Reading up a storm

Consuming Kids by Susan Linn
This is an absolutely fascinating book about marketing and advertising geared to kids. Everytime I see a commercial geared toward kids it really catches my eye. The ones that get me are the tie-ins with the fast food places and toys for movies, such as McDonald’s and Chicken Little right now. Another are the toys for little kids that are obviously geared to parents, one of the keywords that sticks out for me is “learning.” Every toy seems to be a learning toy so that your kid can get ahead at the ripe old age of 1 year. Since when do toys that are flashing and talking learning toys? And do kids really need to be so overstimulated at such a young age?

A fascinating read whether you’re a parent or not.

(October 31 – November 15, 2005)