An investigative journalist examines how marketers exploit infants and toddlers and the broad, often shocking impact of that exploitation on our so...
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May 07, 2007
Susan
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You must read this book. Right now.
This book looks at how "spokescharacters" are directly marketed to babies and toddlers, at how "educational" toys and videos are marketed to parents, and how Generation X's quirks influence their parenting (and susceptibility to marketers). This book hit me hard. I was amazed to see my own parenting style so neatly described in her discussions of Gen X parents. This book is packed with studies and insider information that add so More...
This book looks at how "spokescharacters" are directly marketed to babies and toddlers, at how "educational" toys and videos are marketed to parents, and how Generation X's quirks influence their parenting (and susceptibility to marketers). This book hit me hard. I was amazed to see my own parenting style so neatly described in her discussions of Gen X parents. This book is packed with studies and insider information that add so More...
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Dec 18, 2008
Danae
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A book to make you paranoid. If you are already paranoid, I suppose you don't need this book. It actually is very interesting, although the actual writing style reads a little too much like a psychology text book. Anyway, it makes me feel very defensive of my childhood-- I liked Care Bears and My Little Pony because they were fun, not because I was conned into it...right? And now as a mom, it makes me feel very defensive of my children and the marketers' attempts to get into my head so I wil
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Aug 28, 2007
Dora
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It's always comforting to find someone who will back you up when you have an instinct. In my roll as a new mom I feel a lot of pressure from my peers and from 'experts'to raise a super-baby. If she isn't doing calculus and writing poetry by kindergarden have I failed her? I have heard many other mothers extoll the virtues of Baby Einstein-type toys and videos, and it makes me uncomfortable. Here's a book saying that not only is there no research to support this 'learning' cramming, but the r
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Jan 27, 2008
Brandy
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A reasonably in-depth presentation of recent research into marketing to children. One of the main points the author circles back to is the effects of television on developing brains--that TV, even in the background, disrupts children's ability to focus and entertain themselves, and the recent hypotheses that the rise of autism and ADD is at least in part due to the hypnotic TV preventing them from making the neural connections they need. (There's also the hypothesis that babies aren't so much e
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Feb 02, 2012
Ciara
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i was stoked to read this book because i have an incomprhensible obsession with reading about people spending money they don't really have on baby stuff & making crazy helicopter parent decisions. but the book was so tedious that i could barely finish it. it was a big disappointment.
the main problem with the book is that thomas grounds her thesis & research in her bizarre obsession with contrasting gen X parenting styles against baby boomer parenting styles. this was a major theme in More...
the main problem with the book is that thomas grounds her thesis & research in her bizarre obsession with contrasting gen X parenting styles against baby boomer parenting styles. this was a major theme in More...
Sep 07, 2011
Jen
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I accidentally found this book while searching the library catalog for "elmo's world" (title of one of the chapters) because I'm a pathetic GenX parent who lets my not-quite-2-year-old watch Sesame Street videos because I feel abandoned by my Boomer parents who made me a latchkey kid at age 11 and I am completely hoodwinked by clever marketers who appeal to my nostalgia for the only good parts of childhood. Which was apparently watching Sesame Street.
This book mostly depressed m More...
This book mostly depressed m More...
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Dec 17, 2011
Siobhan
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After reading this, it's totally believable that showing kids TV too early could contribute to ADD or behavioral problems later on. I've always thought marketing in general was pretty creepy, but this upped the ante quite a bit (especially the example describing the influence of the Disney Princesses brand on the group of 3-year-olds.) I'm sure a lot of people would think it's fear mongering, but I'd totally recommend this to all future (and current) parents. There's no reason to take chances wi
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Jul 14, 2010
Lisa
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What part of this book, an exploration of the effects of consumer culture on babies and toddlers, appalled me most?
It could be how "licensed character" books are taking over the book stores, to the exclusion of authors and illustrators creating original books for children.
It could be the description of a marketing team, intent on needing to market a particular children's video as something beneficial for babies. At first in screening the video for a room full More...
It could be how "licensed character" books are taking over the book stores, to the exclusion of authors and illustrators creating original books for children.
It could be the description of a marketing team, intent on needing to market a particular children's video as something beneficial for babies. At first in screening the video for a room full More...
