Thoughts on Disney books

[kananaskismama]

Hi mamas.
DD received a Disney Bedtime stories book from her babysitter for Christmas. Neither DD or DS have any Disney merchandise or any character clothing.

DD loves being read to and told stories, I know that her babysitter was trying to give her something special but I cringe at the stories inside which include cars and princesses.

As a child we had some Disney books and my parents let us watch one hour of television per week (the Disney hour) but it wasn't the marketing machine that it is now. DD and DS don't watch any television in our home.

I don't know why Disney brings up such negative feelings for me. I previewed the book and read some of the "stories" which are largely inane.


I'm wondering what others thoughts are on Disney even when it is a book?

[RollerCoasterMama]

My family does Disney in a big way, so it's kind of unavoidable for us. I agree on the crazy marketing machine though! It's nuts. DS gets to watch a couple of tivo-ed shows once in a while and even though there aren't "commercials" they sure get him sold on the brand!! (ex: "Mommy! I wike da tinka-bell!!" after seeing her for a few seconds a couple of times.)

However, one book of stories shouldn't be too bad. Maybe it can be special just for when the babysitter comes over? Your kids don't need to know that it's part of a bigger commercial enterprise.

[Aubergine68]

I had an earlier generation Disney Storybook when I was small. We didn't have a vcr and this was before the marketing machine really kicked in, so I never saw the films of most of the stories. I enjoyed reading it, but had other books I liked more.

When my dd was gifted with some Disney storybooks, I was mostly just irritated by the waste of resources. I mean, beautifully printed and illustrated volumes, lovely fonts, generous margins, good quality paper, lovely bindings...wasted on really inane, badly-told stories. I'd've loved for dd to have been given books of traditional fairy tales or myths with those production values.

We kept them for a while, they were rarely opened, and we donated them at the first chance we could without offending the givers too much.

[2+twins]

I don't personally love the Disney version of stories but we have had them from time to time for the same type of reasons (gifts). I keep them in circulation for awhile and eventually they find their way to Goodwill. I just make it a point to read more true versions of the original story it was based on (assuming these are fairytale type stories) and then I just discuss with my kids that there are lots of different versions of any story and this is just one, very simple version. I do make it a point to let them know when we're hearing the "real" story and my girls certainly have learned the difference. Sometimes that's the best you can do if you don't want to offend the gift giver.

[sarahloughmiller]

My kids get given Disney books too and we either leave them at the givers house or they find their way to the thrift store eventually. Some I don't mind as much as others. The boys got given a sponge bob and a dora book and I can not stand those and they found their way out of here really fast but cinderella and stuff like that stays around longer. We are more lenient with books than other stuff for some reason. I do hate how obsessive they get about the character books. I would keep yours up on a shelf and let the babysitter read it when she is there but avoid it the rest of the time.

[momtokea]

My kids got some Disney books as gifts and I have to say it was the worst literature we have ever read .... limited, simplistic vocabulary etc.
Disney does a great job of taking wonderful classic literature and dumbing it down. I hate them. I especially can't stand what they've done with Winnie the Pooh. Read the original, unabridged versions instead.

I would keep the book, just to be respectful to your babysitter. She meant well. But I would make it clear to my kids that *I* would not be reading that book during read aloud time. The babysitter can read it or they can look at it on their own.

[fadedgirl]

Originally Posted by kananaskismama

I can't tell the babysitter that we don't do Disney without hurting her feelings.

Why not?

I would not hesitate to tell her that you don't do Disney. Just explain where you are coming from and what you will and will not allow for your children to be exposed to. This is a standard conversation every parent has with a babysitter, even more important for a babysitter that is in your home twice a week!!

I think controlling my household and what my kids are exposed to is my job, hurt feelings on the part of well-meaning gift givers or not. Its her job to preserve your ideals, not impose her own (not that she was trying to, it was probably an innocuous gift as far as she was concerned!). Sounds like perhaps you haven't explained your position on such things yet, and once you do I can't see how she'd take it personally or get her feelings hurt by it.

Furthermore, if you don't enlighten her (and others) to your wishes, its bound to happen again in the future.

[kananaskismama]

Hi - thank you to all who responded.

When we hired our babysitter we told her that the children don't watch television, that we prefer open-ended natural materials toys as opposed to battery operated ones and all of those ideals that our family endorses - spending time outdoors etc.

She is very open-minded and has embraced cloth diapers/wipes and composting. She probably will be open-minded about the book too.

DD loves books and I think our babysitter wanted to get her something that she felt was great and I do appreciate that.

Thank you again for your thoughts.