I went shopping for new toys for my 2 year old granddaughters the other day and was completely appalled by the collection of unhealthy infant toys readily available for our children. I was so disgusted 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 terrible enough that we adults are bombarded on a daily basis with sly advertising tactics meant to brainwash and instigate hyper-consumerist tendencies, but some of the ploys intended to hook children through their toys is just plain indecent! We as adults can at the very least recognize the rouse. We may still succumb, but at least we have the decision making skills and (for the most part) the intelligence to decipher when we are being catered to for our betterment or our harm. Our children merely don't have that facility; which is why it is up to us to cut out the injurious baby toys.

One glaring example was the McDonald's McKids toy line. Within the french fry and burger casings, the backpack, and the kitchen sets were several dozen mini milkshakes, burgers, fries, and cookies. I can't condemn the McDonald's corporation for attempting to profit and let's be honest, they would not sell these toys if someone didn't buy them; but we have to realize that this is how our kids acknowledge the logo and link the golden arches with enjoyment as a juvenile. This sort of brand recognition marketing will retain the obesity rate at a steady increase until we as role models stand up and take matters into our own hands and begin to say no to destructive child's toys.

I also saw a donut shop toy set...yup, donuts. Let's face it, any child who knows custard filled donuts and iced mocha prior to seeing the inside of the store is destined for cavities and diabetes... and that's the most positive scenario.

Like I said, I shouldn't blame these billion dollar corporations 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 necessary to ensure their fiscal well-being. Building 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 on to feed the unhealthy baby habits that feed into the childhood obesity epidemic through unhealthy toys for our children and babies. They will continue to make and market these toys to our little ones, but we need to keep in mind that the power is always in our hands to say NO!

We can stop purchasing these unhealthy toys for our kids and help our children 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 an additional unhealthy statistics in a growing unhealthy society. Or we can do what is right instead of what is easy. We can value our children by valuing what we buy for them. We can keep our honor by giving our children a fighting chance against the diseases and dysfunction both instigated and ignored by the fast food industry. Either way, it all starts by what we choose to surround our children with.

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