Well it’s barely mid November and we are being inundated with Christmas advertisements already, despite it being over 6 weeks away.
I’ve just had to endure two adverts back to back in which a child stares out of the window in a state of abject melancholy whilst they ponder their worst nightmare – that Christmas will not be abundant with exorbitant gifts! Their Christmas suddenly becomes euphoric when Santa rushes to the rescue with an expensive present. I find it absolutely disgraceful that the media and capitalist organisations are allowed to brainwash our children into believing that money/expensive gifts equals happiness.
I’m not commenting on parenting. If someone wishes to spoil their child it is their choice. However the media should not be able to spoon feed children the idea that Christmas is horribly depressing without expensive gifts. This negatively influences young malleable minds and leads them to grow up to be materialistic and rely on financial rewards to be happy.
Much of society is in a state of depression because they blindly believe that they need to keep up with the Jones or they yearn for things out of their grasp. Thing that they believe will make them happy.
The thing about these adverts is that they are brainwashing ALL children who see them. Some children are born into poor families who cannot afford to buy their children these things. It doesn’t mean their parenting skills are below that of rich parent. However this divides the rich children from the poor children, with the rich child believing that it is somehow better than the poor child and the poor child being inferior. That poor child might grow up to be a neurosurgeon or a paramedic and the rich child might turn out to be lazy, complacent and a no hoper. Perhaps not but money divides children as much as adults and the media hype surrounding Christmas reinforces this divide.
Memories are far more valuable than expensive gifts. We never see adverts of a poor family giving their child a simple present but instead giving their children their time and playing with them. Instead we see kids being given televisions and computer consoles – being left to their own devices so the media can brainwash them further. It’s all about promoting the idea of spend, spend spend! Parents are guilt tripped into taking loans and paying for things that cannot afford as the media is equating the cost of a gift with how loved the child is. A child will soon forget about the latest fad but they will never forget the feeling of being loved and being given their parents time.
Sainsbury’s did it best with their true message of Christmas advertisment in which the German and British soldiers laid down their weapons for Christmas, shook hands and shared food. This is actually based on a true story and is a much more valuable message for our children that the nonsense ideology that the latest toy will make them happy.
Instead of going wild this year over spending on things people will just chuck in the bin or never use, why not buy a small inexpensive present for a child you know that has very little. Something they actually need or would love like shoes or a teddy bear.
It’s the little things that can make you happy
Money can buy freedom but it cannot buy happiness and it’s time that we awoke to this massive scale of brainwashing that we are all subjected to on a daily basis. The more you simplify your life and declutter the happier you will be. That goes for our children too – when they are 50 do you want them to look back and remember the latest Xbox games they spent most of their childhood on? Or do you want them to think fondly of times you spent together, places you went, things you saw, things they learnt?
How do you feel about Christmas advertising? What was your favourite advert and which was your worst? Please leave a comment and let me know.
