Kids and commercials

I remember when we had good old cable, and all the Treehouse shows. Bob the Builder with advertisements for the latest toy tool sets, or Chuggington with the advertisements for all the new train tracks. I don't know why toy manufacturers think it's necessary to develop 18 different track sets, all with specific trains that don't go on other tracks, and then advertise them all on the same channel so kids want every single one.

Ah commercialism. Those were also the days my oldest son wanted everything new and fancy that he saw. The days when he didn't like his brand new toy because he just saw a brand newer one on TV. The days when "I want" were heard throughout the household approximately every six minutes. Those were also the days that the Wish List for Christmas changed at least twice a day in December. It took some finagling to get him back to his original Wish List before Santa came.

Now we have Netflix. For those who don't know much about it, here are the basics. It costs $8 a month. It doesn't feature the new shows or seasons, but it has a lot of very popular ones that are one or two seasons old. It also has hundreds (maybe thousands) of movies. After you have watched a few shows it will take the information and develop a rating system based on what you like to watch, so if you are looking for a movie and Netfliz thinks it will suit you, it will show four or five stars. It also gives recommendations based on the rating system. Best of all, there are no commercials.

Since getting Netflix, my five year old has been appreciating his toys more. He has always been limited in the television that he watches, but even with only one hour a day of kids shows, it worked out to about twenty minutes of advertising. That's twenty minutes of new cars and trucks, trains and tracks, video games and websites. Now an hour a day means he gets to watch an hour of programming, which  I think is better.

He will remain excited about a new toy for months now, instead of wishing he bought something else instead that same day. When he gets sick of playing with a toy, instead of automatically thinking of a new one to ask for, he will spend his time in creative pursuits, like drawing or writing. He is an avid reader too. The point is, instead of relying on the newest products to feel amused, he can now use his imagination to find ways to entertain himself.

There is also the food aspect of commercials. I'm sure everyone has seen a commercial about a hamburger or cinnamon bun and then wanted it, needed it, had to have it now. Kids television promotes restaurants like McDonalds and food like chicken nuggets or Tater Tots. Now that my boys don't see that every day, I am relieved of the constant requests for more junk food. It makes it much easier to convince them that real food is normal, and takeout or convenience food is best left for treats, and only once in a while. Try telling a kid who sees a chicken McNugget five times a day that it's not normal to have it every day. That conversation can never end well.

Our family as a whole doesn't watch  TV that much, so it made sense to save $50 a month and switch from cable. I never considered how the commercials affected my oldest boy until afterward, when he stopped asking for so much and began to get creative about playing. I realized I was doing him a great disservice by not worrying about the commercials he saw regularly. Limiting TV time and controlling the shows he watched was only one part of the equation.

I am always glad I'm so miserly and concerned about saving money. There are moments when I get a great deal and mentally congratulate myself. This is just another example of how being frugal can have other, more significant benefits. Go Netflix!