What do you think about character products?

Question

Does anyone else feel that our lives are being overrun by characters? Why is it that you can't buy anything anymore without it being Hannah Montana, HSM, Dora, Hello Kitty, Bratz, etc??? Why does every McDonald's toy have to be associated with a Disney/Pixar movie? Actually I know the answers - its all marketing and media. It is produced so therefore, the average unthinking American assumes we should buy it. Our kids want it, buy it.

It make me crazy that everything has to have something on it. My kids have somethings that are character - there's no avoiding it. And they love HSM but I put my foot down at redoing their bedrooms or buying bikes or such. Doesn't anyone else see that these things are fads and that next year, you won't be able to find anyone to take that Hannah Montana guitar off your hands and it ends up in a landfill.

Sorry for the ranting.... I just am fed up with all the themes. These kids will never remember a time that their clothing and toys are not associated with some big marketing ploy.

Answer 1

Of course they are fads and they won't like them in a year, but it's what they like.  It makes our kids happy, and if we want to spend the money on it, so dang it we will!  I mean just because something is Fisher Price, we buy it for our babies right?  It's not a character, but it's a brand name.  That's what is out there, so that is what we buy.  It's not wrong, it's just the way it is.  My daughter has had 3 theme bedrooms and she's already grown out of her princess room after 2 years.  For her next room it will just be a girly room and no more themes.  After a certain age, you grow out of those theme bedrooms, but it's fun for the kids and we have the money to do it.

Answer 2

I was at the store yesterday buying groceries and saw, get this, Dora the Explorer canned corn!  nothing at all special about it, it just had a picture of Dora on a regular can of corn, (and cost 50 cents more).  I was like, you can't possibly be serious.  It's just ridiculous

Answer 3

Amen!

I'm specifically doing my baby's room in colors or generic animals to avoid starting that crazy trend towards worshiping some animated (or fictional) character!

Answer 4

my kids have some character toys etc.I'd not decorate their rooms with the latest craze though....My daughter does have a "groovy chick" bike but that's because of the style not the character...Because of developement problems she needed a bike with the higher style handle bars, the groovy chick one was the only one in that style and size  she needed........

Answer 5

lol i like it made me millions lol

Answer 6

My son is on the Wall-E kick right now.

Answer 7

I have taken to buying clothes at stores that don't force TV or movie characters down your throat. Like K-Mart and Steve and Barry's. My step daughter is 10 and only owns one Hannah Montana shirt and that is because a relative bought it for her. My son is only 16mos but I have already told friends and family not to buy him clothes with media characters on them. I know that my biggest problem with my stepdaughter isn't wanting TV characters its wanting name brands clothes. Her mother thinks that she needs to wear only Gap, Old Navy and Limited Too clothes. These things are more expensive than clothes I would buy for myself!!!! I put my foot down on that at our house and said that once she can afford to buy her own clothes she can shop wherever she wants but until then, especially while she is still outgrowing everything after one season of wearing it, I will continue buying less expensive (and usually higher quality) clothes.  Why do some people think that the labels on your clothes define who you are?