Our rule: No characters on functional items

[Landlady]

Before having our child my husband and I came up with one rule for bringing kid stuff in the household - no characters on anything that wasn't directly related to the cartoon. For example, a Frozen toothbrush is not allowed in the house, but a Frozen movie would be.
Our thinking behind this was that we would subtly teach our offspring that toothbrushes are for brushing and not a part of vanity consumption.
Our rule has been way harder than we anticipated with relatives and friends giving us hand-me-downs.

I wonder if anyone else has a similar rule to ours. If so, how do you handle hand-me-downs that you know you are lucky to have because we are Mustaschians and being frugal, but you can't stomach your child wearing Cars themed light up sneakers?

[bogart]

Hmmm.  Given the ubiquity of such stuff, you're putting way more thought into brandedness/non-brandedness than I'm interested in allocating.  No such rule in our household, and I don't give it any thought at all.  I'm willing to say DS can/can't have something because it's not within our budget or because it's not something I want him to have/use, but not (just) on the basis of how it's decorated.

[MommyStache]

Obviously this will vary by family, but the fact that you say you can't stomach the themed clothing tells me that you will want to donate those items and use the handed-down clothes that you do like. I had this rule at first too, until my daughter started to express her strong desire for certain characters. For the most part, I won't buy things with characters, but if it is free or a gift, and it makes her happy, then I have come to adopt the mindset that these clothes and other items are hers, and she is the one wearing and using them. I still don't like her to wear clothes that are basically advertising products and characters, but she can wear them to bed or around the house, and I really don't care if she brushed her teeth with them. In the same way that you say that you don't think toothbrushes are supposed to be an outlet for consumer expression, I also think it's silly to NOT buy the cheaper toothbrush simply because it has a character sticker on the handle.

[ysette9]

We have an angry birds toothbrush because when my husband was shopping for her first toothbrush it was the cheapest at the store. Otherwise, we pretty much have no themed characters on anything. We don't watch movies and I don't intend to let my kid watch anything for a good long while. I really like old-school toys like wooden blocks, plain Legos, and the like. One set of friends got us a big garishly pink Disney princess castle toy that I quickly banished to the garage. It just isn't the kind of toy I want my little girl playing with. The other night she did point out Elmo on her diaper and I was perplexed; how the hell does she know Elmo when I don't even know Elmo? Certainly there are better things she could fill her brain space with. ;)

[MayDay]

I won't pay extra, and I avoid it ifi can easily, but I don't go out of my way.

I do hate the character clothing. I find it tacky. We weren't gifted or hand me downs many, and what we did got was "stained" and had to be tossed (donated).

[kimmarg]

love the idea but hard to implement. So far (8 months) I have not been buying anything character themed but have been graciously accepting all hand me downs. babies get stuff dirty so fast I don't feel I can be picky on not puking on disney!  As she gets older I suspect it will get much harder. When she is old enough to express an opinion I don't mind it but until then she gets my opinion which is no characters.

[CarrieWillard]

Yes, YES so much yes! I despise anything with licensed characters.

Unfortunately, my frugal proclivities clash with my "anti-licensed-characters" proclivities so I often accept gifts from the (spendthrift) grandparents and hand-me-downs from friends.

But I never buy that crap.

[Tiger Stache]

Free is free. We don't worry about it.

[Ceridwen]

We don't have that rule.  For functional items, I buy whatever is the best value.  It's often in character format.  My kids love it, but they also know it's not a given.  My mother loves to tell the story of when my 4 year old explained to her that he liked the Spiderman toothbrush the best, but it wasn't on sale so mommy bought the Mickey Mouse one instead.

This is a sidebar comment/humblebrag, but I also kind of love how my kids love all the character stuff, but for the most part have never seen the TV show or movie they are associated with.  My son is going to be so excited when he realizes that the "Cars" books/puzzles/lunch box are also a movie!

[LiveLean]

Years living in Central Florida - 18
Number of kids - 2 (13 and 11)
Trips to Disney - 0
Disney character items purchased - 0

Sure, we went through brief Thomas the Tank engine and Star Wars (pre-Disney) phases. But it's pretty easy to avoid character obsession.

