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Crazy Baby STUFF

927 views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  refinnej10 
#1 ·
I am overwhelmed and amused by the amount of stuff marketed to new parents these days.<br>
And the marketing tactics are outrageous!<br><br>
Some of the more interesting ones to me are:<br>
3-D ultrasounds: the local imaging place promises to help "create that bond with your baby that much sooner".<br><br><a href="http://www.babyplus.com" target="_blank">baby plus education system</a>: promises to "give your baby a head start" and do everything from make birth easier to have her memorizing all the digits of pi before she comes out of the womb<br><br>
then of course there's the $800 bedding set that includes a bumper and blanket you're advised not to use in infancy, a sheet the baby is going to poop on and a bed skirt that might or might not work with your crib<br><br>
What are some of your favorites?<br><br><br><br><span style="font-size:small;">(I'm not knocking these things, and they may really work or be valued by some people. But the claims are broad.)</span>
 
#3 ·
Fancy/new clothes that they'll wear once before they outgrow them/poop on them.<br><br>
Home dopplers.
 
#7 ·
Back in college in the early 90's, I had to do a paper for a child development class where I reviewed children's toys and wrote about what developmental stage they were geard towards (gross motor skills, imaginative play, etc) and whether they were marketed towards parents or children.<br><br>
One of the toys I reviewed was an infant toy. There was (is?) a company that made "developmental" toys for infants and toddlers, and used the colors red, black, and white almost exclusively. When I took a look at the packaging, the wording implied that your child's development would be stunted if you did not give them the toy.
 
#9 ·
SO I suppose that day I sent my kids to the "moon" in bike helmets, foil vests and a pair of plastic milk jugs smashed onto their shoes ("moon boots"<img alt="wink.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/wink.gif"> wasn't really worth much? <img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif"> DD still remembers that - they got under the kitchen table and she tucked a stirng acorss the "door" and off they went.. and landed on the moon with aliens and everything.<br>
Ultimately kids need spoons, pans, bowls and cardboard boxes ... and involved parents to learn!
 
#11 ·
But that makes sense to do, right? The first colors that a newborn can see are black, white, and red. If they made a toy in that color, it would have the most contrast and thus stick out from the rest of their field of view. Not that necessarily it would help them develop better, but the color scheme isn't crazy. It's a smart idea for new kids -- it would be very entertaining.
 
#13 ·
I love all the new baby stuff, though.<br><br>
A friend of mine had her new baby (4 weeks!) at dinner with the girls night out crowd the other night, and some of the convenient devices she had available were incredible!<br><br>
Plus, I got to hold the baby. He was so sweet! I just kissed his little head over and over!
 
#14 ·
Babies sleep so much, and they aren't even remotely interested in toys the first month or two. Hell, I have two babies, and they aren't even interested in EACH OTHER yet. (well, a little bit. They had a staring contest the other day. And they like to sleep together.)<br><br>
Any toy aimed at a child younger than 3 months is kind of silly. Mostly, at that age, they just want to coo and spit, and listen to mommy talk. (they want to listen to a LOT of mommy talk)<br><br>
However, the bouncy seat and the swing are gifts from God, I tell you. They keep the audience contained and happy while Mommy talks, and mommy has free hands.<br><br>
I discovered that waving rattles in their faces and showing them the array of toys hanging from the bouncy seat "toy bar" don't do much. However, if I crack a book and start reading, they are all smiles.
 
#15 ·
You're right and I don't think anyone objects to the toys themselves, it more an objection to the strongarm marketing techniques used.<br><br>
I'm still traumatized by my first trip to Babies R Us. I thought it would be relatively simple, just pick out some bottles and their accessories, a sheet or four, maybe a few toys, some onesies and viola! I'm ready. Then I walked into the bottle isle and learned that if I picked the wrong bottle, the baby would have horrible colic, would not be able to breast feed, and would never get into Harvard. Each bottle type/brand claimed to be the only salvation (and hope for Jr. to go to a good school). It.was.completely.overwhelming.<br><br>
That's where my objection lies. The baby is not going to be made smarter or not based on the colors used on the toy. The toy may be more interesting to the kid based on the colors, but really a newborn (and even a toddler) only has about a 3 second attention span so "interesting" is really a relative measure.
 
#17 ·
Yep, that was basically what annoyed me about the toys. Not the toys themselves, just the guilt trip that the marketing placed on the parents. Fortunately, I have sisters who have kids, and can tell me what I really need and what I can ignore.
 
#18 ·
I couldn't agree more. That's what motivated me to post these threads.<br><br>
As for our first trip to BBR, we're still recovering. About half way through the store, I had to park my DH in a glider and buy him an apple juice and snack. At least it was good practice for being a mommy. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">
 
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