last blog ..Top 100 UK Parent Blogs and Bloggers – October 2009 =-.
@Sally, I think banning creates a desire and alienates a child from their peers. Amy really really wants a Bratz doll, and I’m not sure she would if it wasn’t a forbidden fruit.
As I say i had a friend at primary school whos father banned him from watching TV (he was an artist, and so thought the medium was below them – although strangely enough not below them enough to turn down an illustration job for Jackanory). The result was that he spent nearly every day after school at my house watching TV.
I think in the long term it’s best to feign indifference and sneakily reduce the merchandise bought as gifts etc (although have you noticed how hard it is to buy none branded toys that don’t cost a fortune?)
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
@Dan, Hmm, yes and no.
Making a big deal about “THIS IS BANNED” will spur some resentment, I agree. But I also make a decision as a parent to restrict things I don’t think are age appropriate.
If at the age of 10, Flea can understand why I don’t like Bratz (say) but she wants one anyway, that’s fine. My argument is that at 4 she is simply not equipped to make that decision, so I make it for her. While I’m a believer in respect and freedom, I’m also a parent and I make the rules.
I suppose what I’d compare it to is TV. I am one of those dreadful parents who banned TV until Flea was three. I didn’t think she was old enough to withstand the commercial content of kids’ TV and I personally don’t approve of kids watching too much TV, so it wasn’t an option. What I always said to Flea was: “Other families do things differently and that’s fine, but we don’t watch television in our house”.
And actually, Flea was never that fussed. She saw the odd bit of TV at Grandma’s house, or if we visited friends who watched TV but she developed the ability to entertain herself. When she turned three, we bought a selection of DVDs for her to watch. If she asks to watch television, I’ll put one on. But my experience is that Flea rarely chooses to watch TV – it’s probably been three or four months since she last asked to watch something.
For me, I suppose it’s about enabling her to make informed choices, and I do believe there are times when children are too young to make those choices, and the parent’s job is to make them on their child’s behalf. That’s not to say everyone has to make the same decision or one decision is better than another – but I think it’s important not to be afraid of making a decision that’s right for your family and sticking with it. If you don’t like Bratz dolls, I just don’t think you should buy them. End of. But my friends also say I’m the strictest Mummy they know, so perhaps I’m just really, really mean!!
.-= Sally´s last blog ..Top 100 UK Parent Blogs and Bloggers – October 2009 =-.
You really want to start worrying when she decides she wants Billy Ray Cyrus as a dad.
.-= Rol´s last blog ..Welcome To The Working Week =-.
@Rol, you know if she did that it just might break my heart. My achey breaky heart
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
Miss P is 13 now and we did the Barbie thing to death when she was about 5 or 6 – one Christmas I swear she didn’t get a single present that didn’t have a Barbie logo on it somewhere.
The thing is that they grow out of it and fast. The novelty wears off and yes we moved onto HSM and Hairspray but along side I shoved as many books down her throat as I could and now when I ask what she wants to be when she finishes school she says “A famous author!” Could be worse I guess?
I really wouldn’t worry too much :o)
.-= Penelope´s last blog ..Bitchsterdam! =-.
@Penelope, that’s my hope – that it’s all a phase. although have you noticed that there aren’t many toys and stuff aimed at 13 year old girls that aren’t aimed at beautifying them?
I’m really depressing myself.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
@Dan, I have to reply again (sorry!)
Maybe part of what you are feeling is because you were never a little girl (yes I noticed!). I have the same fears about Master P because I have no clue about what a 15 yr old boy is thinking, (please don’t enlighten me!)
The thing is that at 13 my options were the same, a bit of makeup, some plastic jewellery – harmless stuff. I still read books and did well in school. It’s part of the process. This stuff is all around but so much of what your children will hold true to themselves is the kind that money can’t buy; YOUR guidance and influence. Don’t fight it too hard and don’t be depressed :)
.-= Penelope´s last blog ..Reality with a capital C =-.
@Penelope, I certainly take your point, and there definitely is a fear of the unknown element here for me.
But I still think that popular culture and merchandising is much more pervasive in our culture then ever it was, and kids are being groomed as consumers much earlier.
Anyway, I thought they only had wooden tops and push ha’penny when you were a kid?
