Parenting Under the Stars

We had gorgeous weather this weekend so of course it zoomed by. The mud has dried up so I had a brief break from mopping and spent a lot of time outside in the sun.

It’s nice seeing everyone come out of the woodwork and hear their news, although some of it I could do without.

Of course most of the kid’s spring clothes don’t fit them anymore so we’ve been sorting through them. It was much easier shopping for them when they were younger. Now I have to bring them because otherwise they won’t like anything I get.

I had an interesting conversation with a taxi driver the other day and we were discussing how so many of them look like walking advertisements because the brands are in big letters on clothes. He said they should be paying the kids something to wear them because it’s free advertising. I thought that was funny but it’s true.

Brand Name Free?

Neil Boorman says, “I suffered from a condition known as obsessive branding disorder - a combination of compulsive shopping and a reliance on status symbol brands for the maintenance of one’s self esteem.” To cure himself he attempted to live brand free for one year. He took extreme measures and also went without a television and DVD player because of course you can’t find one without a brand name. You can read more about it in the article on BBC News, My Brand New Life.

I agree that we are too bombarded by brand names and some of the advertisements are annoying and insulting insinuating you’re just not worthy if you’re not clothed in this or that.

There are so many different ethnic groups and cultures in our neighborhood that our kids are accustomed to seeing all different types of clothing but the pressure from the media and other children still exists. I can’t claim to have gone completely brand free as Neil did but do try to teach my children not to judge others by the clothes they wear because that’s just silly and shallow.