An unexpected but welcome result of this change was the elimination of kid-targeting commercials. Well, almost. I can always tell when it is Saturday morning because my girls start hawking the virtues of the Aluma Wallet.
What's worse is the unending barrage, with each Saturday morning network TV commercial, of the "Mom, I want that! Can I have it?" For five minutes at a time I cannot speak or think in complete sentences due to the interruptions. And the cries of "gimme" really get me.
What to do, what to do. Besides continually lecturing them on how "things" are not really so important. I seem to be less persuasive than the commercials, but I will be more persistent. And now I have devised a strategy.
Since my girls are computer savvy, I taught them how to use the Amazon "Add to Wishlist" function. I have "Add to Wishlist" set up on our browser's bookmarks bar. The girls simply navigate to a page that has the product on it that they want, click "Add to Wishlist", select their name from the list of wish lists (since there are six of us), and that's that.
Now when I hear "Mom, can I have that?" my response is simply "Add it to your wish list." This works for requests sparked by TV commercials, mail catalogs, and in-store browsing. The girls have 30 minutes of computer time daily, so whatever they remember to add during that time has to suffice. Not that this has been an issue. Yellow currently has 84 items on her list; Pink has 110.
Now, just because something is on their wish list does not mean it will become theirs. These are items that the girls can use their own money to buy, and ideas for relatives and even Santa.
What the wish list does buy is some peace and quiet for me. And that is priceless!
What approach do you take when faced with chants of "I want, I want"?
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