@Dan, Cheeky bugger!!!
I could mention how I still have such long, lustrous hair – but I won’t ;o)
.-= Penelope´s last blog ..Reality with a capital C =-.
We’re still on fifi and the flowertots. The girl wants to be slugsy when she grows up. Sigh.
.-= Barbara´s last blog ..Flowers =-.
@Barbara, Slugsy is cool. I’m a Daddy Pig man myself though
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
My five-year-old wants to be a horse riding teacher too – over my dead body! (Which makes me a total hypocrite – being an ex-Pony Club member and former groom.)
We too have banned Bratz and tried (and failed) to resist HSM. Hannah Montana is hammering at the door (why oh why did we name our daughter Hannah? Bad move. We should have called her Daisy or Willow or ANYTHING else!)
I detest all the insidious branding. All the awful plastic printed t-shirts and other tat. Like you I can only hope they come out the other side okay.
PS: And I feel partly to blame having sold my soul for a Blu-ray machine. You wouldn’t do that though …would you? ;-)
.-= Maggie´s last blog ..Too much too young? =-.
@Maggie, heh yes, i too have sold my soul. But to be fair I don’t have much of a problem with the pixar and feature film side of Disney. While they do have a strong merchandising arm, the movies often appear o be made with telling a good story in mind rather than selling your children unnecessary plastic objects. Or I could just be being nieve
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
Great post Dan. It is very sad the influence television has on all of us these days. I have been glad for this period where we have turned it off, and am wondering realistically how long I can keep it that way. I’m sure it will make for some good blog fodder.
.-= Seattledad´s last blog ..We Have an F-ing Issue =-.
@Seattledad, it’s not just the TV either – it’s the toys and spin offs.
But yes, as long as you can get a post from it then it can’t be all bad:)
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
I want to be Spiderman when I grow up.
.-= Sam´s last blog ..Top 10 Movie Characters =-.
@Sam, I’m afraid you just turned into Dumbo.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
I don’t mind that my g/f’s little one watches/listens to Hannah Montana because it’s a guilty pleasure. Nothing more, nothing less. Good lord I certainly had my share of craptacular British TV when I was growing up and I think I turned out ok.
As long as she gets to balance out her guilty pleasure with something educational, I’m fine with it. We allow her to watch the Disney Channel *only* after we’ve played & read & cleaned and then *only* for a little while.
Seems to be working out ok so far. I guess we’ll find out in 12 years right? ;-)
.-= Kevin Spencer´s last blog ..She Visits =-.
@Kevin Spencer, if she turns out to be a multi-millionaire pop star then you know you’ve done something wrong.
…hang on…
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
Had the same issue with my lads but I guess they turned out fine – we’ll have to see with Dylan. There’s a part of me wants to ban all TV, but that’s not on and in many ways it is counter productive. What is interesting, in my experience, is how quickly they are able to make judgements and realise what is trash and what isn’t.
Good post
.-= Mark´s last blog ..The F word… =-.
@Mark, I agree, banning TV is counter productive.
Unfortunately however Amy’s idea of what is Trash is completely oposite to my own.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
“…and only then to watch a nature documentary…”
And even then you have to worry about exposing her to horny humping hippos – so you’re really screwed no matter what you let her watch.
.-= Jeff´s last blog ..The only things I watch on my 9 1/2" TV =-.
@Jeff, I thought humping Ostriches were more up your street Jeff
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
Fraggle Rock rocks but what about the underclass Doozers whose work is constantly shattered! You see nothing is safe if you analyse it too closely. I’m convinced more just goes straight in one ear and out the other and the adults analyse it a whole lot more. I mean, come on, if she’s not just blanking half of it out, how the hell does my girl sit all the way through High School Musical!!
.-= Kelloggsville´s last blog ..The Original Bloggers =-.
@Kelloggsville, Damn, I never thought about the class system inherent within Fraggle rock.
It’s a wonder i didn’t turn out to be a right wing monarchist. Perhaps my kids will turn out ok after all.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
My daughters want to be a teacher (headteacher when older) and a magazine editor. This was the latest time they said, anyway. Before that it was a gardener and a hairdresser. Whatever makes ‘em happy – that’s my completely over simplistic motto and so long as they get to make their own choices…
I am absolutely not a fan of Hannah Montana but mainly because I can’t stand the sight of the big lump of arrogance that is the bloke who sang Achey Breaky Heart.
