Marcos Antunes Antunes itibaren Ivankovo, Ryazanskaya oblast', Rusland, 391664 itibaren Ivankovo, Ryazanskaya oblast', Rusland, 391664

I found "Buy, Buy Baby" to be as enjoyable a read as possible for a book that really hits home about the business of marketing to young children. For some reason I'm extremely sensitive to that - I suppose I have some romantic and impossibly untrue conception of childhood as an innocent and magical time that shouldn't be touched by big business. That's obviously nostalgic and idealistic in the extreme, but I think it's where I'm coming from. That being said, I happily let my toddler watch Sesame Street and buy him Thomas the Train underwear. It's nigh unto impossible to avoid licensed characters and media altogether. Everyone has their own line of what they're comfortable with, and it helps me find mine to know what's going on "on the other side." Never forget that they're trying to sell you something, but what you do with that knowledge is up to you. For a non-fiction book about a serious topic, I found this to be very readable and easy to digest. The last chapter is particularly good - the author reveals a bit about her own opinions, and sings the praises of "doing nothing" (spending time without scheduled activities or media exposure). It was published in 2007, and I found myself wondering how developments like smartphones and Facebook play into all of this. There also seems to be a backlash against Baby Einstein and similar programs in my circles, and I wonder if that's true across the board.