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Jan 16, 2012
Becca
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This slender volume tackles a couple of the most insidious examples of marketing to children: "educational" products that lack any educational research supporting them, cartoon branding of products and the involvement of very young children in marketing. Thomas interviews industry insiders to understand and explain how decisions about children's TV, children's books, children's characters and even preschool curricula are influenced by money making decisions. Some of her research is t
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Jan 28, 2008
Natalie
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Imagine spending time at Disney World with your child. Your child asks if he can have the Mickey Hat. You tell the child, no. He asks again begging please. This scenario does not prove impressive as it happens a lot. However, did you know execs from Disney are standing somewhere near by with a clipboard, taking notes? Scary, isn't it? Those people are watching to see what your breaking point is, and when you give in and fork over the money for the Mickey Hat. That way they can market directly to
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Jun 27, 2008
Misti
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This book was less incendiary than I would have guessed, based solely on the title. I was pleased to see that the author didn't simply take the anti-media stance preferred by many in the education field, but rather spoke to a number of experts in the field and formed some interesting opinions and relates the information in a relatively unbiased matter.
This also made me really think about how I would treat a child if I ever found myself with one. . . what I would want to instill in th More...
This also made me really think about how I would treat a child if I ever found myself with one. . . what I would want to instill in th More...
Aug 31, 2009
Joyce
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The word "fearmongering" comes to mind when I think back to reading this book.
And yet, I remain susceptible to the marketing ploys specifically designed to get me to part with my money ... it's amazing how easy it is to dismiss things/shows/programs targeted at children as innocuous. NOT! Oh, my gosh ... we parents forget that the folks who run the companies that produce such items are themselves business-savvy adults.
And yet, I remain susceptible to the marketing ploys specifically designed to get me to part with my money ... it's amazing how easy it is to dismiss things/shows/programs targeted at children as innocuous. NOT! Oh, my gosh ... we parents forget that the folks who run the companies that produce such items are themselves business-savvy adults.
Jan 18, 2008
Katie
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A great summary of the insidious marketing that goes on in the lives of kids from birth onward. Author Susan Gregory Thomas reveals the tactics of the toy industry, designed to hook children into materialism and greed at the earliest age possible. So-called "educational" products, which aren't proven to actually teach kids anything, are little more than covers for marketers to entrance children, even as young as infants, with brand-consciousness. This book contains undeniable facts abo
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Sep 09, 2007
Alicia
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A couple more books that we are discussing for the award that I liked...Buy, Buy, Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds by Susan Gregory Thomas. One of the subjects that I am interested in and have been reading about for a long time is brain development. I have been reading about the impact that media and advertising has on the cognitive development of young children for years, starting with the brilliant book Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. (I have als
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Feb 11, 2009
Josh
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Definitely eye-opening about the extent of baby-marketing and some potential harms. I did think the research seemed sketchy at times, though, and Susan Thomas seemed to treat her sources' word as gospel more often than I would. Pretty convincing for the most part though.
Jan 18, 2008
Danielle
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This was such a fascinating book. I love any non-fictioin book that makes me say "No way!" outloud every chapter or so. I really learned a lot and as a new parent, it opened my eyes to the influence of marketing on children, as well as my responsibility as a parent to teach my child to be a conscientious consumer. I also really, really appreciated the fact that the author didn't try to make my mind up for me. I took the information provided and formed my own conclusions about what that
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Dec 17, 2009
Sunni
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wow, this book opened my eyes. Okay, opened them wider. I thought I knew a lot about the insidious workings of marketers in terms of children. I knew jack about some of the stuff I read in here.
And I'm in this book. I am a Gen-X, R3 mom. I'm on the restrictive side; I spend lots of time with my kid; I think a lot about my purchasing decisions. It's a little scary that they know this about me - the very things that I thought kept me insulated from marketing practices. Eek!
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And I'm in this book. I am a Gen-X, R3 mom. I'm on the restrictive side; I spend lots of time with my kid; I think a lot about my purchasing decisions. It's a little scary that they know this about me - the very things that I thought kept me insulated from marketing practices. Eek!
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Feb 11, 2008
Summer
rated it:
Good, solidly researched book on how companies market to very young children and how producers of educational programs make unproven claims on the educational nature of their products. Especially interesting is the claim that infants and toddlers do not understand the connection between a spokescharacter and a product, and that children learn much better when information is presented in real life and not on a television screen, even when the information presentation is exactly the same both time
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Nov 22, 2008
Her description of the Gen X upbringing and how it impacts our views of motherhood were really sharp. I thought it was just me! Very good sociological observations.
