Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young MindsAn investigative journalist examines how marketers exploit infants and toddlers and the broad, often shocking impact of that exploitation on our society It's no secret that toy and media corporations manipulate the insecurities of parents to move their products, but Buy, Buy Baby unveils the chilling fact that these corporations are using -- and often funding -- the latest research in child development to sell directly to babies and toddlers. Susan Gregory Thomas offers even more unnerving epiphanies: the lack of evidence that "educational" shows and toys provide any educational benefit at all for young children and the growing evidence that some of these products actually impair early development and could harm our kids socially and cognitively for life. Underlying these revelations is a dangerous economic and cultural shift: our kids are becoming consumers at alarmingly young ages and suffering all the ills that rampant materialism used to visit only on adults -- from anxiety to hypercompetitiveness to depression. Thomas blends prodigious reportage with an empathetic voice. Her two daughters were toddlers while she wrote this book, and she never loses sight of the temporal and emotional challenges that parents face. She shows how we can help our kids live at their natural pace, not the frenetic clip that serves only the toddler-industrial complex. Buy, Buy Baby helps us fight the power marketers wield by exposing the false fears they spread. |
From inside the book
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Page 12
... University's occupational therapy program , reports that she frequently treats very young children from low - income as well as upper - middle- class families who appear glazed over and numb , which she believes is an ingrained response ...
... University's occupational therapy program , reports that she frequently treats very young children from low - income as well as upper - middle- class families who appear glazed over and numb , which she believes is an ingrained response ...
Page 20
... University of California at Berkeley . Along with her colleagues Andrew Meltzoff and Patricia Kuhl at the University of Washington , Gopnik wrote The Scientist in the Crib , a fascinating look at the newest research on how babies learn ...
... University of California at Berkeley . Along with her colleagues Andrew Meltzoff and Patricia Kuhl at the University of Washington , Gopnik wrote The Scientist in the Crib , a fascinating look at the newest research on how babies learn ...
Page 35
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Page 36
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Page 41
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Contents
Learn Something New Every Day | 23 |
Theres a New Mom in Town | 52 |
Its Like Preschool on TV | 71 |
A Vast and Uncontrolled Experiment | 94 |
Elmos World | 109 |
The Princess Lifestyle | 136 |
Anything to Get Them to Read | 160 |
Developing Character in Preschool | 181 |
A Defense of Nothing | 207 |
Notes | 233 |
253 | |
Acknowledgments | 263 |
265 | |
Other editions - View all
Buy, Buy Baby: How Big Business Captures the Ultimate Consumer - Your Baby ... Susan Gregory Thomas No preview available - 2007 |
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academic According activities adults advertising American Anderson appear asked Association attention babies and toddlers Baby Einstein Barbie become began believe brain brand building called centers characters child Clifford conference considered consumer culture curriculum daycare designed developmental Disney early early childhood educational effects example executive experience families feel Gen-X idea important industry infants and toddlers interview kids language launched LeapFrog learning licensing live look major marketing materials million moms months mothers observe offered parents percent person play preschool presentation Princess programs promoting publishing says Scholastic seemed Sesame Street Star story success teachers television tion understand United University wanted watching York young children
Popular passages
Page 13 - Schor, author of Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture, has discovered that kids' involvement with the consumer culture leads them into more conflict with parents.