Commercials

Evyn no longer wants to watch the tv shows that come on commercial-free channels. She has branched out to shows that are full of words like jerk, stupid, idiot - words that she would get in trouble for using. Words that you just do not hear on commercial-free channels like Nick Jr. It makes me slightly sad. To me, it is like another little piece of my children's innocence is taken away. I know that sounds dramatic, but my kids are relatively sheltered. Not to an extreme, however, I feel strongly about keeping them unaware of the evils of the world and preserving their sweet nature, the qualities that all babies/toddlers, preschoolers, early grade-schoolers possess.....until their innocence is chiseled away and the hormones kick in, leaving us with young people who want to become independent, develop attitude and are not always sweet and kind.

I got side-tracked. Back to the topic of commercials. Now that Evyn (and Reed too since Evyn always seems to have control of the remote) is watching these shows that are intermixed with commercials for junky fast food and can't-live-without toys, she is constantly asking for things, whether it is a kids meal with a cool toy or a plush dog with a wagging tail (that Troy will hunt and eventually destroy), she wants it. These marketing people totally know what they are doing.

I definitely do not give into her wishes. Instead, I remind her that she gets an allowance for feeding the dogs and occasionally gets a few dollars for entertaining Reagan so I can work, and I tell her that she can have anything she wants, as long as she saves her money to pay for it. This is actually helping to reduce the number of times she tells me she really wants something. When the desire becomes too great, she will say something like, "Mommy, I really don't want to say this. I think you know what it is." I then will say something like, "then maybe you should keep it to yourself, just save your money."