Don't really like cartoons, characters, etc

[erikab922]

Love this board, there's got to be someone else out there like me! I was the first kid in the family and as far as I can remember we never really did kid-related stuff, I was just brought along to whatever the grown-ups were doing. We never watched Saturday morning cartoons or went to Disney movies or anything like that and I didn't mind because you don't miss what you didn't have.

My little sister was born when I was 6 and by then VHS started to get popular and you could get Disney movies for home and the Saturday morning cartoons were mega-popular. So my sister is into that kind of stuff but I never wanted to watch cartoons or do kid things because I just wanted to hang out with the grown-ups.

I look at lots of kid things and so many have cartoon-related characters, Disney, Winnie the Pooh etc and I am really hoping no one buys anything like this for us - I would never turn down a gift and of course I will be grateful for whatever we have, but I'm not comfortable with my kid wearing commercial characters/basically being an advertisement for stuff I don't like. Oddly enough, I kept this to myself and it was only when my OH was like 'I don't want our kid wearing anything with cartoons on it' and I knew there was a reason we were together.

I'm writing this and I sound like a big ole grumpus! There's got to be someone else out there to tell me that I'm not I am dreading having to buy all sorts of cartoon/Disney DVDs etc and am hoping my kid will totally not be interested! I feel like that sounds horrible but we always watched nature shows/documentaries etc and I turned out OK.

Anyone else feel remotely the same way?

 

[Tacey]

Hate it, hate it, hate it!

I don't have any branded kids' stuff in the house, and any gifts we get go to the charity shop to be appreciated by someone who might like that kind of thing.

My particular bugbear is anything Disney. Especially Disney princesses And yet, people seem to assume it's the perfect thing for a little girl.

You're certainly not alone!

 

[Button#]

I'm the complete opposite as I'm a huge Disney fan myself. But if you explain to people you don't like cartoon/character stuff then I'm sure they'll understand. I have a friend who hates stuff like that as well and she just made it known generally how she feels about it and it was no problem.

 

[justplainTIFF]

I'm right there with you! I know these says it seems hard to find non-cartoon stuff as its everywhere! But I actually had this conversation with a friend a few weeks ago. She and I both are against the whole idea. But like you said. If someone were to get a gift I would t refuse it cuz I feel that would be rude. I might just not use it... That might be rude too. But it's my child. I'll dress him/her as i please and let him/her play with toys that I find appropriate.

 

[SAJ]

I'm with you! I can't say i watched cartoons growing up (and people think I'm crazy!) because I had older siblings and by the time I was cartoon-watching age, they were past it and well, I never got the remote because I was the youngest! I too do NOT want cartoon/character themed baby items. Period.

 

[SAJ]

I would like to add though that Disney movies (from early 90s) were something I watched if I could. I also took my son to Disneyland and it was fab...would do it again in a heartbeat. I'm just really not a fan of the other cartoon type characters (winnie, etc).

 

[bananaz]

I'm with you on this, and thankfully my OH is as well. The other day he turned to me and said "This child will not be watching Disney. Period." So I'm guessing he's on the same page about wearing Disney too.

I know he has no problem with the baby wearing stuff branded with his favorite bands though - s/he already has a Pink Floyd onesie lol

 

[erikab922]

Hate it, hate it, hate it!

I don't have any branded kids' stuff in the house, and any gifts we get go to the charity shop to be appreciated by someone who might like that kind of thing.

My particular bugbear is anything Disney. Especially Disney princesses And yet, people seem to assume it's the perfect thing for a little girl.

You're certainly not alone!

Oh thank god, seriously, I know that so may people like that kind of stuff and I started feeling weird about it. I don't wear anything where you can tell what the brand is - even if it's a really good designer I will make sure it's not obvious. I have always been like this and I don't know where it came from. My OH thinks that everything Disney/Pixar is designed to just get you to buy their stuff and that's why he doesn't like it.

