Kids and Commercialism Action Tips

Is it possible to raise independent-minded kids in this highly commercialized culture?

We think so. Our Kids and Commercialism Campaign is helping parents learn more about the effects of advertising and marketing on kids and providing practical tips to deal with this growing problem. Many tips for parenting in this commercial culture have been suggested by web surfers.

We'd like to hear your ideas, too:

What else might parents, teachers &/or good old public citizens do to block commercialism targeting kids and to support non-commercial activities and spaces for children? Please feel free to address all levels of action: family, community, state, or national. Also, commentary from parents who have switched gears midway would be greatly appreciated, i.e. Is it harder to turn off the TV when your kid is 10 years-old vs. 2-years-old, and if so, how did/do you deal with that?

What are good strategies for addressing the "GIMMES," what marketers refer to as the "nag factor"? As a parent, do you ever feel guilty that you might be hindering your kid' social acceptance at school, by not giving in to the latest clothing or toy fad? How do you deal with these competing emotions and what do you tell your child?

Please email us your ideas and tips, and we'll share them with everyone else by posting them on this web page. Thanks for your help!

Send your tips to newdream@newdream.org or Parenting Tips - Center for a New American Dream / 6930 Carroll Avenue / Takoma Park, MD 20912

Some General Tips

• Get rid of the TV.

• Expose kids to other media - surrealist films, conceptual art exhibits (carefully selected), gatherings of interesting adult friends with non-mainstream stories to tell.

• Remove the logos from clothes, theirs and yours. Talk with kids about why you're doing this. Suggest to kids to design their own, personal logos.

• See a wonderful passage on commercialism and consumerism by Brian Swimme

• Parents who resist consumerism for themselves are the ones who teach their children to resist it.

• Teach children to be doers and creators rather than shoppers and buyers.

• Supply them with sidewalk chalk, old cardboard boxes and other makings of creative play.

• Grow your own food. Involve the kids. Teach your child of the connections within the natural world. Experience their beauty together. Talk about where things come from, who made them, what they are made of.

• Teach by example and conviction a set of values that allow kids to make their own choices.

• Teach kids empathy for others. Instead of buying toys, suggest they spend the money bringing some groceries to the local food bank.