Today we took Jane for a haircut. We have been going to this kid’s salon for about four years now. I like it a lot because the stylists are used to kids and are really patient with them. This particular salon also offers birthday parties where they give the kids ‘up-dos’ (complete with glitter hairspray) and manicures. (YIKES!) We ran out the door just as they were rolling out a red carpet (literally) for what, I assume, was some sort of fashion show. What are we training these kids (insert girls here if you want) into??? This useless consumerism is just a little much for me. I find it bothersome that as a culture we actually encourage the preening and prancing that comes with this sort of ordeal. What life lessons are we gaining from this experience – preparing for a role on the ‘Real Housewives’ series?
To me, this seems like an outright push towards consumerism. I admit that consumerism is something we have struggled with. Jane is a big fan of Spongebob, but we have recently gone on an all-PBS diet due to too many ads for the ‘Touch and Brush’, ‘Aqua Globes’ and other brilliant products. It seems that there is no limit to what a 6-year-old can want with just a small amount of prodding from an ad. Avoiding channels with ads have certainly decreased the amount of items she asks for, but the influence of consumerism is still there even if you take away the commercials.
How do you get away from the attitude that we always want more, want better, want newer? The ‘Walmart culture’ that asks why you would fix something when you can buy a new one for the same price. Let me know if you figure this one out.
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