The Greater Good

Today i watched a documentary that i wanted to share with everyone out there in the USA.  It's called 'The Greater Good'. 

'The Greater Good' is free to watch online till Nov 5

"The Greater Good looks behind the fear, hype and politics that polarize people into emotionally charged pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine camps with no room for middle ground. Exploring the cultural intersection where parenting meets modern medicine and individual rights collide with politics, this character driven documentary weaves together the stories of three families whose lives have been forever changed by vaccination. By reframing the vaccine debate and offering, for the first time, the opportunity to have a rational and scientific discussion on how to create a safer and more effective vaccine program in America today, The Greater Good challenges viewers to think again." source

"Back in the 1980s, children were asked to get 23 doses of 7 different vaccines. By 2010, parents are being asked to give their children 69 doses of 16 vaccines. That’s triple the dose of those recommended in the 1980s.

And today, many states have made certain vaccinations mandatory… with parents having little or NO say in whether or not their children will receive a vaccine.

Are we doing the right thing? Should all of this be stopped? Or, are we completely taking vaccines for granted?" source

I don't care if you are pro vaccine or anti vaccine, you need to watch this movie. It's about education and becoming informed.  If you have no knowledge you have no choice.  Knowledge is power and we need this power in our lives.  If you can't sit down and watch the whole movie at once (it's 1 hour and 20 min) then watch it in segments like i did.  However you need to just watch it. 
Follow this link to watch the film

And if you would like to own this documentary it is only $10.00 this week (it's normally $20.00)  You can purchase it here.http://shop.mercola.com//product/the-greater-good-dvd,881.htm

The Commercialization of Childhood

Well, it's gearing up to be that time of year again when the store ads go out in full force and you cannot sit down to watch a tv show without being bombarded with commercials about all the things you HAVE to have this holiday season. 

Most of the time i don't give *too* much thought to this (although lately i have been getting rather annoyed with tv ads), but now that i have a daughter that i'm raising i'm giving more thought to the things around me.

And one thing that makes me sick is the over commercialization of children! 

Everywhere you turn someone is trying to sell something geared towards a child. Books, movies, toys, food, vacations, mouth wash, cars, cell phones, music, on and on and on.  It's all over the place.  And the sad and sick thing is they start from the very beginning!  Just take a stroll down the local baby aisle at the store and you'll see diapers with cartoon characters and baby shampoo with the same.  Why should a baby care who is on their shampoo bottle?  But the advertising departments of companies know that if they can get a child hooked on a brand as early as possible they have a better chance of having a customer for life.  So they are going to put characters that children (even babies!) recognize and love so they will want the product.

I for one am trying not to fall for it.  I *really* hate the over commercialization of everything around us.  I'm trying to put my foot down and limit the items our daughter has that are commercialized.  I don't want all her toys, clothes, food, etc to be covered in "advertising" (and in children's terms this normally means a cartoon character).  I want her to grow up to be able to think for herself and be free from the problems that arise from too much commercialization. 

As i mentioned before in my post, 'More Natural Play Please', i want our children to play with toys that build the imagination.  But often times when children play with toys from their 'favorite tv show' they only mimic what they saw on tv, instead of using past experiences and actually playing with their imagination. 

I just want our children to be free from the idea that things bring happiness.  I don't' want my children to think that in order to have a good meal it HAS to be from a name brand box, or in order to be 'cool' they HAVE to have the clothes from a certain store, etc etc.  Not only do i want them to have their *own* image, but i also don't want them to be a slave to the advertising industries and throwing money down the drain for things that do not matter, and will not bring true happiness. 

And this is why i'm trying to have toys that encourage imagination play, toys free from logos and strict rules.  It's why we do not have a TV in our home.  I know i can't shelter my children forever, but at least home can be a safe haven from the pressure from all around.

And if you've read all this and think that i'm some crazy nut of a mother, i encourage you to watch this documentary on the subject that i found on the Waldorf Today website.  It's called 'Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood'.  It's an hour long documentary that talks about how these companies specifically target our children, how they study them to figure out how to sell things better to children, how to get children to throw the best fits to get what they want and how much money we are wasting, and how our children are loosing their childhood.


Source

The part i find most disturbing is around minute mark 40 when they start talking about how they are targeting BABIES to sell their products.  I think once you watch this fill you will be just about as disturbed as i am.
After you watch this film, please, share your thoughts with me, i'd love to hear them!