Wednesday's Parenting Corner: Children and Consumerism

The holidays have become the antithesis of consumerism. Children in department and toy stores sing in the aisles, "I want that. Can't I have another toy? Mom, all my friends have this toy." The Media Awareness Network notes that:

Parents should be concerned about the effect excessive materialism can have on the development of their children's self image and values. In her 1997 book on modern family life, The Shelter of Each Other, author Mary Pipher worries that our consumer-saturated culture may be breeding feelings of "narcissism, entitlement and dissatisfaction" in today's kids.

Global Issues notes that children have become an important market segment. From tweens who buy Hannah Montana products to the commercials during Saturday morning cartoons, celebrating the latest action figure or video game or sexualized doll, our children have become a target for advertisers. Take, for example, these stats:

1. Children are a captive audience: The average American child watches an estimate between 25,000 to 40,000 television commercials per year. In the UK, it is about 10,000
2. $15-17 billion is spent by companies advertising to children in the US
3. The marketing seems to be worth it. For example,
   • Teens in the US spend around $160 billion a year
   • Children (up to 11) spend around $18 billion a year
   • “Tweens” (8-12 year olds) “heavily influence” more than $30 billion in other spending by parents, and “80 percent of all global brands now deploy a ‘tween strategy.’”
   • Children (under 12) and teens influence parental purchases totaling over $130-670 billion a year.

What I fear most as a new parent with a young child are the lessons that we as a society are teaching children. Christmas has become about what we receive and not what we give. A few years ago, my fear was realized when my niece began counting the presents under the Xmas tree only to discover that her cousin had more presents. Where are the lessons about giving, sharing, family, etc.? Are they all really lost in the mountain of toys, wrapping paper, and piles of credit card debt?

My question for the readers is how do I begin to change my families traditions of my family to change the message of Xmas to reflect the values associated with gift giving and celebrating family?