Bothered by Toys R Us ad this week

[glock35ipsc]

Forgot to add - my son has an MP3 player. Bought it off of eBay (my account, I did the Buy-It-Now thing for him). He paid for it, and thinks it's the coolest thing since sliced bread. Total cost with shipping was under $5!!!! One of those el cheapo buy now for $0.01 and $4.50 for shipping. It's almost two years old and still playing music!

[MiikeB]

Even worse to me is the grocery store here that has a verizon booth in it.

Also, I am glad someone is telling there kids about when it is appropriate to use technology DS! I hate it when I am out at a restaurant with someone and they text someone else while I am talking. Some people at my job (business dress required, computer technology stuff) walk around carrying DS's and playing them in there cube!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by MiikeB

Also, I am glad someone is telling there kids about when it is appropriate to use technology DS! I hate it when I am out at a restaurant with someone and they text someone else while I am talking. Some people at my job (business dress required, computer technology stuff) walk around carrying DS's and playing them in there cube!

The problem is it isn't just the kids. The parents are just as bad. Just yesterday, we put up new signs all over my office telling people to turn off their cell phones. Numerous times, someone has been standing at the front desk talking full volume on their cell while the receptionist was trying to carry on a conversation with another patient or trying to talk on the phone (the office line, not a personal call) and she couldn't hear. And many, many times, I've had patients stop in the middle of me examining them to answer their phones. There is simply no sense of place or what is and isn't appropriate to be doing at a given time. And the conversations they have in public spaces are inappropriate, too.

[kork13]

I'm a bit behind, but just wanted to highlight...

Originally Posted by disneysteve

We're not afraid to say no to her (we do it all the time ). It just seems that so many parents simply don't.

What a revolutionary way of thinking....

[Ima saver]

I don't even know what an iPod is?? lol

[kork13]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I don't even know what an iPod is?? lol

right... sorry, Ima.... think of it like an 8-track, except it's smaller... ranges from the size of a domino to the size of a deck of cards.


(LOL sorry, did I go too far? )

[KatieNK]

I don't see what is so wrong with an ipod...? I don't see what is wrong with TRU selling them? Toys R Us is a store for babies through teenagers (and adults too)! They have been selling electronics in their "R Zone" for years...

And it is the job of the parents to teach their kids not to beg for things on store circulars. That is something me and my sisters never did.

Also, iPods can be good so I don't get the whole, "You won't find one in my house!" like they are the devil. They can be educational. I have uploaded tons of educational podcasts to mine....

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by KatieNK

Also, iPods can be good so I don't get the whole, "You won't find one in my house!" like they are the devil.

I agree. I think the things are amazing. I only wish I had one back in my college days. I broke my rear hauling crates of records back and forth each time I moved into and out of the dorms and my 2 apartments and 2 houses after that. Every album I owned could have been contained on an iPod that fits in my pocket.

Today, instead of hauling around stacks of CDs and a big player, my daughter can just have her iPod in her purse and have 100 times more music with her.

[pamelad]

I do not shop Toys R Us at all anymore, they are SIMPLY OVERPRICED!!
I do most of my toy shopping at Target, Walmart, Marshalls and TJ Maxx!

[PrincessPerky]

I think part of the problem is that instead of telling our kids to go outside to get out of our hair, we sign them up for daycare, schools, and a bazillion classes. I know after a busy day all I want to do is veg.

But on a normal day... I ship them outside, and I totally understand why Gma did it with hers... you can do so much more with no kids than with 4 of them to trip over!

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by PrincessPerky

But on a normal day... I ship them outside

The sad reality in much of the country, though, is that you can't just ship them outside like our parents did with us because the world is a different place. We would never send our daughter to play outside by herself. She only went out when one of us was there watching her. Even now, at 13, we are just starting to let her go off on her own at the mall or in stores when we are there.

Compare that to when I was growing up and I would be out from dinner until after dark on summer nights, so a good 3-4 hours, with no contact with my parents. No cell phones back then. That would never happen today.

[moneybags]

Originally Posted by rennigade

children are the future. why not corrupt them right off the bat then wait until they're old enough to actually think for themselves. thanks corporate america.

The kids have parents, right? As a parent, I feel it is my responsibility to make my children wise consumers. This includes explaining "marketing tricks". I can't blame corporate America for how my children turn out.

In regards to the original post, many stores branch into different areas. An IPod is a toy for many kids. It is also a product that goes along with the electronics section of ToysRUs. If I was unhappy with an ad that came in my Sunday paper, I would have no problem tossing it so my kids didn't see it.