Are you giving yourself (and your kids) a competitive advantage?
We live in a world where we’re bombarded with advertising, brands and content. Where many people recognise far more logos of multinational companies, than they do local flora and fauna. In fact, in America it’s been shown that children can recognise up to 1000 logos, and less than 10 native animals and plants.
With marketing and advertising at an all-time high, rather than getting frustrated and angry, perhaps we need to invest more time in balancing this content with opposing images and knowledge? This is what I call the competitive advantage.
To give you an example, I may not be able to control the fact that we drive past fast-food chains on a regular basis (which adds familiarity of these logos to my/ my children’s psyche), but I can influence what ELSE we notice on that trip – the wildflowers that are in bloom, the echidna that we slowed down for, the mushrooms growing on the side of the road, the colour of the ocean that we also drive past. It sometimes drives my kids crazy, because a simple trip to town can involve a few stops, or a 'short' walk can turn into a long one! ;)
When it comes to nutrition, the same sort of thing can apply. For example, I may not be able to control how many lolly brands my kids may see at the supermarket, post office or service station; but I can build knowledge around food in many other ways to add balance and ‘realness’ to what they’re exposed to – this may be in the garden, in the kitchen or through exposing their palates to a range of wholefoods.
My kids know what Coke and McDonalds is (even though they’ve never had either!), but they also know how passionfruit/ carrots/ beets/ berries/ greens/ corn/ pumpkin grows, they know the name of the indiginous land we live on and they know the names of most of our native trees. Please know that this is not parenting advice! This is simply our approach. Rather than worrying about what our kids are exposed to that we can’t control, we choose to notice and appreciate the beauty and detail around us.