We did discuss donating items but I'd prefer if it people didn't buy us this stuff in the first place so like the above poster says, I think I will have a word with OH's family (my family wouldn't buy anything cartoon-y) as I don't want them to waste their £ on something baby wouldn't wear. I haven't ever done anything like that before as I always feel so grateful to receive anything as a gift, but I think I will in this case. This has been on my mind so much as I don't want to sound ungrateful!

 

[erikab922]

I would like to add though that Disney movies (from early 90s) were something I watched if I could. I also took my son to Disneyland and it was fab...would do it again in a heartbeat. I'm just really not a fan of the other cartoon type characters (winnie, etc).

Do you know what's ironic is when my little sister was born, my grandparents decided to give my folks a break from having to look after me as well and they took me to Disneyworld I was only 6 and was like 'can't we just go play miniature golf or something?' I was grateful even as a kid but I just remember being WAY more excited about the plane ride than by Disney (on Eastern Airlines, in 1978, when you had to get super-dressed up for the plane!).

The ONLY cartoon characters I can stomach are Tom and Jerry, 'cause the Tom and Jerry cartoons from the 60s are super-trippy!

 

[Tacey]

I've made it generally known I don't like it. Bit of a kick in the teeth for my SIL who is obsessed with Disney, but she's taken it on board! Unfortunately, outside of close family, some keeps slipping through the net. I'm very grateful for the thought, but there's no way I'll keep it!

 

[erikab922]

I'm with you on this, and thankfully my OH is as well. The other day he turned to me and said "This child will not be watching Disney. Period." So I'm guessing he's on the same page about wearing Disney too.

I know he has no problem with the baby wearing stuff branded with his favorite bands though - s/he already has a Pink Floyd onesie lol

Yeah I have the feeling OH will be fine with the baby wearing Chicago White Sox or England rugby gear!

 

[Jaylynne]

I have no problem with watching Disney, pixar, Winnie the pooh etc, I personally never wore those types of shirts nor do I like them for me. My husband loves that sort of thing and when we took Aiden to Disney last April, DH got a lot of stuff for him. Aiden loves it- especially toy story. To each their own. If it makes Aiden excited to get dressed in his Thomas the tank engine or more recently his darth vadar shirt I'm perfectly ok with it. But I love when he wears a neat polo shirt and has his hair in a fauxhawk and he just now notices that some of his clothes have the "horsey" (Ralph Lauren) because that's what daddy wears so he wants to be just like him. To each their own. If you don't like your LO wearing cartoons, I don't think people should argue with you or buy things that have the characters on them. Your baby your call. Just be prepared if your LO wants the character shirts when they are older

 

[SabrinaKat]

I agree -- I don't mind Disney, but our nursery will be jungle animals, etc., and don't want winnie-the-pooh (disney), etc., stuff, but most of the stuff we like is simple clothes, anyway....I have some old Peter Rabbit stuff from when I was a kid, and love stuffed toys (kangeroos, and from the zoo (I go every year on my birthday and look forward to taking baby next year!)....and we'll put in nursery as well....

I'm from the States and trying to persuade my husband that a Baltimore O's baby-gro is the cool thing to wear (at least when my dad comes over to visit) and somebody gave me a Sex Pistols baby tee-shirt, so I suppose different 'brands'?

best wishes

 

[AngelUK]

When I grew up there was 30 mins on tv for kids before bedtime and that was all we were allowed to watch lol. But when there was a new Disney in the cinema our parents would usually take us. I love especially the old Disney movies such as Sleeping Beauty but I would never never dress any daughter of mine in those outfits cause usually they are made from cheapo nylon or polyester, bleh! I wouldn't have Disney characters on my nursery wall either, nor would I have bedding or other related stuff. The only thing I do like and always had even as a kid, were a few Beatrix Potter things. Maybe that is cause the colours aren't so glaring and brash and the drawings are sweeter?

Edit: I think Winnie the Pooh has lost its original charm since it has been taken up by Disney. The original drawings and stories by A. A. Milne were lovely!

