Kids and Consumerism

My four year old son has gotten into the habit of asking for all the “cool” stuff he sees on commercials. It was cute at first, but now it’s just out-right greed: a very ugly thing indeed in someone so young they don't know the difference between needs and wants, or the meaning of the phrase “count your blessings.” Or the very thin line between one more paycheck and living on the street.

The latest thing is Gotham City Showdown, something he saw at Toys R Us, which is priced at $50 for a set of half a dozen Batman figures. Any parent familiar with action figures knows that they end up at the bottom of the toy box just as quickly as any other toy, if not quicker. That does not, however, stop my son from mentioning them at least a hundred times a day. I was thinking of getting it for him for his upcoming birthday, but the more he asks for it the more I don’t want to get it for him just on principle.

We’ve been trying to get him to grasp the concept of appreciating what he has and not constantly dwelling on all of the stuff he doesn’t have. He’s a Smart Kid, but that’s a Big Idea. It usually comes from experience, I think; we can tell him til we’re blue in the face, but it probably won’t sink in until he’s about 25, living on his own, trying to decide whether to pay the electric bill or buy food. God forbid my son ends up like that, but speaking from having been in that position, it sure teaches you to be humble and really thankful for what little you do have.

I’m reminded of a show I caught recently on PBS, Bill Moyers Journal. He had a guest on named Benjamin Barber, a political theorist and author, who had some really insightful things to say about consumerism. “What’s wrong with American consumers?” Mr. Barber says. “The trouble is we’re looking the wrong way. It’s not what’s wrong with American consumers; it’s what’s wrong with American capitalism, American advertisers, and American marketers? We’re not asking for it. It’s what I call ‘push capitalism.’ It’s supply side. They’ve got to sell all this stuff, and they have to figure out how to get us to want it. So they take adults and … dumb them down. They get us to want things. And then they start targeting children … You’ve got to sell to that wonderful demographic, (the) 12- to 18-year-olds. Then it’s the ‘tweens: 10- to 12-year-olds … then it’s the toddlers.”

It’s not just about turning off the TV, because this sort of brainwashing comes at us from even the most unsuspected places. Rather, we owe it to our children to learn more about our government and the ways that capitalism can be used for and against us as consumers, and strive to make positive changes for the future. Today, at my house, it’s Gotham City Showdown; but tomorrow who knows what overpriced atrocity the kids will all beg for. One thing is for certain, there will always be someone out there trying to make a buck by telling our kids what they want, but only we can help them decide what they really need.