I’ve been reading this book, Born To Buy by Juliet B. Schor, and it is making me furious. Schor talks about the commercialization of todays children and the changes that have happened in the last few years. Because of todays marketers directly targeting infants, toddlers, children and teens she states:

“at age one, [the average american child] is watching Teletubbies and eating the food of its ‘promo partners’ Burger King and McDonald’s. Kids can recognize logos by eighteen months, and before reaching their second birthday, they’re asking for products by brand name. By three or three and a half, experts say, children start to believe that brands communicate their personal qualities, for example, that they’re cool, or strong, or smart. Even before starting school, the likelihood of having a television in their bedrooms is 25 percent, and their viewing time is just over two hours a day.”

Or what about the fact that elementary and middle school kids are now asking for (and getting) cosmetic surgery, including aesthetic enhancements for eyes, lips, chins and ears!!! That’s insane!!! What happend to just being a child, playing in the woods and making forts out of cardboard boxes, or just playing with your moms old make-up if you wanted ‘aesthetic enhancements’??? This makes me so angry I could scream!! Who gave these marketing companies the right to tell my child that she isn’t pretty enough if she doesn’t wear Donna Karen, or that she isn’t cool enough if she doesn’t have the latest Happy Meal toy crap, or the newest cell phone, TV or car??? And why are parents letting this happen?? Yes, I know parents are working more so that they can provide a better life for themselves and their kids? But, maybe we all need to step back and re-evaluate whether the money is worth the real cost to our kids lives! If we don’t have the time or energy to monitor all this junk that is entering and influencing our childrens lives, who will? And if we don’t step up soon and fight for our childrens right to have an uncorrupted childhood, what is going to happen in the next ten years???

K took her first steps (on her own will) today. We had been standing her up and trying to get her to “walk to mommy”. But this time she was standing by the couch and just turned around and walked to me!! It was awesome! What a great feeling! (K got really excited and you could tell she was proud. But, man, I’ve been smiling all night long!) We caught some walking (a few minutes later) on video (it’s really grainy, but cute all the same).

K’s first videoed steps

Well, we’ve perfomed a miracle! Just call me Saint Maria My precious, frequent-patron-of-Mama’s-All-Night-Dairy-Bar daughter slept through the night the past two nights!! From 7:30pm until 6:30am, K slept without nursing!!! For those of you that don’t know K, this is an amazing feat! We have been co-sleeping since she was born and if mama, let me rephrase that, if the boobs are in bed with her, then it means she needs to be on them!! Especially in the wee hours, when she would nurse continuously! So, I bought a twin mattress and put it in K’s room. My plan was to get up from the family bed when she started getting boobie needy, leave her in there with Toby, and go sleep on the bed in her room. If the boobs aren’t in bed with her, she sleeps fine. Well, Toby was taking a nap in our room the other night when it was time to put K to sleep. So, I nursed her to sleep on the bed in her room and planned on just bringing her to our bed when she woke up. But, she didn’t wake up until the next morning!! So, we tried this again last night and it worked again! We are floored! Yeah, we miss snuggling next to our sweet baby, but hey, I don’t even notice she’s gone, ’cause I am actually asleep!! Novel concept, eh?? Sleeping in a bed!!

Well, I am just about to wrap up my second week as a Master’s student. So far, I am really enjoying it. It has been nice to get out of the house and be in a more mentally stimulaing environment. Not that being a mom isn’t mentally stimulating, but you know what I mean. Plus, I am only taking two courses this semester, so I am not away from the little pooper for too long. However, K and Toby are having a rough time with me being away. K doesn’t seem to mind when I leave, but she is a bit more demanding on Toby when I am gone. And when it comes to nap time…forget it!! Yesterday, it took 45 minutes of her crying before she would finally go to sleep (even though he was laying right there with her and reading to her). Poor thing!! I feel so guilty! Plus, Toby is getting very little work done during the day, especially since she isn’t taking her naps. So, we are thinking about hiring a nanny to help out part-time. I never thought I would be someone to have a nanny, and definitely not one who could afford one! But, if Toby could actually work instead of watching K when I go to class, that would be 15 more hours of pay! I know this won’t solve the nap problem, I think only time will do that. But, atleast a nanny could devote her time totally to K…she could take her to play dates and on outings and do stuff that would help her work off some energy during the days. I think this would be a benefit to her. It’s so hard trying to raise a child in this society that supports such seperateness. What I mean is, and I don’t want to sound like Hillary Clinton, but, I should take a community to raise a child. It benefits everyone to have the help of family and friends in caring for the next generation and teaching them right and wrong. So, I guess, we will start our own little contorted community and hire a nanny. We’ll see…