I’m with others who have commented here – I let my children watch this stuff, Melissa played with Bratz dolls for a bit, she never saw them as sexualised in any way. I’m of the ‘just because they like pink, doesn’t mean they can’t be a pilot when they grow up’ persuasion.
When we went to Disney in April as part of a bloggers’ trip I was out of step as I didn’t like something called the Bibbety Bobbety Bootique as it made up little girls to be princesses, but I wrote after that I could see the kids themselves loved it. I’m not sure us putting our adult perceptions onto these things is even noticed by the children.
I had never wanted to go to Disney but was “converted”. If you check out my latest blog post you can see where this has led us next. Am still in shock.
I’m more concerned by stories where the princess has to meet and keep a man to be happy. Last time we watched such a production, I encouraged my daughters to think about heckling and wanted them to shout “Prince Charming is a *&^%” but of course they were having none of it.
I’m laid back about stuff though – their friends are watching this stuff, buying the merchandise and reading the books, for me, seeing them happy and relaxed with said friends is very important. We don’t have Sky TV/Disney Channel etc and I know they can feel “left out” cos of that – hardly a hardship I know.
But they grow out of this stuff anyway. I just wish they would stop talking in a US accent now and again – I think they do it to wind me up.
.-= Linda´s last blog ..Will someone pinch me? Operation wetsuit is under way… =-.
@Linda, Disney is too much of a monopoly for my liking. They have the main brand, but also pixar, Henson, and now Marvel. At this rate they are going to control the entire of kids media output in ten years.
And just because kids don’t pick up the subtleties of the media they consume doesn’t mean it’s not imprinting itself on their cultural identities.
However, I do agree with you. they will grow out of it and the importance of having common ground with peers is also important (what will they talk about if/when they go to Uni if they don’thave shared kids TV programs?)
I’m just bashing things out in my mind in order to find a middle ground I’m comfortable with.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
@Dan,
I think it’s an on-going dilemma/discussion/thought process for many parents, when I was studying I once wrote a piece on “American cultural imperialism’.
But real life has brought a fresh perspective for me and above all a desire for my children to be happy.
But thinking about it, something I do talk to them about is their taste in music – while letting them make their own mind up.
If a heavily made up, pouting girl group comes on and poses along to the music in a skimpy dress, bending over as they push a hoover along, we tend to talk about that. I am very, very keen for them to make their own choices and at very nearly 11, they are starting to more and more.
That said, it still made me happy when a group came on to a music channel the other day and my daughter said she liked it, it was a young woman, casually dressed, rather than overgroomed and packaged by marketing people, she was “rocking out” – actually I was delighted she preferred this to The Saturdays – and this from a Wham fan.
Take care. x
.-= Linda´s last blog ..Will someone pinch me? Operation wetsuit is under way… =-.
we only get childhood once…and it should go on for as long as possible…and then some
.-= Nota Bene´s last blog ..Fight Club (2) =-.
@Nota Bene, here here.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
May I point out that a) you are disney’s bitch and b) I wanted to be a ballerina when I was little (need I say more)!!!! However I do think that Miley Cyrus casts spells on children. Thomas Sykes has a crush on her (not as the Montana bird- thats Eddie!). When she came on telly to sing his dummy fell out and he was transfixed. But having said that he’s also a bit in love with the ladies behind the cold meat counter in Sainsburys.
@Rachel Sykes, To be fair though, compared to looking at his mother even the boiled ham in the cold meat counter at Sainsburys looks attractive.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
Fear not Dan, it will all work out in the wash.
When my two were the age of yours it was “Horse Riding” or “A Spice Girl” that was the career of choice, so nothing changes.
One is now studying Law and the other Fashion Design, neither would go near a horse any more even if one walked into the garden and both completely deny that they were ever attracted at all to The Spice Girls.
With the benefit of another twenty years and a sprinkle of hindsight you’ll see it was all just a small portion of “growing up” and that the likes of Miley Cyrus was unfortunate enough to be born into a showbusiness family – people in showbusiness are not of this planet and I speak of one with a showbusiness person in his family.