 

[Jaylynne]

Ooo forgot to mention DH wanted a Winnie the Pooh nursery. I put my foot down and said no way. I did get LO some Flyers hockey onesies and a ridiculously cute sweatshirt and pants combo. He is being born to a sports addicted daddy after all and I want pics of both of them in flyers tee shirts. I'll do anything to convince DH to actually have his picture taken.

 

[Equess]

My issue is more with the clothing, I hate that so many clothes for little boys have stupid cartoons on them, hence why i am only getting things with maybe a little animal or the front, or some other detailing or a plain solid color.

 

[Jaylynne]

I got some really cute clothes with generic tiny trucks saying "vroom vroom" etc. They are adorable. Also got a few with giraffes (my favorite) and a couple ones with itty bitty ducks. I dont like huge garish patterns or decorations and generally the specific character outfits are way more expensive, so win. DH got LOs coming home outfit and it's adorable! Blue plain long sleeve onesie with darker blue pants and a zip up striped vest with a penguin on it.

 

[Futuremommy1]

Love this board, there's got to be someone else out there like me! I was the first kid in the family and as far as I can remember we never really did kid-related stuff, I was just brought along to whatever the grown-ups were doing. We never watched Saturday morning cartoons or went to Disney movies or anything like that and I didn't mind because you don't miss what you didn't have.

My little sister was born when I was 6 and by then VHS started to get popular and you could get Disney movies for home and the Saturday morning cartoons were mega-popular. So my sister is into that kind of stuff but I never wanted to watch cartoons or do kid things because I just wanted to hang out with the grown-ups.

I look at lots of kid things and so many have cartoon-related characters, Disney, Winnie the Pooh etc and I am really hoping no one buys anything like this for us - I would never turn down a gift and of course I will be grateful for whatever we have, but I'm not comfortable with my kid wearing commercial characters/basically being an advertisement for stuff I don't like. Oddly enough, I kept this to myself and it was only when my OH was like 'I don't want our kid wearing anything with cartoons on it' and I knew there was a reason we were together.

I'm writing this and I sound like a big ole grumpus! There's got to be someone else out there to tell me that I'm not I am dreading having to buy all sorts of cartoon/Disney DVDs etc and am hoping my kid will totally not be interested! I feel like that sounds horrible but we always watched nature shows/documentaries etc and I turned out OK.

Anyone else feel remotely the same way?

I asked my mom one day why she never read "happily ever after" stories to me. Apparently when I was born there was this small movement for parents not to read or watch fairy tales with their daughters so they don't grow up with unrealistic expectations.

So I have no connection with Disney, not a fan of pooh or most characters. I don't want my daughter wearing that stuff either cause I just don't want it to become like an identity. Same goes for Dora and all the other things out there.

What dh and I have started collecting are DVDs of old shows like reading rainbow, schoolhouse rock, fat Albert and the Cosby kids shows like that with no huge money making character. We also (mainly me) registered for classic books we did read as kids. That's why I love amazon registry.

Another I've done is when dh and I make decisions (I.e. dh is finally on board with cloth diapering, NO PINK) I mention it to my best friend and my mom. And they slowly mention to people who are interested in getting us gifts what we're doing. Obviously there are things people will buy regardless but I'll just figure out what to do when that happens. Say thanks and hide the clothes in the closet


All this to say you are not alone

 

[Futuremommy1]

I also am hoping to put my child in a Waldorf school and it's against policy for kids to wear name brands or anything that could be classified as an advertisement so there are lots of people out there that feel how you do. Just gotta find them.

 

[Futuremommy1]

Ooo forgot to mention DH wanted a Winnie the Pooh nursery. I put my foot down and said no way. I did get LO some Flyers hockey onesies and a ridiculously cute sweatshirt and pants combo. He is being born to a sports addicted daddy after all and I want pics of both of them in flyers tee shirts. I'll do anything to convince DH to actually have his picture taken.

My baby will be born to a sports mommy so lots of Philly sports gear for her. Just not the pink ones