The stuff of parents.

I listened to this segment of Talk of the Nation today. I had no idea parenting is such a big business with a tremendous market all its own.

Personally, in terms of stuff, I thought I went a bit overboard when preparing for my son's emergence into this world, but compared to designer diaper bags for both day and evening, and $1,000 strollers, I guess I lived the simple life.

Even so, I would still give my younger self a bit of advice on purchasing parenting supplies---- a good car-seat, a great backpack, a jogger stroller, a bike trailer, and a big futon to throw on the floor would have sufficed for our family. We seldom used our crib, our fluffy stroller, the baby swing... and so much more.

After listening to that NPR segment, I realize how much the marketing of all that baby stuff revolves around targeting the altruistic nature of parents---we want our children to be safe and healthy. We want the best for them... and we worry a lot. New parents, especially, are prime targets for this sort of parenting fear factor marketing. Subliminally (or even more adversely) we hear that if we don't have this or that gadget, this baby class or that educational opportunity, our children will somehow fall behind, be hurt, or suffer some other form of irreparable damage. The fact that some of the most brilliant and creative humans lived hundreds of years ago during times that all this stuff wasn't available, isn't ever brought up. Did da Vinci coo along to Baby Einstein? Or, for that matter, did the real baby Einstein have the proper contrasting colors to occupy his baby brain in his crib?

It's another topic that proves difficult for my brain to comprehend-----this contrast of our modern day "needs" to what babies historically grew up with. I'll be the first to admit some of the new inventions and baby gear help families enjoy their time together more easily (did I mention that baby backpack?) but where do we draw the line----when did the innate pleasures of parenthood become a market?