.-= Gary´s last blog ..“…and if you hit him, just here…” =-.
@Gary, I thought we were supposed to keep the fact that your cousins are the Krankies a secret.
I know you’re right and the aspirations won’t last Gary. I just hope that she doesn’t become Cleb obsessed and believe that you can’t be a success without fame, that’s my main concern really
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Aspirations =-.
We’ve had the expected quantity of Pixar/Disney material pass through but dudelet has never really gone for it. I sometimes wonder whether boys his age just aren’t targeted as ruthlessly as girls are – there is evidence about the tendency of girls to conform more (leaving aside the argument about the extent to which those tendencies are socially produced).
I’m definitely a bit worried about how all of this is going to affect little elf as she gets older. So far, she’s more obsessed about trains than princesses – long may it continue.
Banning things – something about Hanna Montanna and her Satanic ilk that is so calculated, so finely geared to parting parents from their money via manipulation of their children, how can anyone not view it and vomit?
@Dad Who Writes, Oh and don’t get me started on the mass cooption of charity and suffering as a branding line item in a marketing budget. I know we’re pretty much owned by multi-nationals at this point – our children are formed by their brands, our charitable impulses are coopted into marketing efforts for the benefit of the very company…grrrrrrrrrr
.-= dadwhowrites´s last blog ..Jack London’s “The Sea Wolf” =-.
@dadwhowrites, I’m not sure I was trying to get you started was I?
But I know what you mean. My particular bugbear is McDonalds Ronald McDonald Trust or whatever it’s called. I’m not giving you my spare change so you can give it to someone saying it’s from you, you bastards.
@Dad Who Writes, Ben Ten and Thomas are pretty all pervasive. But I think it’s due to the stereotypes being peddled to boys aren’t quite as full of negative connotations as the ones to girls.
Or it could be that as a boy, I have postive feelings about the branding aimed at Evan. I’ll be the first to buy him a batman t-shirt, I know that much. And I’d be plastering him with star wars too if the most recent three flms had been any good.
Last I checked, my eldest wanted to be a rocketship. Should I be concerned?
.-= Holmes´s last blog ..Happy Cure JM Awareness Day =-.
@Holmes, certainly not. In fact there is a long tradition of being a rocketship that runs in my family. Both my grandparents and my uncle was one as a matter of fact.
It was actually a reason for us to move to Bosnia, we figured that we could avoid the marketing and adverts for a bit longer. It has not been entirely successful, Ben Ten is huge here and it is such drivel.
But, thinking it through, surely the children need to be exposed to this stuff and taught how to see through it, rather than hidden away from it only to not have the ability to see what rubbish it is when they can be hidden away from it no longer. The society we live in is what it is, as parents we need to educate them to deal with it – warts, Bratz and all.
.-= Brit in Bosnia´s last blog ..Dear So and So: Bosnian Version, Part V =-.
@Brit in Bosnia, But are they old/sophisticated enough to deal with it yet, that’s the problem. They need to learn to swim, but I wouldn’t fling them into a lake.
As I say, I have no answers, just a sense of unease and confusion about what my real feelings are.
My five year old is the same. I threw a wobbler at the time of High School Musical coming out when I heard my daughter had been taken to it, pointing out that it was all about reinforcing steroetypes, boy getting girl, kissing and so on – and at her age, she was way too young for that.
I was told there was nothing of the sort in the fim. I pointed out the subtext and was told to ‘get real’ for overanalyzing this stuff. HSM horrifies me in particular because the selfish people in the fim don’t get any form of punishment at all.
Come HSM 3 I felt quite vindicated. Others think I’m still making too much fuss though, but you are right in your convictions. I think the best we can do is just point out that these shows/films are just that and still raise them with good values.
.-= Craig McGill´s last blog ..Do UK dads not blog? Do they tweet? =-.
@Craig McGill, yes, the HSM films did get a bit more morally dubious as time wore on.
It’s so tricky to balance the need to monitor what your kids consume with the need not to be too censorious. I suppose it’s worth remembering that 50 years ago tpop culture was far more blatently sexist yet people struggled through it.
As I said before: I dunno.
.-= Dan´s last blog ..Now hands that do dishes are as soft as your face =-.