It's been interesting visiting our local park over the past six years
since our son was very small. For one thing, there's a hell of a lot
more white people in these parks these days. And white or not the parent
age skews older -- I'd say most parents are in their late thirties or
early forties. Of course exceptions abound.
Another interesting component to all of this parenting observation is
the "baby as commodity" phenomenon. Children provide an excellent way
for parents to display their wealth, most visibly in the stroller chosen
to perambulate the young tike. Today's hot item is the "bugaboo," a
stroller my wife informs me costs upward of $700. I don't know. Some
models must be cheaper, because I see too many to believe that so many
parents are so stupid...but then again it's not really about use-value,
is it?
People can spend a good deal of money "on their child" when it's pretty
clear they're really spending it on their own egos.
1 comment:
Marketing for all the high priced baby stuff is appalling. The hard sell (people tell me) goes something like this: If you really love your baby, you'll buy X. Of course, if you don't really care about your family, you can always purchase the less expensive Z. But if you don't buy the most expensive everyone will know you're not really committed to being a good parent.
Reprehensible.
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