| Brands Name Parents |
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| Margaux Needham | |||
| Monday, 01 May 2006 | |||
Walking through a bustling shopping centre with my husband and 10 month old son, I observe many moms and dads just like us. Pushing gurgling babies in prams, sitting in a coffee shop feeding Baby a bottle, surreptitiously feeding boob to a screaming child while fumbling with a blanket or nappy to "cover up" or turning a deaf ear to a stomping toddler's demands for the latest toy or gadget on the market. I feel that "modern" (how modern are they really?) parents are using their children as an excuse for showing off their financial standing in the community as much as they would flaunt the latest German engineered car or cluster home on the "right side" of the tracks! "Sour grapes!", I hear you scream. Not so. I choose to put extra money into a savings for my son's future, for when he has learnt the value of money, not into the latest R2,000 pram. My son travels in style in a navy blue pram covered in cute teddy bears, which I am proud to say cost me R500. No, my pram requires two hands to open and close it, not one. No, my pram does not sport an odometer or speedometer. Neither my son nor I are particularly interested in how far we have traveled together or at what speed. What we care about is that we travel together. My son doesn't care about the label name printed onto his outfit. He cares about being warm and loved. Are parents losing sight of what children are really about? Do the media also have a role to play here? Are they playing on our insecurities as parents and providers? Switch on a TV or open a magazine and there is a barrage of info on the latest, greatest, better products to ensure you have a happy child and are then a "good parent". Have the media assisted in creating "brand-name-parents"? Children are a gift. They are on loan to us to support them to achieve their life purpose and when the time comes we have to let them go, free them into the world, where they will find their own niche and make their own mark in the world. And we, the proud parents, stand back and watch them make this transition, with tears rolling down our faces, but knowing that we did the best with what we had as parents! We do have a responsibility to these beings. We teach them cause and effect, responsibility, how to share…and amongst the list should be "value of money". Are these "name-brand-parents" not teaching their children that what matters, is not what is inside the pram, but the actual pram itself? Not who is wearing the clothes, but the clothes themself? Not what is inside the bottle, but the name splashed on the bottle? I find it sad, that this new generation of "name-brand-parents" are proud to strut around showing off their fancy brand names, making sure everyone sees them, whilst forgetting to enjoy your baby and enjoy the honour of being a parent.
Disclaimer: Harmonious Living is written for and read by a community of individuals with strong and independent opinions. While the publishers of Harmonious Living are dedicated to providing a forum in which views can be openly expressed, those views do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers.
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This is the powerful story of the author's struggle with Multiple Sclerosis and how a healer's unusual prescription of mindful altruism - to 'give away 29 gifts in 29 days' - ignited her energy, her happiness, and invited more abundance into her life.
