Unhealthful Toys For Babies Might Result In Destructive Habits Later In Life

I went looking for new toys for my 2 year old granddaughters the other day and was totally dumbfounded by the collection of unhealthy toddler toys readily available for our children. I was so nauseated 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 comments at the end of the column.

It's terrible enough that we adults are bombarded on a daily basis with underhanded advertising strategies meant to brainwash and instigate hyper-consumerist tendencies, but some of the ploys intended to hook toddlers through their toys is just plain wrong! We as adults can at least recognize the rouse. We may still bite, but at the very least we have the judgment making skills and (for the most part) the aptitude to decipher when we are being catered to for our betterment or our impediment. Our kids simply don't have that ability; which is why it is up to us to cut out the hazardous baby toys.

One egregious example was the McDonald's McKids toy line. Inside the french fry and burger casings, the backpack, and the kitchen structure were several dozen mini milkshakes, burgers, fries, and cookies. I shouldn't blame the McDonald's corporation for trying to profit and let's be honest, they wouldn't sell these toys if someone didn't buy them; but we have to understand that this is how our kids distinguish the brand and associate the golden arches with enjoyment as a juvenile. This sort of brand recognition marketing will keep the obesity rate at a steady increase until we as role models take matters into our own hands and begin saying no to unhealthy child's toys.

I also saw a donut shop toy set...yup, donuts. Let's face it, any child that recognizes custard filled donuts and iced mocha prior to seeing the inside of the store is destined for cavities and diabetes... and that's the best case scenario.

Like I said, I shouldn't blame these billion dollar businesses for doing what they do best. 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. Establishing unhealthy habits in our children only helps 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 create and market these toys to our little ones, but we need to consider that the power is always in our hands to say NO!

We can stop purchasing these unhealthy toys for our children and help our toddlers form healthy habits; or we can continue down the same path. Let our kids 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 what we buy 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.

Unhealthful Toys For Babies Might Result In Destructive Habits Later In Life
It is up to us to educate and inform our children so that these marketing firms that are successfully initiating brand recognition at such an early age do not continue to feed the unhealthy eating habits that feed into the childhood obesity epidemic.

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