Our Toddlers Ourselves
- wadE
From an article on news.yahoo.com:
Today's Toddlers Act Like Teens?
Thu Nov 6, 7:47 AM ET Add Oddly Enough - Reuters to My Yahoo!
By Matthew Jones
LONDON (Reuters) - Kids today. They waste hours in front of the TV and
get their parents to spend money on designer clothes and haircuts. And
they're not even three years old!
A new survey in Britain says toddlers are increasingly leading a
lifestyle once associated only with moody adolescents.
"Today's toddlers act like little teenagers -- they've been there, done
it and got the T-shirt -- but they miss out on good old-fashioned,
imaginative fun," said Karen Pasquali Jones, editor of Mother and Baby
magazine, which commissioned the survey.
The survey showed that by age three, 42 percent of youngsters have a
television in their own room and 50 percent have a CD player. The
average toddler spends more than two hours a day watching TV.
Two thirds of mothers said they bought designer clothes for their
toddlers, while 86 percent spent more on their child's clothes than
they did on their own. More than a quarter of the little consumers
"choose their own haircut."
Tots have sophisticated taste -- 61 percent will eat Italian food and
51 percent will eat Indian or Chinese food, though only three percent
like sushi.
But parents of previous generations will not be surprised to learn that
mothers still describe mealtimes as "nightmares," with three-quarters
of toddlers refusing to eat and over half opting to throw their food
rather than swallow.
Three-quarters of mothers say their children's behavior has affected
their relationship with their partners and just under half declared it
has "wrecked" their sex lives.
Ok, I know this is from London, but I very much doubt that things are any better here
in the good 'ol U.S. of A.
If 42 percent of toddlers have a TV in their room in the UK, how many do you think
have one here, 50, 60, 70 percent? While this isn't inherently bad at this young age, since
I hope that parents have the kids watching Sesame Street, or educational videos; but it
sets a dangerous precedent of children having their own TV. CD players on the other hand
I'm a little more tolerant of. Music, especially at the toddler level isn't a bad thing, it
may be stupid, boring, and drive adults nuts after the 5000th time little Tommy wants to
hear the theme song to Barney, but at least it's not Eminem.
What is more frightening is the statistic that 86 percent spent more on their toddler's
clothes than their own. This continues to prove that Baby GAP might be the most evil
store ever. Everyone loves to dress their little ones up because they looks so cute, and
have you seen those little baby shoes? They are sooooo cute... yes they are, oh yes they
are...yes they are, boo doo doo doo doo.....
Ahem.
How does a toddler pick their own haircut? Seriously... do they show them pictures
of haircuts and they point? Can they actually communicate, "yeah, I'd like a fade on the
side and back with a number two, and take 3/4 inch off the top...but leave it a little
longer on the back of the top since I have a nasty collick (or cow-lick for some of you out
there)." WTF? Seriously? What has happened to the bowl and a pair of scissors? It's a
freaking 2-year-old people!!!
Revalation!!! Children like Italian food! Wow, kids like spaghetti and meatballs?
Shocker! Of course the percentage liking Indian food is moderately surprising. But
this is UK, they are a little more into their Indian food than much of the US. Three
percent like sushi...who is feeding their children raw fish? Seriously? Are children
developed enough at 2 or 3 to ward off a nasty case of food poisoning from one bad piece
of fish? This might be the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
When are we going to stop spoiling our children rotten. I'm already part of a generation
that is spoiled rotten, and it's just getting worse.
Why? Because parents don't have the time, and those that do tend to spend that time on
themselves. We live in a world which almost necessitates both parents working, and the
number of single parents is on the rise (which isn't a bad thing, it just makes it even
tougher to raise a child and give it the attention is needs and deserves). Unless you
can afford Montessori this leaves kids spending much of their time in pre-school
plopped down in front of the latest Sponge Bob Square Pants episode.
And people wonder why I don't want to have children... just check out that last
sentence, "Three-quarters of mothers say their children's behavior has affected
their relationship with their partners and just under half declared it
has "wrecked" their sex lives."
Ummm... no thank you.
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