Letters to the Editor
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lateagain
Yes! You make an excellent point. La Leche League thrives and IS free-- classes, mothers groups, or telephone consultations as many as you need day or night (these are volunteer, experienced women who nursed their own children, i.e. "village elders".) Also, many (not all) ob nurses are skilled in and supportive of breastfeeding. We had both kinds of (immeasurable!) help when our little ones were born.
Don't know how I could've forgotten, lol.
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The single biggest difference I see in kids today versus when I was growing up..
In the fifties and early sixties.
Kids today are underfoot constantly..
When I was a kid the very last place we wanted to be was anywhere around the adults, bug them and they would find something for you to do and it was almost unheard of for that something to be entertaining in any way.
At least that's the way I remember it.
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$800 strollers are EEEEEEVULLLL
Said the people who just spent $3000 on psychotherapy for their dog.
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Good article, though with a mixed bag of examples...
The $800 Bugaboo doesn't bother me at all. It isn't like people are buying them because Target was all out of Gracos. Some people have enough money that "so what, it's better" is a good enough reason. If you want to buy a $30 stroller, or a $100 stroller, or a $250 stroller, you can find plenty of good options at all the obvious places. Actually, I did spend about $1000 on a "stroller", the Chariot (including numerous accessories). Totally worth it if you don't want to hire a sitter every time you feel like going for a jog (or XC skiing).
And why on earth pick on swaddle products? Swaddling is about as retro as you can possibly get; Sacajawea is swaddling her baby right there on a US dollar coin. Granted, the products mentioned aren't as simple (or nearly as good) as a proper swaddle blanket (which, incidentally, costs more if you want the most useful size, 44" or so square). And the sleepsack is great (and not expensive), if you're occasionally (or always) sleeping in cold places and don't want to wake up every time the kid squirms.
Better targets for lampooning would be all the crib accessories and other crap that they try to load you up with in a default gift registry. Oh, and shoes. Somebody gave us a whole box of their kids' infant shoes, like 10 pairs (some expensive looking), and our little guy had already outgrown them before it occurred to us that there was even a point in him trying them on.
Oh, and right on about the toys: "Passive toy, Active baby" has been our guiding principle. And also re the heinous Baby "Einstein": we got some of those DVDs as hand-me-downs and they went straight into the rejects box.
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Electro Robot
$800 strollers are EEEEEEVULLLL
Said the people who just spent $3000 on psychotherapy for their dog.
[detects distinct odor of rancid Cheetohs and stale Red Bull]
[looks around for the three billy goats Gruff]
Better trolls please, you are entirely too obvious.
A good troll gently casts the bait into just the right spot and waits for the sucker to tentatively nibble at it before setting the hook and playing the victim.
You are more akin to the "sportsmen" who go fishing with hand grenades, one grenade and the pond is fished out..
Buh bye..
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Creating a market where none existed before.
If there's no demand for your lame, overpriced product, just come up with the right persuasion to the gullible and voila! - instant demand. But not all Americans are suckers for the latest consumer fad, and most of those who are suckers are up to their eyeballs in debt.
A fool and his money are soon parted. But with some people you have to wonder how they got together in the first place.
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But with some people you have to wonder how they got together in the first place.
Good one, kudos walter.
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Aycharaych
No really I'm with you. I've been to the old Soviet era GUM store in Moscow. We should all be so lucky as to have to chose between the Brown Shoe and the Black Shoe. I see no reason at all why we should have to tolerate what other people do for themselves, regarding only themselves. Next thing you know they'll be spending filthy lucre on 'recreation' and reactionary things.
To KOLYMA with them all!
Unbreakable Union of freeborn Republics,
Great Russia has welded forever to stand.
Created in struggle by will of the people,
United and mighty, our Soviet land!
CHORUS:
Sing to the Fatherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong.
O Party of Lenin, the strength of the people,
To Communism's triumph lead us on!
Through tempests the sunrays of freedom have cheered us,
Along the new path where great Lenin did lead.
To a righteous cause he raised up the peoples,
Inspired them to labour and valourous deed.
CHORUS
In the victory of Communism's deathless ideal,
We see the future of our dear land.
And to her fluttering scarlet banner,
Selflessly true we always shall stand!
CHORUS
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Sadly though
You won't get the humor of that. I imagine you'll take it quite seriously. Now if only Apple made a FREE laptop.
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How about trusting consumers to make the wisest choices for themselves?
At the risk of sounding like a supply-side Republican, why don't we just back off and stop being so judgmental about other people's consumer preferences?
Obviously, some parents find these oft-maligned baby-related goods useful and worth the money. Some don't. Everyone's circumstances and needs and preferences are different. Shouldn't we trust parents -- or any other consumers -- to decide what products they want and what they want to spend on them? It would be one thing to offer Consumer Reports-type advice on the pros and cons of various options. But this judgmentalism goes way beyond that. Why do people presume to get into other people's heads and make assumptions about motivations (obsessed with status????? says who?), parenting skills, economic circumstances and personal preferences and values?
Meanwhile, to add to the stroller debate, expensive, all-terrain jogging-type strollers are very common in Alaska, where ground surface and weather conditions are challenging. Also common are some fairly expensive sleds parents use use to pull children behind them while they ski. Perhaps not a worthwhile investment if you live in Florida or rarely ski, but it was a smart purchase for a friend of mine who insists that her costly "Kincaid Cruiser," put into use daily for a few long ski seasons, saved her marriage. I know that my fancy baby backpack, bought at REI, saved my sanity for a while there. Plus, there's the fact that many quality products can be easily re-sold or re-gifted when no longer needed, so that certainly mitigates the up-front cost.
This business of maligning people for the products they buy gets a little tiresome, and is a little snobby and presumptuous, and it goes well beyond baby products and services.
For some people it's worth the money to buy AWD vehicles and studded snow tires, for example; others choose to spend their money on bikinis and sundresses. There's no point in getting up on a high horse about other people making any of these purchases.