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{ Sunday, December 16, 2007 }

8:55 AM | link

I've been working on our registry. The whole idea of a registry goes against the principles we've been trying to live by—consume only what you need, buy new as the last option, etc. But we realized that even if you try to do it simply, you do need a significant amount of stuff for a baby.

So I made a list of priorities for us as we build our registry:
  1. Can something else serve this purpose?
  2. Buy locally made. If that's not possible, buy locally available. If that's not possible, buy fair-trade.
  3. Buy organic and/or natural (non-synthetic) materials.
I've been sticking to the locally available and organic/natural guidelines pretty well, but it sure is easy to get wrapped up in what people say you "need" for a baby. I mean, do you really need that many different types of linens for an 8-pound human? Wash cloths, burp cloths, receiving blankets, swaddling blankets, and on and on. Maybe you do—I guess I won't really know til I get there. And so I'm probably going a little overboard and putting things on the registry you can live without pretty easily.

So here's my pledge to anyone out there who's actually interested in all this anti-affluenza pregnancy talk: As I discover what you actually do need versus what's just nice-to-have, I'll share that here. I'm sure it's different for every baby and their parents, but at least it will be a starting point.

And if you know of a knowledge base like that already out there, please let me know!

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{ Friday, January 26, 2007 }

7:15 AM | link

Maybe Bush calling out the Baby Einstein creator at the State of the Union address had a deeper motive:
Particularly relevant to the future state of our democratic union is research showing that the more time babies spend in front of TV, the less time they spend in one activity which we know is educational--creative play. Losing, or never acquiring, the ability to play may not sound like much until you realize that play is essential not just to learning, but to democracy. It's through playing that children learn skills essential to thriving in, and protecting, a democratic society. Critical thinking, initiative, curiosity, problem solving and creativity are capacities that develop through play, as are the more ephemeral qualities of self-reflection, empathy, and the ability to find meaning in life.

And what do children learn from the more than forty hours a week they spend with a commercially dominated media? They are being taught the corporate values embraced and promulgated by the Bush administration--unthinking brand loyalty, impulse buying, and a belief that consumption is the solution to all ills. Remember, this is the administration that told us to go shopping after the World Trade Center was attacked.

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