I shield my kids from television and the internet pretty well. But nothing prepared me for the checkout counter.
We’ve all been at the checkout counter. I’m assuming most of our readers have been at the checkout counter with children. And I think you’ll agree it’s a dangerous place.
I was in the checkout counter just yesterday with my five kids and we’re sitting behind two people with carts full of stuff and we’ve got three people behind us. So we can’t go froward and we can’t go back. And I’ve got Snooki and Kim Kardashian with the cleavage on the left. I’ve got Elton John posing with his boyfriend and their baby on the right. I’ve got a magazine offering tips how to please your man in bed right in front of us.
It’s pretty awful.
So I’m standing there trying to talk to the kids to get their attention but it’s not working all that well. So finally I made an executive decision. I’m not proud of it but I did it. I told the kids they could each pick one candy off the rack. Well that got their attention. I can tell you they didn’t once look up at the magazines again.
I figured a little garbage in the body can be gotten rid of. Garbage in the mind is a lot more difficult to get rid of.
I saw this story in The Daily Caller where a market in Arkansas put a small shield in front of the Elton John cover. it covered about half the cover and said it was a “Family Shield” in order to protect young shoppers. Well the freakout from certain organizations prompted the market to remove the shield. How crazy is that? Kids must not be protected. It wasn’t like they took the mag off the shelves.
To be fair I think I would have put the shield on about 95% of the magazines I saw at the checkout counter, not just the Elton one.
So you guys know any tricks to help avoid kids seeing this garbage? I’m pretty sure my clever candy solution isn’t a long term problem solver.
February 3, 2011 at 1:34 pm
I don't think I've ever seen a family shield for magazines either. 🙁
February 3, 2011 at 2:08 pm
I can't believe you brought this up. I thought I was the only one who was bugged by this. My children are adults now, but I hate standing in line and reading the headlines/teasers on front of magazines. My local Walmart does not cover the front of magazines (they leave it to the vendor), but I have made it my mission this year to complain to every store manager every time I see this, even if its every week and even if its the same store.
February 3, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Insist that only sensible magazines are stocked at checkout isles – no tabloids, no Cosmo, no similar garbage – just The Economist, Time, Newsweek, Nature, Popular Mechanics etc. 🙂
February 3, 2011 at 5:42 pm
Makes you long for the days of the now defunct Weekly World News and their endless covers of UFO's, BatBoy and claims that Madonna is actually the love child of a yeti and H Ron Hubbard 🙂
February 3, 2011 at 10:57 pm
I too, have been angered by this blatant porn and in your face adult content at the checkout, like the Elton John magazine. I shop at Aldis which does not carry these magazines. Then I send the receipts from Aldis to Cub, where I used to shop, and remind them of why they lost my shopping dollars. Our anti-pornography group, http://www.calofmn.com is targeting stores that sell Cosmopolitan and/or also carry a sleazy tabloid called City Pages. Cosmo must go! It is one of the worst offenders. Complain, and don't settle for a magazine cover-up it must be removed. When I complained about magazines in the 80's the management would say, "We'll return this magazine to the vendor." Now with things much much worse, they just mutter something about passing your comment on. The only thing that works is boycotting stores that sell this trash. That's one of the problems with super-stores like Target (which sells Cosmo) because people get lazy and do one stop shopping. Go to the butcher shop, the bakery and other stores. They typically do not have any magazines. THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES. Don't go back till the offensive magazines are gone and keep reminding the stores that you are finding more and more family friendly places to shop. Then, and only then, will they listen. Their bottom line is the $. We are not satisfied with the status quo at the check out! Boycotts work, try it, you'll see.
February 4, 2011 at 5:45 pm
I point blank tell my older kid's to turn around because of the immodest covers. They have never questioned me on it and obey. I have explained to them as much as I can that "the world" thinks lots of things are ok that actually aren't. I hope others hear menwhen I tell them this and it causes them to think about it as well. 🙂
February 8, 2011 at 2:39 am
We use the garden center check out at wal*mart when it is open to avoid the nasty magazine covers.
February 23, 2011 at 1:50 pm
What about the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue being displayed in stands at eye-level for little kids?!?