[marty998]

We have an angry birds toothbrush because when my husband was shopping for her first toothbrush it was the cheapest at the store. Otherwise, we pretty much have no themed characters on anything. We don't watch movies and I don't intend to let my kid watch anything for a good long while. I really like old-school toys like wooden blocks, plain Legos, and the like. One set of friends got us a big garishly pink Disney princess castle toy that I quickly banished to the garage. It just isn't the kind of toy I want my little girl playing with. The other night she did point out Elmo on her diaper and I was perplexed; how the hell does she know Elmo when I don't even know Elmo? Certainly there are better things she could fill her brain space with. ;)

I think it would make Elmo sad to know millions of babies are shitting on him every day :(

[abhe8]

No character or branded stuff here. We are blessed with enough hand me downs that I can send the branded stuff on to goodwill. And while there u can pick up things for a dollar or two.

We do enjoy movies on occasion and have even, gasp, been to wdw twice but don't fill our lives with the advertising.

[Venturing]

We have the same rule. It was amazingly hard to find a child's toothbrush without some character on it!

I view branded merchandise as marketing and I'm certainly not going to pay a premium to have my child marketed at.

No help on the hand me down front sorry

[calimom]

I am not a super huge fan of mainstream characters on anything. I've never been to Disney-anything in my life, hope to keep it that way. When my son was a mere tot, he developed an extreme obsession with All Things Bob the Builder. Not sure how it started, but it was rather sweet, and when his grandmother caught wind of it, she bought him a Bob the Builder comforter and sheet set. I'm glad I didn't have any sort of insanity about whether he *should* have it or not; the little guy couldn't wait to go to bed every night to his Bob World. I probably wouldn't have bought such as thing myself, but I was glad it gave him pleasure.

It just was what it was. There are bigger battles to wage in this world. And you know what? As my kids get older, I rather miss the simplicity of those earlier times. It is of course a wonderful thing to have great values, but also a great thing to be flexible.

[abhe8]

We have the same rule. It was amazingly hard to find a child's toothbrush without some character on it!

I view branded merchandise as marketing and I'm certainly not going to pay a premium to have my child marketed at.

No help on the hand me down front sorry

Try firefly toothbrushes. They flash a small light for 2 mins, to help kids learn how long to brush. Solid colors. U can buy them at target or Amazon.

We have the same rule. It was amazingly hard to find a child's toothbrush without some character on it!

I view branded merchandise as marketing and I'm certainly not going to pay a premium to have my child marketed at.

No help on the hand me down front sorry

Try firefly toothbrushes. They flash a small light fit two mins, so hello kids learn how long to brush. Solid colors. U can buy them at target.

[Venturing]

Part of why I avoid these character items is because I see it as another form of engineered obsolescence. any character that my daughter loves at age two will be well out of favour by the time she's seven. Especially with items like duvets and curtains I like to buy quality items that will last, the designs mean that character items don't fulfill that.

[mm1970]

Free is free. We don't worry about it.

Yep.

My 4YO has a ton of Cars, Planes, and Thomas shirts/ shoes/ hats as hand me downs.

[MicroRN]

I really intended to avoid that kind of stuff as well, but I've let it creep in.  I was the one who only bought solid colored onesies, and definitely nothing with cutesy sayings on them.  If I buy the kids new clothes, it's usually basic khaki or navy pants or shorts and solid or color block shirts.  We buy expensive shoes but they are simple designs.  However, we buy 90% of the kid's clothes at thrift stores, and a ton of them have characters on them.  Family buys them a bunch of stuff as well for Christmas and birthdays.  The bedroom now has one bed with Paw Patrol sheets and blankets, and one with rocket ships.  Older son has a Cars backpack with matching lunchbox, and light up Cars shoes.  It bothered me at first, but I've decided I don't care that much.  I don't love that the themed stuff tends to be lower quality, but that can eventually become a teaching moment. 

[kandilynn]

I don't have kids but I have a friend that has a similar rule but only on stuff that is used long term. She didn't want to buy all new bedspreads when her child inevitably grew tired of that character.

[PFHC]

Free is free. We don't worry about it.

That and cheap is cheap. This is how we roll. That said, we do limit our consumption of branded characters and such. We do it by limiting screen time to less than 3 hours per week and by not owning a TV.

Good news is that our kids are 4 and 6 and they have no clue who any of the characters are, what songs go for who, and who the hell iron man is. Pretty proud of that. :)

[Secret Agent Mom]

No such rule in this house, but I do not like shirts that advertise the brand name like Gap, Abercrombie, ect.  If I buy it used, though, so what?  I buy the toothbrushes that are cheapest that meet my needs.  For little kids, there are two-packs of Peanuts toothbrushes I found on clearance a few years ago for $.50, and I stocked up, just got the last one out a few weeks ago.  No way would I have passed that deal up because it had Snoopy on it.  If you don't like it, I don't think you should have to buy it, but I don't think I would pass up freebies or cheap things just b/c they had a character on them.   I found some great tees on clearance at Target last year, $2-ish, that have Olaf and Ariel on them.  My little one will love them, and they were cheap.  Why pay $5+ for plain ones when I got character ones she will like better cheaper? 

