Three Tips for Teaching Kids Postconsumerism

The real future of the postconsumer movement, of course, lies in raising children who are more aware of the consumer media, the wastefulness of mass consumerism and the need to be financially responsible. But how do you raise children to have those qualities when they’re faced with conflicting messages about “stuff” and consumerism every single day? We will not lie to you, it will be a challenge. However, it is possible! Here are three of our favorite tips for trying to instill postconsumer values in your children.

This is an important one for several reasons, but we all know that at least a third of every half an hour of television time is devoted to advertising and consumer media messages. If you limit how much television your child watches, or alternatively if you only allow your child to watch dvds or recorded television, you can limit his or her exposure to commercials, product placement and other “must have” messages that children are susceptible to. We know one child who, because her mother doesn’t have cable, literally asked only for craft and art supplies for Christmas last year.

Ensuring that your child is involved in volunteer work early in their lives will help instill in them the idea of an interconnected community as well as social interaction outside of their specific peer zone. Why is this important? Ultimately, many people turn to consumerism to “fill a hole” that they feel because of a lack of connectedness or purpose. Volunteer work gives children both and also gives them a structure to continue to find those things throughout their lives. Make it a game – volunteer work can be volunteer play!

We know it’s hard, particularly when kids can be cruel if your child doesn’t have the most “it” thing of the moment. However, learning that not every purchase is required exactly when a child wants it ultimately has to come from you. You simply can’t give in to every toy or item your child asks for without creating unrealistic expectations. We know it can make parenting more challenging, but if a child gets used to always purchasing what they want, when they want it, it will have an impact when they’re older. The best toys are the ones that a child creates.

Parenting is, obviously, incredibly complicated and these three tips alone won’t be all that you need to do. They also won’t work for every child! However, trying to implement them is a great first step in starting to raise happy, postconsumer children.

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