Oct 03, 2007
Danielle
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This is a very scary book! I was shocked at how well marketers know our generation of mothers and how they play on our deepest values and insecurities to sell us things that our babies "need." The research about media geared to children is eye-opening and terrifying. It is presented in a fair and unbiased format. There really weren't any villains in the industry, just people who were clueless. Yet, we trust these clueless people to educate our children. I really felt I was above
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Feb 19, 2009
Donna
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When I started this book, it really drew me in and I found it very interesting. But after the beginning few chapters, I found the rest of it rather boring because she added in so many irrelevant details that got off track from what the book is really about. The author makes some very good points about the potentially harmful effects of TV and consumer culture on children. However, I think she goes too far and makes it seem like just about every TV or consumer-related thing for kids is bad and ha
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Jul 05, 2007
Marjanne
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If anything, this book reminded me that no one else but me, my husband, any maybe a few other relatives, is looking out for my child. Virtually all companies see my family, and particularly my daughter, as a person as nothing but a consumer. Personally, I am not surprised at all, though hate to see that business is so careless (even if it is mostly because of ignorance). The thing that is the most difficult is that I am not sure what I can do to keep my daughter from becoming a consumer before s
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Dec 17, 2009
Kirsten
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The title and subtitle of this book are helpful enough in conveying its main arguments. The marketing world, for better and for worse, is far more clever than it is generally given credit for, and it does one well to be aware of what's going on there--I recommend this book for its careful research on that front. The book takes on babies as its chief concern on this front, and it stirs up some good questions about them. I've always been a cardboard-box-scissors-and-a-sharpie-are-best kind of pers
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Dec 29, 2007
Rachel
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As the mother of a toddler, I've been amazed at how quickly my child gloms on to "spokescharacters" he's seen only once. Well, he's not the only one: this book explains that Dora, Thomas, etc, are part of a massive marketing machine, designed to turn TV-watching toddlers into lifelong customers. Chilling example #1 is the free curricula TV channels provide to cash-strapped daycares and preschools so they can hook kids on their shows. Now when I'm watching "Elmo's World" I exp
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May 26, 2008
Interesting, and cleared up a few points I wasn't very clear on - in particular, the effects of television/videos on very young children, and the validity of "educational" claims for various products such as Baby Einstein videos.
On the downside, the book was sloppily edited and had some sentences that had clearly been reworked without ensuring that they still made grammatical sense, plus a heavy degree of repetition of examples, concepts, and meanings similar to that of bo More...
On the downside, the book was sloppily edited and had some sentences that had clearly been reworked without ensuring that they still made grammatical sense, plus a heavy degree of repetition of examples, concepts, and meanings similar to that of bo More...
Sep 17, 2008
Sarah
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OK, After renewing this book from the library 2 times, I have still not made it more than 1/3 of the way through. This is in no way reflective of how good this book is. In fact, it is an extremely interesting look at the the history of the marketing of "educational" toys & TV, the research done on GenX moms (yes, thats you & me) and the exploitation of that research by marketers. Problem is, I suck at reading nonfiction. The fiction books just sit there looking at me saying, "pick
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Jul 22, 2010
Jaime
rated it:
Book #29
Great book for new parents. It really opened my eyes to the advertising to babies.
Great book for new parents. It really opened my eyes to the advertising to babies.
Aug 02, 2009
Carley
rated it:
Very good. A definite read if you are planning on having children or if you are already a parent to an infant or a toddler. The biggest takeaway message that I got from this book is that TV is inappropriate for the under two set based on the way they process information. The book covers the concept of concrete thinking in infancy and toddlerhood which is central to that takeaway message.
I did feel that the book could have used some tweeking in terms of editing. It could have fel More...
I did feel that the book could have used some tweeking in terms of editing. It could have fel More...
May 19, 2008
Heather
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Gives the information upfront, doesn't have too much of an agenda and lets you make your own conclusions. Very easy to read, it does jump around a lot and I had a hard time figuring out really what each chapter was focused on because of all the jumping around, but that's what made it readable.
I liked reading how marketers view consumers- especially Generation X, although I'm not quite Gen X. I think some of the sweeping generalizations are inaccurate, but that's why they're sweeping More...
I liked reading how marketers view consumers- especially Generation X, although I'm not quite Gen X. I think some of the sweeping generalizations are inaccurate, but that's why they're sweeping More...
Feb 22, 2008
Danielle
rated it:
An interesting look at the recent trends in marketing toward infants and toddlers - Baby Einstein, Playhouse Disney, character board books, etc. Nothing too surprising in here for me, but I'm rather crunchy in my child-rearing beliefs.
I thought the author exaggerated a bit on certain issues to make her point, which was rather unnecessary because her thesis is a good one. Marketing toward young children is bad. Children learn by play and by doing "nothing", not by watching
I thought the author exaggerated a bit on certain issues to make her point, which was rather unnecessary because her thesis is a good one. Marketing toward young children is bad. Children learn by play and by doing "nothing", not by watching