[calimom]

I really intended to avoid that kind of stuff as well, but I've let it creep in.  I was the one who only bought solid colored onesies, and definitely nothing with cutesy sayings on them.  If I buy the kids new clothes, it's usually basic khaki or navy pants or shorts and solid or color block shirts.  We buy expensive shoes but they are simple designs.  However, we buy 90% of the kid's clothes at thrift stores, and a ton of them have characters on them.  Family buys them a bunch of stuff as well for Christmas and birthdays.  The bedroom now has one bed with Paw Patrol sheets and blankets, and one with rocket ships.  Older son has a Cars backpack with matching lunchbox, and light up Cars shoes.  It bothered me at first, but I've decided I don't care that much.  I don't love that the themed stuff tends to be lower quality, but that can eventually become a teaching moment.

So true. And remember that you child's bedroom at 4 years old will not resemble your child's bedroom at 14 years old. Everything changes.

This is all very much a rich white lady's problem.  Which is to say, a good problem to have. It you want to worry about something, make it be the what kids in the developing nations don't have - clean water, enough food, etc.

[Lagom]

Not worth worrying about IMO. Cutting cable (re: commercials) is probably far more impactful, if the consumerist undertones of these characters are the concern. Combine that with not wandering around toy stores for recreation and you're golden. But come on. There is nothing wrong with a child latching on to a character they love. Imaginative play is fantastic, but a love for Elsa/Thomas/Minions is not going to preclude that. Watching TV for hours a day is bad. But 20 minutes or even, god forbid, an hour each day will have no negative impact if the rest of their time is enriched with purposeful and loving parental attention, reading, solo playtime, etc.

[trashmanz]

Seems like there is so much else to focus on that would have more impact in a childs life.  Unless you are running a commune cut off from all outside influence and contact.

[Landlady]

Thanks everyone for your replies! I like to hear everyone's take on the pervasive characters and how or how not to let them into your lives. So far we don't have an obsession with any one character yet, but he's not yet 2 so there's plenty of time! I do agree that it's not worth much time or energy to keep brands out of the house, but I will try while my motivation lasts.

[esq]

My aversion comes from my parents, who wouldn't even let me have Barbies or coloring books.  I had to play with other dolls and color on blank paper.  Hated it then, but see their point now.

I don't remember my kids' hand me downs having characters on them.  If they did, I would have donated them.  I shopped at thrift stores, and chose those pieces that didn't advertise. 

I never thought about this being a first-world problem, but it really is.  Oh well.  Still hate all things Disney, etc.  Just tacky.

[bogart]

Part of why I avoid these character items is because I see it as another form of engineered obsolescence. any character that my daughter loves at age two will be well out of favour by the time she's seven. Especially with items like duvets and curtains I like to buy quality items that will last, the designs mean that character items don't fulfill that.

Eh.  I'm sympathetic to your basic point, but part of childhood is learning to make choices and part of that is ... getting to make choices.  I'm not going out of my way to buy Bob the Builder stuff for my kid, but neither am I going to (a) prevent him from choosing it (or others from giving it to him), or avoid getting it e.g. as hand-me-downs. 

As for durability -- My elementary school aged son's asleep right now on a bed with dinosaur sheets (not branded) that belonged to his half brother more than 2 decades ago, and a Lion King comforter that came into our lives heaven knows when, though I'm not sure he knows the Lion King story (he's perfectly familiar with Minions, though, and Minecraft and Starwars and ... well, let's just say we don't live in a box.).  None of that bothers me.  His half sister's high-school bedroom that she redid and I've bothered to re-redo with its royal blue painted (dark!) walls -- entirely unbranded... -- bugs me a lot more (so dark!), but I still let her paint it that way even though when she did it she was a high-school senior ... leaving soon ... because it was important to her at the time to put her own mark on it and explore "interior decorating."  Eh, whatever.  Sometime I should dig out a paint roller.  But I'm still glad I let her set up her room, her way.

