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Sunday, July 06, 2008
“Is that commercial true?” As Seen on TV for a five year old
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
Some time ago, I wrote about the experience of discovering, with my son (who was four years old at the time) that the As Seen on TV “Green Bags” apparently do not save vegetables from spoiling as stated in the television commercials. Since that time, my son has come to recognize the style of these commercials, and whenever one comes on he asks me if it’s true. So, when I think of it, I oblige him by clicking around online to see what I can discover about these products.
This spring, my son got really excited at the prospect of a ”Roll and Grow.” He very much enjoys helping with yard work, including the planting and watering of flowers. He was taken by the ease with which the Roll and Grow appears to work. So he asked me, “Daddy, is that true?”
Well, this site features tons of complaints about the product, but the more I thought about the product, the more outrageous it seemed. Wildflower seeds are the easiest thing in the world to plant, and they are significantly cheaper. In the commercial, the video shows someone digging holes and planting flower seeds one at a time. One need not take such care in planting wildflowers! It just takes seeds, and quickly covering them with some dirt—and you can have flowers wherever you wish. Additionally, you don’t need to waste time cutting out weird fabric substances.
So I explained to my boy that Roll and Grow was not something we needed to buy. We could just plant seeds!
Next, he was rather interested in the various uses shown by the commercial for Mighty Putty. A quick search verified that “Mighty Putty” is just an As Seen on TV brand name for epoxy putty.
The As Seen on TV link above sells three sticks of Master Putty for about $13.00. I can’t see the weight of the package. This link shows one ounce of epoxy putty selling for $2.21. If the TV link is just three of these, then it looks like the As Seen on TV brand is something common with a mark up.
So I told my boy that Master Putty looks to be real, but it is cheaper to just get it at the store with a different name.
Finally, my son wanted to know about Aqua Globes. My gut reaction was to think that Aqua Globes would keep the soil constantly wet, which would be bad for many types of plants. And after looking around online, that seems to be the consensus. If used with the wrong type of plant, root rot could actually kill the thing. But more significantly, I was reminded that the Aqua Globe can be replicated, for free, with an empty bottle. In the spirit of recycling, therefore, I explained to my son that we could try the idea, for free, by putting a beer bottle into the hanging flower pot by my front door that I always forget to water. I just stuck the bottle in the dirt today, so we’ll see. But I spent no money, and found another use for some of my garbage!
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07 Jul 2008 at 11:14 am | #
This is adorable. Keepin’ the next generation skeptical — kudos!
07 Jul 2008 at 01:11 pm | #
What is wrong with keeping the next generation skeptical? IMHO is is following everything we see or hear blindly and without question that has gotten us to where we are today.
07 Jul 2008 at 02:52 pm | #
I don’t really see how this has anything to do with “keeping the next generation skeptical”. I am more inclined to see it as teaching a child at a young age to question sources that are not authority controlled (such as TV commercials geared towards pursuading an audience).
Oh, and maybe also teaching the child the value of the dollar and how to be earth-friendly in the process.
All good lessons to learn--and the sooner, the better!
07 Jul 2008 at 04:07 pm | #
I was being completely sincere — we vitally need skeptics (like The Dean and Dean Jr.)!
Ah, I remember when sarcasm was lost on the internet — now sincerity is! Not everyone is a smart-ass prick
07 Jul 2008 at 07:22 pm | #
Gosh, this kid views plenty of TV commercials, and it would seem to follow the programming sandwiched in between the adverts. I guess the Summer Reading Programs are extinct. Pity.
07 Jul 2008 at 09:14 pm | #
Thanks, Jones. I actually am teaching my son to read this summer. Not bad, I figure, since he starts kindergarten this coming school year. I bought a collect of Dick and Jane books, figuring they worked for me.
He’s on page 70. I know it’s not a huge repository of words, but he can read them, all by himself now. And he’s not memorizing the pages, either. I sometimes write sentences with the same words and he can read those, too.
So sorry if I’m not getting enough summer reading in for ya!
08 Jul 2008 at 11:04 am | #
The Japanese Feet/body cleansing pads dont work. Just in case he asks about those. : )
08 Jul 2008 at 05:11 pm | #
.
Dean:
Love your stories regarding parenting adventures. They always bring fond memories of our current interaction with the grand-girl.
The story about the square water play led to a visit with the grand-girl and you are RIGHT ! No way would I take my eye off her for a minute with the easy access and quick exit from various angles !
Keep-em-coming !
.
