Gotta love those funny TV commercials! How about the ad where one guy hits another in the head with a cell phone, twice, or where a woman bounces a cue ball off the forehead of an obnoxious man? Then there’s the guy who breaks down a wall to be allowed to answer a quiz question. We’re supposed to laugh, of course. If we do, though, what we’re telling our kids is that violence is both an acceptable response to minor irritants and funny. It’s time to change this way of thinking. We start not by laughing at the aggressive scene but by using the ads as a chance to talk to our kids about violence against our fellow humans. Our discussion will likely bring out stories of similar antagonism on the playground or among their friends and give us a chance to offer guidance in how to handle such situations.
Tag Archive for playground
“Funny” TV Ads
Those Painful Broken Plastic Toys
Well, they’re painful when stepped on or go into the landfill. Hasbro has a solution. They’re working with TerraCycle to recycle them into materials for playgrounds and benches. Find out how you can participate: https://www.terracycle.com/en-US/brigades/hasbro.
[For more easy, money-saving, Earth-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/view/7000 or your favorite e-book seller and download to your computer or e-book device. Totally free, with no strings attached.]
Harming Children on Purpose
Razor blades embedded in playground equipment?! I thought that nobody would do such a thing. Until the news reported that it has happened four times in a San Diego, CA playground. And in an Illinois playground a month ago. And in Philadelphia eleven months ago. Where else, I wonder.
But I wonder even more how anyone could fasten razor blades to jungle gyms and climbing bars or bury them in sandboxes, knowing full well that little children would have fingers, hands, and knees sliced open, causing pain to them and their parents.
I hope for a quick catching and prosecuting of those people. An adult’s responsibility is to protect children, not to terrorize them.