TV Commercials

Ha ha I thought this question was going a different direction. My complaint about commercials - my oldest while watching tv. Exclaimed that she finally realized what the "enzite" (don't know if I spelled that correctly) the male enhancement pills were for. She was sorta proud of herself, I think. Anyhow, that creepy smiling guy.
I've let my kids save their allowance and buy something off the wall like a cleaning supply - they resize quickly their money was a wasted.
And I think, it's just a phase all kids are impressed by commercials - we've all seem something "as advertised, bought it & it was a piece of trash, waste of money my last one was the Ez-egg thing. Make hard boiled eggs without the shells - what a mess. Lol

Oh, I hear ya! I think I will have to check back & see what others suggest, b/c we are going thru the same thing right now w/ our 10 y/o. She has a Bday coming up too & the list keeps growing!
We do have frequent discussions about being grateful for what you have & that being on a tight budget means having to say "No" sometimes. I told her we are doing our best, & that many children don't have the things we have, like a nice warm home, food in the cupboards & fridge & toys up the wazoo. Repeat as necessary :p

We just kept saying NO! Sometimes it worked, other times, not so much. *shrug* I think it's just a stage, but I can't remember how long it lasts. Although mine never wanted cleaning products, just the toys and video game systems.

No tv helps. Avoiding it altogether has so many important benefits. But it is possible to show commercial-free programming, as well.
GL!

All kids are thetat age and you just need to explain to her that she needs to make a list of five or less tiems thatshe really wants. No matter what they are get them for her even if it be aoxyclean. By her next birthday she will have a better judgement and no more about what she asks for she is going to get and it better be something she really wants.

We avoid all television. But advertisers are smart. The movie or cartoon often is the product. We do not have television with the exception of Netflicks and DVD's we buy. We do the iPod in the car or CD's to cut down on commercials he can hear. We stay away from the toy section in Target. We make a list prior to entering the stores and rehearse what we a to get verbally as a gentle reminder no toys will be bought this trip. We tell him which holiday is around the corner and to make a wish list. Occasionally he gets to go to a toy store or book store specifically to buy what he wants and can afford with whatever money was given to him by his grandparents. And we have discussed why I am not a an of advertisements. We also talk about those products placed at eye level in the grocery store and why it is placed there.

Making room for wanting helps me the most. I just had to realize that it is not wrong to want, or to wish (and that there's not really a threshold for what's appropriate, after which more wanting is "inappropriate," lol.) Also that her wanting didn't imply that it "should" happen, or that I "should" provide. The 2 are not linked.
Similarly, disappointment is OK! (Including the expression of feelings of disappointment.)
Making room for feelings of wanting, wishing, desiring, and disappointment without attaching a lot of meaning (generally negative) to them or interpreting them as things I had to "answer" (or things that obligated me in some way) helped dramatically.
Pushing against those feelings/their expression is a kind of resistance that invalidates the feelings & triggers counter-resistance (in addition to a defensive/reactive over-focus) in the child.

Separately, I've observed things about advertising manipulation aloud.