08 Jul 2008 at 05:38 pm | #
Yes Dean, you should keep these stories in a folder that you can refer to one day. You write so much I’m sure they will be hard to track down at some point.
They remind of Nader’s book about how his parents raised him. His father asked him one day after school, “so what did you learn today, to believe or to think”. Reading is obviously important, but critical thinking skills are essential. Good story!
08 Jul 2008 at 08:53 pm | #
Reading is an essential part of life. When one can read well & with confidence, critical thinking skills & comprehension develops, along with a whole host of other character-building, life structuring attributes.
Get the order of skills development correct, Jeffre. One doesn’t have to have a genius IQ to know the TV adverts are misleading & false. The kid will learn more in developmental structure if his old man plopped him in front of the TV to view worthwhile programming say, on CET instead of utilizing ads to learn critical thinking skills.
08 Jul 2008 at 09:28 pm | #
Jones, I agree that reading is important as I said and I would even say essential for well rounded development. However, there are people that can’t read and still have critical thinking skills. If you go to another country and can’t read the language you can still get by OK if you have critical thinking skills.
I don’t think you are in a position to judge how his old man is raising him on a daily basis. His old man is an educator and you have no idea how he raises his child other than the little tid bits he is kind enough to share with people. He is teaching his kids both and they could probably both teach you a thing or two.
08 Jul 2008 at 11:12 pm | #
Not that I have any place to judge the Dean’s parenting skills, but from a librarian and literacy advocate’s point of view, it appears the Dean is doing an amazing job.
I love the stories the Dean shares about his parenting adventures--do keep them coming!
In response to comment 4--
The word “skepticism” has a negative connotation. Depending on its usage it can mean anything from questioning accepted opinions, to doubting proven truths. Generally when skepticism is used to denote an inquiry of a positive nature, it is modified by words such as “a healthy does of” or “legitimate” preceding it.
I DID in fact misinterpret your meaning. It’s certainly difficult on occasion, to discern over the internet , when one is being sarcastic and when one is being sincere. My bad.
08 Jul 2008 at 11:20 pm | #
This is another thing wrong with our world today. Too many people nosing in on how other people raise their kids. If we’d all keep our opinions to ourselves maybe the disciplinary issues could be resolved. It’s a damn shame that one is criticized not only on how one teaches but we must also live in fear of disciplining as well. Seems to me that Jones is probably one of the parents that might be against having Under God in the Pledge of Allegiance because someone’s rights might be “violated” too.
09 Jul 2008 at 12:30 pm | #
Oh really, Raven. I don’t believe our paths have ever crossed for you to make such a salacious allegation. In fact, I know full well you don’t know me. And yes, this is a nation, in a world that is under God. It has always been that way. If it gives you or anyone else heartburn, tough cookies.
Yeah, Raven, you might have a point here. It’s probably why we have far too many of our children killed needlessly in our streets. The folks have their noses where it doesn’t belong.
Oh please, Jeffre. Everyone is in a position to learn something from another person. It’s called enrichment. Try it. You might learn a thing or two.
09 Jul 2008 at 12:48 pm | #
Lighten up Jones, that was the point.
09 Jul 2008 at 02:18 pm | #
Yup...their noses were screaming to CPS when the parents attempted to discipline. So many of our children are getting killed needlessly in our streets because we now are required to spare the rod and spoil our children.
09 Jul 2008 at 11:28 pm | #
"His old man is an educator and you have no idea how he raises his child other than the little tid bits he is kind enough to share with people. He is teaching his kids both and they could probably both teach you a thing or two.”
Have to agree, Justin !
I have to tell you a quick story:
I was participating in the Blue Ash parade for a candidate and was walking with another individual who was involved in education. During our political talk the subject of the Beacon entered and this educator knew the Dean from a former position.
I was flabbergasted: This educator praised the Dean for his involvement and dedication to the student. I scratched my head with thoughts: I knew the Dean had a good head on his shoulders, but, this educator, political activist was presenting an unsolicited praise about the Dean that forced a submission to his opinion.
It was pleasing to hear !
I felt good for the Dean and gained another slice of respect.
We all know, we have our differences, and don’t always agree, but I certainly would appreciate the comments the Dean received that day !
Keep-en-coming, Dean !
.
10 Jul 2008 at 05:32 pm | #
That’s smart Raven. Beat kids to show them that violence is wrong. Duh. And Dean you sound like a nice father.
