Unhealthy Toys For Babies May Lead To Harmful Habits Later In Their Lifetime

I was shopping for new toys for my 2 year old granddaughters the other day and was completely appalled by the assortment of unhealthy baby toys readily available for our children. I was so nauseated by the vast selection of unhealthy baby toys I felt I needed to vent here, both for myself and for those of you who want to leave notes at the end of the post.

It's bad enough that we adults are bombarded on a regular basis with sly advertising tactics meant to brainwash and instigate hyper-consumerist tendencies, but so many of the ploys meant to hook toddlers through their toys is just plain indecent! We as adults can at least spot the rouse. We might still succumb, but at least we have the decision making skills and (for the most part) the mind to decipher when we are being catered to for our betterment or our detriment. Our kids plainly don't have that skill; which is why it is up to us to cut out the unhealthy toddler toys.

One glaring example was the McDonald's McKids toy line. Within the french fry and burger boxes, the backpack, and the kitchen setup were several dozen mini milkshakes, burgers, fries, and cookies. I shouldn't condemn the McDonald's corporation for trying to make a profit and let's be truthful, they would not sell these toys if someone didn't buy them; but we have to realize that this is how our adolescents recognize the brand and connect the golden arches with fun at a very young age. This variety of brand recognition marketing will retain the obesity rate at a steady increase until we as role models stand up and take the issue into our own hands and start saying no to destructive child's toys.

I also saw a donut shop toy set...yup, donuts. Let's face it, any child that recognizes custard filled donuts and iced mocha before they even see the inside of the shop is destined for cavities and diabetes... and that's the most positive scenario.

Like I said, I shouldn't blame these billion dollar corporations for doing what they do first. We already know what they're all about. We know that for the most part they are cold, methodical, profit machines that will do whatever is required to ensure their fiscal well-being. Establishing unhealthy habits in our children can affect their future bottom line.

It is up to us to educate and inform our children so that these marketing firms that are successfully initiating brand recognition at such an early age do not continue to encourage the unhealthy baby habits that feed into the childhood obesity epidemic through unhealthy toys for our children and babies. They will continue to make and market these toys to our little ones, but we need to keep in mind that the strength is always in our hands to say NO!

We can stop purchasing these unhealthy toys for our babies and help our toddlers form healthful habits; or we can continue down the same path. Let our children be influenced by people who don't care about them or their well-being. Allow them to be yet another unhealthy statistics in an increasingly unhealthy society. Or we can do what is right instead of what is easy. We can value our children by valuing our purchases for them. We can keep our integrity by giving our kids a fighting chance against the diseases and dysfunction both instigated and ignored by the fast food industry. Nevertheless, it all begins by what we choose to surround our kids with.

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