Stop Hating The Commercials

I'm not going to lie. I let my babies watch tv. However, the channel is always set to Sprout, a channel dedicated to toddlers and preschoolers, when its on. And I start to feel guilty if its on for more than half an hour. Anyways, when I turned on the tv after putting the babies down I saw the very end of an Enfamil commercial. This is not the first time that I have seen this commercial, but I do believe that it was my first time seeing it on Sprout. From a marketing perspective, it was brilliant, well done Enfamil. It is safe to say that a majority of Sprout's viewers are parents, and it probably wouldn't be a far fetched idea that a good portion of those parents have not completed their families. Please don't misunderstand me. I know that breast milk is the best thing to feed our babies. But, I cannot forget that I live in and support a capitalist society. Therefore, it is none of my or anyone else's business whether the baby formula companies want to spend their money on marketing. But as breastfeeding advocates we should be concerned with stepping up breastfeeding education. I know at least one person who did not and does not plan on breastfeeding their babies, for one reason or another. If the education is there, why aren't we doing more to make it mainstream. I could not, maybe just did not breastfeed my babies. I really wanted to, and it breaks my heart that I did not. But, if we decide to have more babies I will, probably begrudgingly, save up the money to attend a breastfeeding class taught by a breastfeeding guru here. I know that there is no guarantee for my achieving success in nursing. Yes, there is a third option, pumping. But, really, am I ther only woman who feels like a cow when pumping. Maybe if the pumping was more productive the one time that I tried it wouldn't have felt so offensive. I'm sorry for rambling. The main point is that we shouldn't get upset with the formula companies for advertising their product, we should instead counteract the marketing by providing good breastfeeding education that is as public as the commercial.

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

How nice to find you through VoiceBoks! My sister and I are in the business of breastfeeding with our LaDy LaDuke nursing covers, and we are trying to make them as functional and fashionable as possible to help with the challenges of nursing in public. My latest design is specifically for the working Mom pumping in fact. You are so right about needing to counteract and educate. I'm actually very inspired by your post, so thank you!! Please come by our personal blog, Mommy LaDy Club, and say hello when you get a chance:)
Courtney
http://www.mommyladyclub.com

Julie @ Pickles and I Scream said...

I let my kiddo "watch" tv (nick jr.) too, she doesn't actually watch it but it provides background noise and I'd rather her learn to count in spanish from Dora than some crazy things she might hear if it were on another channel.
On the breastfeeding topic, my daughter would not breastfeed, period. We tried classes for almost 6 weeks and she just was not having it so I pumped and we bottle-fed. I was locked in a closet with that stupid pump every 4 hours for 6 months and I finally just couldn't do it any more and we switched to formula. While I think that education about breastfeeding is important and helpful, it's not always the answer.

visiting from VoiceBoks :)

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