wispundits • December 1st, 2008

‘Tis the season…to say no

by Chris Lato

Here’s a fascinating piece just in time for the holiday shopping season about how parents and advocacy groups are blaming marketing for having to say ‘no’ when their kids want the biggest, priciest toys for Christmas.  

So what else is new?

Is it sometimes hard to say no to kids? Anyone who has kids will say ‘of course.’ My daughter has too many Build-A-Bears and Barbie dolls as it is.  I get suckered into stuff regularly despite my pledge that I won’t get fooled again. But isn’t it the job of a parent to establish boundaries, to help kids understand that they can’t always get what they want?

 I’m starting to quote a lot of classic song titles here but you get the picture.

The notion is that marketing is to blame, or the economic downturn, or something else, when it is up to the parents to offer the guidance kids need.  Kids always want stuff and don’t understand why they can’t have it – it’s what kids do. Parents then say no – it’s what parents do, as unpleasant as that may be.

The blunt response from The Toy Industry Association is pretty much on the nose: kids are a vital part of the gift selection process. Marketing to kids has been around for as long as there has been marketing – much of it on TV and the Internet. Want to get away from the messages? Turn off the TV or the PC for a while.  For a parent to say that a TV ad is to blame is to give up a little bit of responsibility in the process.

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