pbskids.org

Congratulations, advertising execs at PBS Kids. Your repetitive ad tactics work and you have successfully brainwashed my son into remembering your network and website address. Of course, he has no clue he's reciting a url, but just hears this phrase after Sesame Street or whatever kids tv show he gets to watch, which then has a plug for kids to go check out the website for more.

My first reaction to Camden knowing this, as we did not teach it to him and he doesn't even watch PBS on the computer, was to laugh. The "dot org" that comes out in his little voice is ridiculously adorable, there's no denying it. But then I also feel frightened by the fact that at the age of 2, THIS is what he hears...enough so that he's repeating it.

I suppose it's partly my fault for even letting him watch TV and exposing him to your marketing ploys, PBS Kids. But doesn't it also say something about kids being the target of advertising and marketing campaigns in general? I follow Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and while some of their info is too "purist" for me (Cam loves Elmo and Mickey, so sue me), they have a point about the level of product pushing on kids today. In this day and age with media literally everywhere and at your fingertips, excessive marketing is a reality of life. But it sure does make my job as a parent much harder as it's one more thing I need to monitor. I need to find the balance between making sure Camden keeps up with technology so he's not left behind but limiting him so he's not a materialistic, tech-savvy clone. I want him to be able to explore the outdoors and the world around him without it having to always relate to some tv show character. I want him to prefer imagination over a computer screen.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

But here's my Camden throwing a little tantrum over wanting to watch "pbs kids dot org" instead of taking a bath. I share it with a giggle and a chagrin. Again, congratulations PBS Kids. Consider your job done.