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You've got questions, she's got answers. Be among the first to read Elise Mac Adam's new etiquette guide.
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Consuming Kiddies
Salon just ran an article for which I was interviewed about the wildness of consumer culture for babies. In it, I admit, as I did once here, that Buy Buy Baby made me cry.
Really, there's nothing wrong with reasonable indulgence and- I'll say it even if it is oxymoronic- tempered excess, and the second I have to care deeply about how other people spend their money is the second I need to develop some hobbies. I would rather take up quilting than develop any sort of rigorous moral stance about people's spending habits.
Besides, I'm not really masochistic about functional things and won't quibble with good design that works well. Even if it is outrageously expensive, it offers up hope, the promise that beauty might trickle down into the affordable.
I've been thinking about this a lot because I got a chance to peer into the insane world that is the New York International Gift Fair. The entire Jacob Javits center was loaded with every kind of product that could even remotely be considered a "gift." Wandering the hall was beyond breathtaking, though after about an hour something that sort of felt like a hangover started to set in.
For reasons too obvious to mention, I did quite a bit of wandering the floor of Kiddie things. There were kaleidoscopes of Robeez , strange wooden springy toys, the entire series of That's Not My... books fabulous raincoat sets and stuffed animals galore. I should say that there wasn't much in the way of equipment- perhaps that sort of thing isn't romantic enough to qualify for a gift show.
Something that was interesting about all of this stuff is that a lot of it is conceived as a kind of "lifestyle" product. One doesn't just get the stuffed animal, one gets the blanket and the crib bumper and the bathrobe and the mobile and the stroller toys, everything. Obviously, manufacturers think in these terms. They like to make things and people are drawn to sets of matching things. But there was an underlying message that was fascinating.
"Comfort" was the word. The idea is that no matter where the child is, there will be a familiar item: a toy that can be taken everywhere and serve as a "transitional object" (I'm still not 100% sure what this means), blankets that feel like the toys, sets of things with harmonious colors. One company whose products are actually very lovely (Felix actually got a couple of these stuffed animal/puppet/blanket hybrid things they call "doudous," see above, as presents and loves them) even makes something that is soft and cuddly AND a nightlight that kids can take to bed with them. I saw the object and was really taken with it, and then caught myself. My kid isn't afraid of the dark. Yet. There's a (slim) chance he won't ever be and yet here was this cute thing...
It is just interesting how the goal of so much of the baby stuff was "comfort," as if the default state of little ones were "discomfort" (something I always assumed didn't set in until middle school). How much of this is designed to trigger parental angst and purchasing, I couldn't say.
The nightlight was adorable, but happily not for sale.
posted by Elise at 2:01 PM
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1/22/2007 10:22 AM
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