Free up the stress - let’s NOT SHOP!
December 29, 2007
The Christmas season is still strong in our minds, with the wrappings barely undone, the bills mounting up, the worries of making ends meet are starting to build.
Article by Keran Thomas - Birdwing Therapies
Parents are mindful of the school uniforms and books that need to be purchased, the pressures of what the kids say “the other kids have” and how this all mounts up on the mounds of parental guilt and self doubt. What can we do, to stop ourselves falling into the trap of commercial mindlessness that zaps our energy and our hard earned money?
How do parents in today’s society manage the stressors of financial pressures from those who have so much? (and want more?) The pressures of the media seem to impact greatly on how we our parent children, and the choices we make in purchases.
It appears that these pressures also impact on our stress levels and how we care for our kids when the stress gets too high. How about we protest by having a day at home, NOT SHOPPING! and playing with our children instead. (I know, the teenagers will freak out, totally! so beware of looming bad vibes!)
Imagine- the kids might even enjoy being with us?! What are your thoughts on having holidays rather than shopperdays? Let’s bring on family fun days and parental self care!!! Reality or fantasy??
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2 Responses to “Free up the stress - let’s NOT SHOP!”
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Copyright © 2007 
Let’s make it a reality! The teenagers might even surprise you… I know from living “overseas” from 72-75 in Ehtiopia, and 82-85 in Okinawa, when living with my children the way you suggest was more often not a choice but a reality, that those are the memories we all value the most. TV was available, but only a couple channels of old re-runs…Sesame Street and Hawaii 5-0 were the most exciting fare we had in Ethiopia! Shopping in Ethiopia was next to nil… a tiny PX and commissary that had next to nothing, and the only other shopping at the markado or the tiny corner kiosks. After a short while the excitement of African rugs, black gold jewelry and African clothes loses out to racing shopping carts in the commissary parking lot. Not even eating out at good old fast food places served as an escape. There weren’t any. One movie theater that ran the same film for a week and old ones at that. In fact highlights for us were things like a shipment of tuna and mayonaise smuggled in from Turkey, a trip to Kenya where it was the sight of a Kentucky Fried Chicken, not live animals in a natural habitat, that created the most excitement for the kids who hadn’t seen any”fast-food” place in two years at that point! And yet those are the memories that remain. It isn’t their memories of Disney World and all the other theme parks, Megaplex Movie Theaters, and Malls aplenty around the US that we were fortunate enough to give them that get remembered with excitement. It’s the nights and days spent making Pizza’s that the rest of the world are only now getting from Pizza Huts, et al.; pizzas made from entirely “from scratch” with hands on by all, exotic milkshake conglomerations, and such that come first to mind. The marathon games of Risk and Monopoly, the many deck, solitaire games with all Aces in the middle, crossword puzzle races… a favorite and great for improving spelling and vocabulary! I could go on, of course, but your own families will dream up creative and fun ways to spend family together time. I know because, my daughter instituted one night a week last year that was no tv, no music, no fast food and no commercial activities. It was initially met with grumbles by 10,13 & 14 year olds, but soon couldn’t be skipped! When their friends are invited they express skepticism but soon are nagging their parents for a family night, too. Today’s children have “everything” and yet they have nothing when it comes to genuine positive interactions among family members.
A Child is Waiting.
Take care…be aware,
Nancy
I LOVE it. Yes to no shopping and having holidays instead.
There is a global movement, “Buy Nothing Day”. I have tried to participate several years in a row but I have always failed!!!!!!
I really like that some denominations and beliefs have family days as part of their culture. Both the Latter Day Saints and the Jehovah Witnesses do family days/games day well.
Paul; and I have an aversion to the commercialism of Valentines Day. We instead randomly pick a month and a day from two “lotto” containers prepared earlier (Ohhhh, I’m sounding like Nigella Lawson or Jamie Oliver - here’s one I prepared earlier). On that date, we have a day where we celebrate being together. We might make it a mental health day from work and go somewhere together, have a special tea, play board games etc.
Holidays rather than shopperdays - bring it on!