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| Unhealthy Toys For Babies Might Contribute To Destructive Habits Later In Their Lifetime I went looking for new toys for my 2 year old granddaughters the other day and was totally dumbfounded by the assortment of unhealthy toddler toys readily available for our children. I was so troubled by the vast selection of unhealthy baby toys I felt I needed to vent here, both for myself and for those of you who want to leave notes at the end of the column. It's risky enough that we adults are bombarded on a day to day basis with sly marketing approaches meant to brainwash and instigate hyper-consumerist tendencies, but so many of the ploys intended to hook youngsters through their toys is just plain wrong! We as adults can at least recognize the rouse. We might still partake, but at least we have the judgment making skills and (for the most part) the mind to decipher when we are being catered to for our betterment or our harm. Our children plainly don't have that ability; which is why it is up to us to cut out the injurious toddler toys. One egregious example was the McDonald's McKids toy line. Inside the french fry and burger boxes, the backpack, and the kitchen structure were several dozen mini milkshakes, burgers, fries, and cookies. I shouldn't blame the McDonald's corporation for attempting to profit and let's be truthful, they wouldn't sell these toys if someone didn't buy them; but we have to realize that this is how our youngsters recognize the brand and affiliate the golden arches with entertainment at a very young age. This kind of brand recognition marketing will retain the obesity rate at a steady incline until we as role models take the issue into our own hands and start saying no to destructive child's toys. I also saw a donut shop toy set...yup, donuts. Let's face it, any child who knows custard filled donuts and iced mocha the inside of the shop is destined for cavities and diabetes... and that's the most positive scenario. Like I said, I can't blame these billion dollar corporations for doing what they do first. We already know what they're all about. We know that for the most part they are cold, methodical, profit machines that will do whatever is necessary to ensure their fiscal well-being. Building unhealthy habits in our children can affect their future bottom line. It is up to us to educate our children so that these marketing firms that are successfully initiating brand recognition at such an early age do not continue on to feed the unhealthy baby habits that feed into the childhood obesity epidemic through unhealthy toys for our children and babies. They will continue to fabricate and market these toys to our babies, but we need to try to remember that the authority is always in our hands to say NO! We can stop purchasing these unhealthy toys for our children and help our children form healthy habits; or we can continue down the same path. Let our adolescents be influenced by people who don't care about them or their well-being. Allow them to be an additional unhealthy statistics in a growing unhealthy society. Or we can do what is correct instead of what is easy. We can value our kids by valuing our purchases for them. We can keep our honor by giving our kids a fighting chance against the illness and dysfunction both instigated and ignored by the fast food industry. Nevertheless, it all starts by what we choose to surround our children with. More Readings
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