Parents Trapped in Cycle of Too Much Stuff and Too Little Time for Kids Says New Unicef Study
by Jennifer Chait, 09/21/11
Image ©idahoeditor via Morguefile
How parents can encourage kids to cut down on commercialism
Most child health organizations recommend that parents turn off the TV and quit buying anything that’s branded. But really, should you shun commercials and brands? Your kids will run into them anyhow, so this isn’t realistic. Avoidance of commercialism is nothing more than a band-aid. Avoidance doesn’t help you raise smart green consumer-savvy kids. Conversation is key. It’s okay to want, but make sure your kids know that want and need are very different issues. Discuss purchases with kids in relationship to the time it took to earn the money to buy said goods. Most of all set a good example. Spend time, not money on your kids. Make giving, not getting a priority. Have a homemade, less materialistic Christmas or other holiday and shun major commercial events like Black Friday. Read some more tips especially made for kids about avoiding commercialism.
+ FREE download: Buy, Use, Toss? A guide about the steps of the materials economy; Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption and Disposal.
+ Child well-being in the UK, Spain and Sweden: The role of inequality and materialism
Lead image ©hortongrou via sxc.
