I was looking for new toys for my 2 year old granddaughters the other day and was absolutely dumbfounded by the collection of unhealthy baby toys readily available for our children. I was so troubled by the vast selection of unhealthy baby toys I felt I needed to vent here, both for myself and for those of you who want to leave notes at the end of the column.

It's regretful enough that we adults are bombarded on a regular basis with underhanded marketing strategies meant to brainwash and instigate hyper-consumerist tendencies, but some of the ploys meant to hook toddlers through their toys is just plain shady! We as adults can at least spot the rouse. We might still bite, but we have the judgment making skills and (for the most part) the aptitude to decipher when we are being catered to for our betterment or our detriment. Our kids merely don't have that ability; which is why it is up to us to cut out the damaging toddler toys.

One egregious violator was the McDonald's McKids toy line. Inside the french fry and burger casings, the backpack, and the kitchen setup were several dozen mini milkshakes, burgers, fries, and cookies. I shouldn't condemn the McDonald's corporation for trying to make a profit and let's be truthful, they wouldn't sell these toys if people didn't buy them; but we have to understand that this is how our kids recognize the brand and relate the golden arches with enjoyment at a very young age. This variety of brand recognition marketing will keep the obesity rate at a steady incline until we as role models take matters into our own hands and start saying no to damaging child's toys.

I also saw a donut shop toy set...yup, donuts. Let's face it, any child that recognizes custard filled donuts and iced mocha before they even see the inside of the shop is destined for cavities and diabetes... and that's the best case scenario.

Like I said, I can't blame these billion dollar businesses for doing what they do best. We already know what they're all about. We know that for the most part they are cold, methodical, profit machines that will do whatever is required to ensure their fiscal well-being. Establishing unhealthy habits in our children can affect their future bottom line.

It is up to us to educate our children so that these marketing firms that are successfully initiating brand recognition at such an early age do not continue to encourage the unhealthy baby habits that feed into the childhood obesity epidemic through unhealthy toys for our children and babies. They will continue to create and market these toys to our children, but we need to consider that the power is always in our hands to say NO!

We can stop purchasing these unhealthy toys for our babies and help our toddlers form good habits; or we can continue down the same path. Let our kids be influenced by people who don't care about them or their well-being. Allow them to be yet another unhealthy statistics in an increasingly unhealthy society. Or we can do what is correct rather than what is easy. We can value our kids by valuing what we buy for them. We can keep our integrity by giving our kids a fighting chance against the diseases and dysfunction both instigated and ignored by the fast food industry. Nevertheless, it all begins by what we choose to surround our kids with.

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