I admit it; sometimes I need the iPad to babysit my boys. I
have work to do, laundry to fold, a conversation I need to have on the phone.
Sometimes, I just need a minute or 15 for myself to quiet my brain.
But, it is never quiet when the iPad is on and my kids are
watching those horrible videos of other kids “unboxing” toys and various
trinkets. What the heck is unboxing? Ya,
it is some horrible made-up word that means “opening up a box or a toy.” When I
grew up we said “Let’s open it!” Unboxing… geez.
After watching lots of these little videos on Youtube, my
boys then expect that we can just walk into a toy store and load up on the
newest Skylanders and have an unboxing party of our own—and of course it will
all be caught on video and uploaded on YouTube.
Word to you mother… we cannot, nor do I want to do that!
But, these videos just set this false expectation. From EvanTube (who I guess is a millionaire at 8-years old) to Skylander
Shorts (which is a family affair that includes Skylander Dad, Skylander Mom, Skylander Girl, Boy and Baby), it is frankly annoying and lame that these parents have pimped their
kids out to market the latest and greatest do-dads and toys. Am I jealous? Em..
no. If I had to go “Skylander hunting” across Target and Toys R Us daily, I
would die.
After watching EvanTube and his sister eat disgusting BeanBoozled
jellybeans, all I heard about for over a week was how we needed to buy these
gross jellybeans so that we could try them out. Seriously? The game is that
you spin the wheel and it lands on a type of jellybean -- for instance a green one, or a yellow one. You have to eat the particular color that you land on. But, the fun part is that you aren't sure if the taste will be something gross, like the taste of
boogers or it could be something nice like green apple. Sort of like a Russian Roulette of grossness.
Guess who bought the grossness game after we had watched it
about 20 bagillion times on YouTube? Yup. This mom! A sucker for marketing and for my kids.
I hate being a judge-y parent, and I try not to be that
person. But, come on… why are we pimping out our kids like this? And why are my
kids enjoying it is another question all together!
Can we quit with the “unboxing already?" Come on parents, can't we make a pact?
