Buying stuff you don't need and the ethics of marketing to mums

[123Ess]

New parents and those just about to have kids are very vulnerable to marketing. Here's a story about how companies target mothers and new parents:



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What are the items for looking after a baby that are completely unnecessary, what are the items that are really needed?
And what about the ethics of this, do you think it's reasonable to target people in this way?

[Rowellen]

What are the items for looking after a baby that are completely unnecessary, what are the items that are really needed?

Nearly everything is completely unnecessary. Especially qubies & pureed baby food in a tube. Some things did make life a bit easier though - MCN's, ergo carrier, bumbo, high chair, a very small % of the toys my kids have and a fraction of the clothing they had for example.

And what about the ethics of this, do you think it's reasonable to target people in this way?

I don't have a problem with it, in general. Businesses need to promote their products somehow or they wouldn't sell anything. Newsletters & magazines etc - no-one's forcing anyone to get/read them so that's fine. I love getting them, but I don't always read them. Same with things like FB - no-one forces anyone to like a page or keep reading their updates. I have had heaps of sites on my FB but I haven't kept ones that I found I didn't need or like. I would have an issue if a "mummy blogger" was promoting a product for cash and not disclosing it though. It's deceitful.

[leckert]

I found the qubies were best for freezing my ebm and didn't use them for food at all; the other trays I tried to freeze ebm in didn't keep the seal very well for more than a couple of uses.
(and the raffetrys garden stuff was way more convenient than jar stuff when out & about when we did the occasional purée foods)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk so may not make sense

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

Well, babies do need clothes, nutrition, a place to sleep, mental and physical stimulation and a means of transport usually. So I don't mind marketing as it enables me to see what's out there and make up my own mind. Yes, Lieby had too much "stuff" but most of the stuff I didn't use was bought as gifts by people told I didn't need what they were buying. If new parents don't research the needs of children and just believe a company with something to sell, more fool them.

I don't think baby gyms are necessary, but they are useful (and Liebs, at 5, still loves his and hunts it down to play with for hours). Music CDs aren't necessary, but I enjoyed some of them. Infant books aren't needed by the hundred, but Liebs has a large book selection (and is the only babe in arms to have been read all of Harry Potter, something he won't sit still for now). He has more clothes than he needs. I didn't need all the cloth nappies, but they did look cute, and I'll be buying more for Stormy at the right time for us.

What about the ethics of advertising chocolate? That's not a necessity but is still marketed. Such is life. Essentials we get no matter what, everything else needs an ad campaign!