[mm1970]

Part of why I avoid these character items is because I see it as another form of engineered obsolescence. any character that my daughter loves at age two will be well out of favour by the time she's seven. Especially with items like duvets and curtains I like to buy quality items that will last, the designs mean that character items don't fulfill that.

Eh.  I'm sympathetic to your basic point, but part of childhood is learning to make choices and part of that is ... getting to make choices.  I'm not going out of my way to buy Bob the Builder stuff for my kid, but neither am I going to (a) prevent him from choosing it (or others from giving it to him), or avoid getting it e.g. as hand-me-downs. 

As for durability -- My elementary school aged son's asleep right now on a bed with dinosaur sheets (not branded) that belonged to his half brother more than 2 decades ago, and a Lion King comforter that came into our lives heaven knows when, though I'm not sure he knows the Lion King story (he's perfectly familiar with Minions, though, and Minecraft and Starwars and ... well, let's just say we don't live in a box.).  None of that bothers me.  His half sister's high-school bedroom that she redid and I've bothered to re-redo with its royal blue painted (dark!) walls -- entirely unbranded... -- bugs me a lot more (so dark!), but I still let her paint it that way even though when she did it she was a high-school senior ... leaving soon ... because it was important to her at the time to put her own mark on it and explore "interior decorating."  Eh, whatever.  Sometime I should dig out a paint roller.  But I'm still glad I let her set up her room, her way.

my 10 yo sleeps on spongebob sheets and the 4 yo sleeps on star wars sheets...because the 10 yo is in the top bunk with the twin bed and the 4 yo is in the bottom bunk with the full bed, and those are the sheets that we have.

[Landlady]

I do think the characters are a first world problem---agreed. That's because we are in a time when we have a plethora of choices for how the world communicates with us. It's a no brainer that our kids are attracted to the storytellers that give them the most joy - just like adults are attracted to Apple products. It's a brand story that gives us joy through our perception of life being better or more joyful when that product is near you.

I think my reluctance to characters in the house all boils down to trust. There are some brands that I trust to teach my child about life - Sesame Street comes to mind. Sesame Street is a storyteller whom I trust to teach my child a positive message without selling him on something.

Even though it is a first world problem, it is a decision that I want to make whenever we visit a store or let something into our home. We have to decide which brands can talk to us and teach us about the world because  these brands do shape who we become and how we perceive the world.

[Blonde Lawyer]

No kids yet.  I hadn't really thought about characters as branding/advertisement.  I guess it makes sense that they all have their own franchises.

[Jrr85]

I do think the characters are a first world problem---agreed. That's because we are in a time when we have a plethora of choices for how the world communicates with us. It's a no brainer that our kids are attracted to the storytellers that give them the most joy - just like adults are attracted to Apple products. It's a brand story that gives us joy through our perception of life being better or more joyful when that product is near you.

I think my reluctance to characters in the house all boils down to trust. There are some brands that I trust to teach my child about life - Sesame Street comes to mind. Sesame Street is a storyteller whom I trust to teach my child a positive message without selling him on something.

Even though it is a first world problem, it is a decision that I want to make whenever we visit a store or let something into our home. We have to decide which brands can talk to us and teach us about the world because  these brands do shape who we become and how we perceive the world.

I'm not even sure it's first world problems.  Even very affluent, first world people are typically going to have more pressing things to worry about than this. 

I am sympathetic to the idea of limiting exposure to marketing, but I have young children and if they get joy out of elmo themed diapers or mickey underwear, I just enjoy it with them.  There will be plenty of time when they don't get joy out of such simple things, so I'm going to enjoy it while they do, even if it is evidence of successful marketing somewhat "tricking" them into liking the characters.  I feel like they will have plenty of interactions with me to learn about money and values and allowing them to enjoy characters now as toddlers isn't going to result in them being too brainwashed to learn from me later.  But if in ten to twenty years, it turns out I am wrong about this, I will try to come back and let people know. 

[slow hand slow plan]

This is not a real problem . Move on and find a better teachable lesson.

[Landlady]

This is not a real problem . Move on and find a better teachable lesson.

I'm not sure why you even bothered to reply then since by replying you've now kept a stale conversation going! lol Way to teach me a lesson, slow hand slow plan.