10 Jul 2008 at 09:26 pm | #
Sigh. I never said beat. I said discipline. Tell me that the world hasn’t gone to hell in a handbasket since we’ve let the government get involved in how we discipline our children. By the way Suz...You do know the difference between a beating and a spanking right?
And Dean is a nice father. And it’s nice to see you acknowledge something positive about him for once.
11 Jul 2008 at 12:18 pm | #
There is no difference. Spanking is just a word that child abusers use to reframe and pretty up the reality of taking a small, defenseless person, completely under their control and at their mercy, and terrorizing them with repeated physical violence. Anyone that has to use violence to discipline a child, whether they call it spanking, ass whoppin’, or beating, is a coward. It takes a lot of work, patience, perseverence, instruction, and most of all love to teach a child through example, positive reinforcement and of course consequences instead of taking the easy way out and hitting them.
If “spanking” worked, you’d never have to do it more than once. Kids that get hit become immune, but the anger builds. The defense claimed that the woman that was sentenced this week to 10 years for leaving her children alone, abusing them, binding her boy’s thumbs until they had to be amputated, was herself abused. I’m sure that true. And if her children go into a home where they’re hit instead of protected, they’ll abuse their children. It’s a cycle. Like we tell the children, “use your words” Raven. Seriously, find other ways.
11 Jul 2008 at 01:55 pm | #
Cincysuz,
i’m not an advocate of spanking. i wasn’t spanked. I don’t spank. but to compare a parent that gives their child a few swats on the butt to someone that might bind a childs thumbs until they require amputation is just silly. there is no long term damage shown to come from controled physical discipline.
11 Jul 2008 at 03:31 pm | #
You are absolutely right on most parts. But there are occasions that the easy way out would be to have that “talk” or give them that “time out” If you don’t know what I’m talking about then you must not have kids.
Spanking is not something that I do on a daily basis myself. It is left for when I think it’s seriously necessary, and only as a last resort. I do believe though that since we’ve mostly lost the right to do so...we’ve also mostly lost the ability to raise our children to respect.
And I seriously hope you aren’t calling me an abuser because of those beliefs. If so, Cincysuz, you are more twisted than I thought.
11 Jul 2008 at 05:11 pm | #
NtotheC - au contrare mon frere. There is tons of evidence to back up the long term damage of corporal punishment. Studies, studies and more studies from prison studies to university studies to UN and international studies. Its irrefutable that what you call spanking, a few swats, and I call assaulting a child can and often does cause long-term damage. If you walked next door and slapped your neighbor with even half the force that is routinely used on children, you’d be slapped, into jail. Often these children are not even old enough to walk, much less have the cognitive ability to understand what’s happening to them and why. Why do so many find it okay to beat on kids but are outraged at violence between strangers, friends, husband-wife or any relationship other than the parent-child. It’s cowardly. I hold to my point.
http://www.nospank.net/
http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/
http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/pages/intro/faqs.html
From one of the dozens of anti-spanking websites: A particularly large study in Ontario Canada has shown that, on average, children who are sometimes or often spanked experience a higher level of anxiety, severe depression, alcoholism, and/or drug addiction in adulthood. About one in seven children experiences more than one of these problems.
(As an aside, I tried to submit another site, which I’ve deleted, and I got amessage something like a blacklisted item was detected. What’s that about?)
11 Jul 2008 at 11:24 pm | #
Well then...we must just agree to disagree on certain things. I’m certainly not going to fight with you about something you know so much about. You’ve just pretty much made my point for me anyway. Thanks.
12 Jul 2008 at 09:15 am | #
I don’t want to fight with you either Raven. This issue is too important. I’m hoping that you think about your “spare the rod and spoil the child” philosophy and maybe be an advocate for kids.
I think I’ve made my point that I, and people much smarter and more learned, know that assaulting children is wrong--whether it’s by strangers or relatives.
14 Jul 2008 at 11:42 am | #
Cincysuz,
once again, let me say: i am not an advocate of spanking. I don’t believe in it. The studies that you show are of no surprise to me. I think it’s great to show that sort of thing.
However, one of the main issues with those studies is that they show that as corporal punishment increases, so does anti-social behavior (hardly a surprise) but they don’t really indicate what effects mild spanking might have, if any. The focus is on other types of punishment that i would liken to child abuse. One report commented on a survey done of teens that suggested 51% had been hit by a belt or similar object. That isn’t 1-2 swats on the butt, through clothing. That’s abuse.
Don’t worry too much about me, though. There won’t be any spanking going on in my house.