It's hard for parents to resist advertising pressure to buy more toys for their children. Advertisers know how to create desire in tiny hearts.

Here are five ways you can resist advertising pressure to buy more toys for your child.

FIVE WAYS TO RESIST ADVERTISING PRESSURE TO BUY MORE TOYS FOR YOUR CHILD

1. Turn off the television. Limit the amount of programs your kids watch and you'll limit their exposure to advertising.

2. Discard catalogs. Your child may enjoy perusing that new Lego catalog that just arrived in the mail but, unless you want to purchase a Lego toy right now, why not put that catalog directly in the trash before your child gets home from school?

3. Buy used toys at garage sales and rummage sales. Instead of buying that new toy that the advertisers are touting surprise your child with a toy that will delight them just as much and that only costs a fraction of the price of a new toy. You have one advantage over advertisers, in that you know your child better than they do.

4. Set a toy budget, and stick to it. This will help you to resist advertising pressure to buy new toys, and help your child to understand about the need to make choices. There are a limited number of toys they can have; they'll have to be sure to choose the right ones.

5. Let your child play with that new toy before you buy it. Only do this if you really can't resist the advertising pressure to buy that new toy any longer. Don't pick it up yourself, but instead bring your child to the toy store with you and encourage your child to play with the toy. Don't help them to play with it, just leave them to it. Many times they'll get bored enough with the toy in just a few minutes that they decide they don't want it after all.

If you follow these five tips you'll be able to resist advertising pressure to buy new toys for your child, and keep from being manipulated by the advertising industry.

Learn more about this author, David Riel.
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