[Scubanewbie]

I avoid it if I think it will make me replace something and not just for characters for for teeny tiny things too.  I.e. with bedding.  ODS (7) is in a twin size bed so I bought a blue/plaid pattern.  Would an adorable rocket ships pattern be cute, sure...and would make me replace it when he got "too old" while this one will last till its threadbare of he heads off to college in it.  Did I buy my older boy a relatively plain (as gender neutral as I could get) orange bike so I knew his younger sister could use it, sure.  Did I turn down the princess sophia bike that her uncle bought her...nope.  Do I mind the kids getting a Minnie lunch box ($4.99 clearance at end of season last year, wahoo!)...not at all.  But would I either pay more for it or buy something that wasn't 'consumable' and would therefore have a shorter useful life BECAUSE of the character, nope.

I agree that I don't like characters clothes not for any moral reason but because I find them pretty ugly usually.  But I'm happy to say apparently I'm not (too) obnoxious about it.  My kids are 7 & 3 and my mom just noticed that I hate character clothes when she bought one of them something truly hideous and I wrinkled my nose.  I don't tell her what to buy and let the kids wear those sorts of clothes for play if they want, but I have not ever (except for PJs) bought a character outfit.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I set limits on durable items. Toothbrushes, whatever, the licensed characters are often the cheapest anyway. But I said no to a Thomas the Tank Engine thermos. On the other hand, Batman didn't cost any more than plain and I figure he will not outgrown Batman.

Basically, I do not object to licensed characters if the cost is not greater and replacement is not an issue. Star Wars shoes? They're on clearance, why not? 112% more shoe-related happiness for the kids at no extra char.ge

[VladTheImpaler]

I'm not worried about it with my daughter, who absolutely loves Frozen EVERYTHING.
I don't buy it but I will gladly accept branded gifts from family.

What I am worried about is her constant request to watch these "frozen" themed Youtube videos where all you can see is some woman's hands playing with cheap toys.

[hunniebun]

My daughter's loves characters (mainly princesses) and plays with her princess toys a fair amount...but she also plays with lego and builds magnaform buildings and paints and draws and colors and plays hockey with her brother. I honestly never thought much about it before, but generally think that making something taboo has the potential to increase the appeal and give it more power in the long run.  Strangely, the disney princess shampoo/toothpaste etc is often on sale cheaper than the no name brand...and I am not paying more to be logo free!

[FLBiker]

DD is just 16 months, but we have a no licensed character rule.  It applies to everything, though we're a bit lenient on books (Dr. Seuss gets a pass, for example).  Like others have said, we have enough hand-me-downs / secondhand stuff that we just consign anything we get with characters on it.  We also avoid unnecessary "girl" versions of toys.  For example, someone gave us a pink set of megabloks.  We returned it for the multi-colored version.

[TabbyCat]

I had branded stuff as a kid but there was so little of it (not a lot of stuff in general) those things became even more special and instead worked to teach the value of a few thinks you take care of instead of a ton of stuff. I get the impression the rule has more to do with your dislike of branded things than with teaching a lesson, but that's ok too. I don't like branded stuff as an adult either, but will let my kid enjoy in moderation.

[FLBiker]

I had branded stuff as a kid but there was so little of it (not a lot of stuff in general) those things became even more special and instead worked to teach the value of a few thinks you take care of instead of a ton of stuff. I get the impression the rule has more to do with your dislike of branded things than with teaching a lesson, but that's ok too. I don't like branded stuff as an adult either, but will let my kid enjoy in moderation.

For us, its more about limiting our kid's exposure to advertising.

[Pigeon]

We didn't buy character themed stuff, but if it was a gift or a hand me down, I didn't care.  Not my hill to die on.

We didn't let our kids watch a ton of TV, so they never had all that much of a connection to the characters.  They knew who the characters were, but weren't all that interested in them.  I think the real damage is done by constant exposure to advertising. 

There are things about Disney I don't like, but I wasn't opposed to letting my kids watch their movies on occasion, and we did do the pilgrimage to WDW a time or two.  The kids never were obsessed with any of it and I can't remember either of them ever specifically asking for anything character related, except for the time my oldest was in jr. high school and asked for help making a Mickey Mouse costume for Halloween.

[StarBright]

We have the same rule. It was amazingly hard to find a child's toothbrush without some character on it!

I view branded merchandise as marketing and I'm certainly not going to pay a premium to have my child marketed at.

No help on the hand me down front sorry

We only let our kids use the toothbrushes that the dentist gives them at their twice a year checkups. Toothpaste however, I don't think I've ever seen toothpaste without a character. I thought I picked up a toothpaste with a generic animal on it once, but it turns out it was "Paw Patrol" and a real thing. :)