December 19th, 2007
Just the thought of it all makes her queasy.
“We’ve had mountains of stuff recalled, mountains of it,” she says. “But Diego is our big culprit. … Graham (the couple’s son, age 2 ½ ) likes this little guy, this cartoon character who’s become a marketing nightmare. He’s got all these accessories and all this gear – it’s ridiculous.
“But here’s the thing: You look at the gazillions of dollars spent, and what do you do with this stuff? You don’t want to give it to Good Will and poison other people’s children. What do you do? It’s the worst feeling in the world to be throwing away toys, especially when you know other kids might not have any.”
Grulke brings some lightness to the dilemma, however, saying she blames herself for being sucked into the whole cycle of plying children with stuff, and more stuff, and more stuff. At times, she sees the humor in it – not the humor in thousands of children getting sick or whose health is at risk, she explains, but the pathetic humor in consumerism gone mad.
“You got screwed to begin with because you fell for this stuff, and everybody else’s child had to have it and so your son has to have it. Then you feel triple screwed – by your kid when he gets upset because you’re taking it away. It feels ridiculous doing that to your kid! With Diego dangling out of his ski patrol boat and with all his tons of accoutrement that you’ve bought, and then you have to say, ‘No, you may not have him!!!’
It reminds Denver-based Judy De Haas of something that makes her queasy, too.
“It’s the complete overindulgence of children in this country. When you see those numbers – where 23 million toys have been recalled – that tells you all you need to know.”
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