Mr. Fab and I got rid of our TV when we first moved in together and—apart from on a handful of occasions—we haven’t missed it at all.
One of the things I definitely don’t miss is the topic of this week’s Whiny Wednesday:
Kid-centric advertising
I’m sure you know what I mean—those ads selling products you might actually use, but which start out with lines like, “We know your family is important to you that’s why you use [fill in the blank product].”
It’s Whiny Wednesday and open season for any topic that’s on your mind.
So annoying! I constantly wonder what kids have to do with many products I see advertised. Like the childless don’t clean or do laundry or eat!
Well intenfed friend: “you can have my kids!”
Me: “Nah, your kids are jerks” (but I have a more colorful name in mind to replace “jerks.”)
Ok, so I’ll never actually answer that way but sometimes I just want to shake people out of their stupor by coming up with an equally callous reply to that one.
I can’t stand the advertising where the kids are brats and get whatever the product is. A recent example is the halo oranges. “If you don’t have halos your kids won’t have halos.” If my kid ever cut off a stuff horses head and stuck it in my bed that kid would only NOT get the halos my kid would not have anymore stuffed animals. Or the other halo commercial where the mom gave the last halo to the little baby brother and the sister duct taped him to the door. HELLO!!! WHAT THE HECK PEOPLE! Lets teach our kids to be evil so we can sale more of our product!
I know it is just a commercial but there are some really disturbed kids out there.
Ohh I don’t like those commercials at all! I thought I was the only one
I only watch a few shows on cable and pbs, so I guess I miss these commercials, which is a very good thing as I love halos.
Yep – it’s been a real pain since being told I can’t have kids. I mean they get shoe-horned into everything. Bank accounts and mortgages, soap, furniture – it’s like we don’t use these products and in effect are invisible!
Yesterday my husband showed me a photo on his phone of our friends’ new baby. He was due in February, but came early. These friends battled infertility. They had several miscarriages. I should be happy for them, but all I want to do is cry. I feel like a horrible person because I am not excited for them.
At Christmas I learned that my estranged older half-brother’s daughter, my half-niece, had a baby. I am 35 and a great-aunt(half-aunt). I have no relationship with them, so I shouldn’t care. I guess it bothers me because she is 19 or 20 years old. To me that seems too young.
Months ago my husband had promised that after the first of the year he would go to doctor and have tests done. When I brought it up last week, he quickly changed the subject. I’m not sure it’s worth it anymore. I feel like quitting, without having really tried. My husband may say he wants a child, but his lack of actions proves to me that he really doesn’t. I need to learn to accept that.
You’re grieving, Erin. Just because you can’t be excited for your friends doesn’t mean you’re a horrible person. It’s just that their happy news hits your centre of pain. Take time to grieve and stay kind to yourself. You’re NOT a bad person.
When it comes to your husband, my husband was the same. I was angry at first, but what helped me was reading some blog posts written by men and realizing how tough it was for men and how scary it was to get tested and to wonder about their own “masculinity” (because the whole world seems to think that a man who can produce babies are “real/macho” men). Wishing you all the best in your journey and I hope that infertility will strengthen your relationship with your husband.
It hurts doesn’t it when you see others experiencing things you feel you should have but sadly lost out on.