Rainbow Fairies....kids books.

Anyone elses kids really into these?
I don't have a huge problem with them and don't mind reading them to her either, except that as an adult I am so aware of the marketing that is going on with this series. I remember when I was a kid being so into "The Magic Faraway Tree" by Enid Blyton (I think there was three all up in this series) that we used to play out stories in the garden and I figure it was all good....there is just so many of these books that I sorta feel a bit like they have struck the magic (fairy) formula and it makes me a bit shitty...thank god for the library getting some of them in is al I can say at the moment!

 

have never heard of them, but it sounds like something my girls would really love! Do you have a link?

 

http://www.rainbowmagic.co.uk/

 

that's far and away preferable to the My Little Ponies my oldest daughter is into... thanks for sharing! What I do about the Ponies, is I talk to my child about the marketing, and how everything is to get you to spend more of your money on their product. Kids are really smart and they do understand a lot more than most grownups give them credit for. It doesn't stop her from spending any free money on more ponies (she sometimes gets an allowance, birthday money, and such), but she recognizes the advertising and marketing ploys for what they are. Same with TV advertisements. She'll ask something like "why does that gecko talk?" and I'll reply "to get your attention, did it work?" and "they just want you to spend your money on their stuff" We had lots of these discussions a couple months ago, when the marketing was at its peak for the holiday season. (and we did a handmade xmas without the commercialism, and it was a big hit with both kids!!)

 

so funny you mention "My Little Pony's" because my friends gave her one once and she totally recognises all their stuff now. Managed to artfully avoid some serious promoting the other day relatively unscathed. If I ever meet some of the people who promote all this kid stuff I will hit them I swear...and I am from a marketing background so I think I will also have to shake their hand at the same time for doing their job well.
I have been going down the "well you're being sold something" path recently too. Sorta came to a head after christmas when she got some of the fairy books from Santa Nana, had read them all with nana on her hols and very quickly realised that there was a lot more of them out there and started to demand that she might like to own all of them. We had excellent fun one afternoon going to all the big chain stores that are wiping out the indpendant book sellers in my town, and finding all the clues to enter the competions that they run that in the back of these books, cause when you use the library and shamelessly use these bookstores in a way in which they deserve you get the books eventually but it takes a bit of time.
I don't have a problem with the idea of copyright and stuff BUT when it comes to marketing to children, give me a different scenario and I might go down the intellectual copywright path in a hardcore way, I figure the authors and illustrators are doing well enoughand good luck to them!!
Great fun was be on a secret mission to get the clues and she managed to tell every shop assistant that we met what we we were doing but of course they didn't give a toss and so the books we have combined with the website and the ones at the library are working for us at the moment. Please however do not go near Bratz, talk about preying on kids...the funniest thing is that she knows I think they are crap so she almost will tease me about how she thinks they are cool, cheeky monkey!!
seeyou sooner than late,
stephanie

 

We live in a small middle Tennessee town, no large chain stores here. I have issues at the grocery store. Especially in the cereal aisle. It seems I am often pointing out the fact that if we buy certain brands we are simply paying extra for the box or packaging. The number 1 thing that plagues me...... lunchables. Almost $3 for a tiny amount of food. We actually went around and added up the prices of the food contained in them at family size portions and it was cheaper than 2 lunchables that will not feed my children. You know what?

They still want them darn lunchables.

 

we have snack stuff like that too....drives me nuts! They are such money suckers if you let them be. There are times that I feel like a snack of some sorts and then I figure fair enough, I can't get something and not let her have anything. However I have resorted to sticker charts and rewards of her choice in order to stop this being an issue every time we go near the shops. It's sorta working at the moment but it's only a couple of weeks in so I will let you know how it goes when the novelty wears off. All I would like her to understand is some value of time versus money versus snacks or special things. I figure there's a lot of adults who don't even get this so at least we have a head start on things!

 

crap food stuff is easy for us to avoid, it all contains ingredients that make us sick. I'd start with the ingredients list. If they can't pronounce what's in it or know what it's made from, look it up and find out. That might be all the deterrent you need. If not, keep looking and find out what sorts of health problems are related to eating those ingredients. Cutting that stuff from your kid's diet now might have a huge impact on how they feel, then you can let them eat it every now and then, remind them to pay attention to how it makes them feel, and they probably won't want to eat it after just one or two experiments.


about the ponies, that's why I started giving my child an allowance as soon as she was able to add and subtract. She got $1/week (now it's just a random $5 every now and then whenever) to spend as she wishes. She had to save her own money if she wanted more of those ponies, and that put an end to the "I want, I want, I want" refrain I was hearing everytime we went anywhere. I could just ask "do you have enough money to buy it?" And about half the time, she might have the money, but not want to spend it on that particular thing.

 

nice!!!

it is the "I want" crap that is the most unbearable. When they look at something on display and start hassling it's so predictable that it would be funny if it wasn't so not amusing. I like your approach. How old were they when you started this?
In terms of when it's foodstuffs I just go by the my word is law at the moment as she still accepts it however I know that as she gets older it may become more of an issue. Sometimes though even her little body is telling her what she is needing (carbs, fruit, veg) I am interested to see if she follows my example or just rebels against me in that respect. Right now the argument that she has to go to daycare for me to get the money seems to work for her and she somehow is into the idea that this is therefore important to take care of. A bit of daycare is desirable in her book but she has made the connection that time apart is the cost for these things and seems to be making a connection and valuing something. Hopefully this very tenuous connection between the value of time and money will stay and grow. In terms of the quality of what she eats I find that of course she goes for the junk if I allow it but she will happily choose between healthy options if my brain gets in gear and gives those options to her.
Theres a lot to be thinking of rather than just what we need when we dash to the supermarket!!

 

I want to think she was nearly four when she started getting money of her own to spend. But she was adding and subtracting really early. I know my little one, who is three, can't do the math well enough to have her own money just yet, but she is learning to count, and can go to 14 now (but after fourteen, it's "eleventeen" LOL). It just depends on the child in question.