Here it is:
My son, Ezra, recently acquired this shirt as a hand-me-down:
I can't stand it. I talk to my husband about how I want to rip it up and burn it when Ezra is not looking. My husband says to me, "Why can't you just be happy that it makes him happy?" (Which it does.) But I cannot.
I get a visceral reaction every time I see this shirt. (This shirt is almost as ugly as this one.) And, see that car there on the top, left-hand side? IT LIGHTS UP! That's right: IT LIGHTS UP!
It is also just the whole commercialized having-branded-characters-everywhere-thing that has taken over our society and that I don't want to be a part of. Ezra first discovered Lightning McQueen through books at the library (because the having-branded-characters-everywhere-thing has apparently taken over our libraries), and he loved them (which, of course he did, because they are marketed so that he will do so).
But I don't care. I don't care how much he loves Cars. I don't care how happy it makes him. All I want to do is get rid of that shirt because it makes me want to throw up every time I see it. Same with the Transformers shirt we got from that lady at church.
I'm sorry if this makes me selfish, but I can't help it. Please forgive me for having sensitive eyeballs.
7 comments:
Oh man, I am with you. My family has it in their minds that because Roxie is interested in fairies and princesses, that she is interested in tinkerbell and the disney princesses. So she gets freaking every gift as something related to them- a princess card table, tinkerbell doll, costume, etc. Luckily they haven't gotten us any character clothing, but that's pretty much the only area it hasn't overtaken. Gah!!! I so feel you. So of course now my child knows every one of the tinkerbell fairies names (apparently there are a bunch of fairies now, not just tinkerbell).
Oh...don't rip it up. Give it to us. Dominic would sooooo love it....commericalized or not.
I can't give it to you and I can't rip it up because Ezra LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES it.
I understand 100%. My child is only 13 months so luckily he has no say in whatever I buy. I got so mad at the store the other day when I couldn't find a simple bath mat without stupid characters all over it. Does everything have to have something plastered on it?! Can't I just buy lunch boxes, backpacks, clothes, diapers, bath mats, socks, underwear, toys, anything without characters!!!! I get it, I totally get it!
I agree that the shirt is ugly. I also cannot stand my kids wearing commercial stuff or having anything commercial or even knowing about those commercial things. I would let him wear it for a while, then let it sit in the laundry for a while until he forgets about it, then eventually give it away! I am mean about those things.
I'm with you. My daughter (2.75) was playing at her friends house and her friend had a plastic Barbie suitcase that they'd picked up somewhere (I think originally with holders for holding several Barbie dolls). The girls were talking about it and when her friend said it was a "Barbie suitcase" I could tell that my daughter had no idea what she was talking about and it made me feel really good.
I am SO with you, too! Thankfully, my 4yo is totally brainwashed, and recently has started saying, "Characters. Blech!" which makes me a proud mama (of course, I know she will wise up and "rebel" sooner or later). ;) Nonetheless, we get the occasional CRAP toy (or whatever) in our house, so we made a house rule: you can keep it for as many days as you are years old - Amelie gets to keep junk for 4 days while she's 4yo. So when she's 16, she only gets to keep that bag of weed for 16 days. You get the idea.
Good luck getting rid of that shirt. I suggest starting by breaking the light-up mechanism, cut the wire or something...
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