Well don't make a blanket statement about grannies - you see how many of us knew exactly what they were, unlike yourself ! Grannies are not what Grannies used to be, we do all sorts of things (especially as widows) that I know my grandmother would never have been able to do, but she would have loved it.
Time for you younger women to get yourselves up-to-date methinks.
Let's face it Karen, you accused us of being grannies and great-grannies and what did we know about things - when all along it appears, you and yours don't know squat about kids today !!
We are talking about Webkinz - not one of us said we liked Bratz !
As much I as may think DD has enough Webkinz, she loves them, they don't dress in "fashion clothes" and they can be cuddled. And completely safe for babies.
Cheryl
There is both a virtual world for your webkinz to play, be feed and given the most lovely rooms and whole clubs of kids that get together and dress them and take them for walks....
Cheryl
I think there's a difference between portraying something and promoting it. I didn't get the feeling that Desperate Housewives was promoting cheating, since the woman who was doing it was so completely unhappy. Rather, I thought it was making fun of her and her obviously screwed up values.
I'm really not sure how you can be so vehement about something that you haven't even ever watched.
Elizabeth
Good Morning Karen,
I just wanted to say that I live in an over 55 community and almost everyone here has a computer. Some of us are fairly advanced users, some mediocre and a few who are happy to send e-mail on AOL or WebTV.
We have a number of retired computer engineers, all of whom run classes periodically to help beginners and an active computer club with lots of experts who are willing to help. A new Staples opened just a few blocks and there are two other Staples within a short driving distance and an Office Max, an Office Depot, a Circuit City and a Best Buy nearby. Even Wal-Mart is selling computers so a lot of people are apparently computer savvy.
Just FYI, the computers and technology that we consider ho-hum today have been developed by the seniors that you seem to think are living in a parallel universe.
That seems to me to mean that nearly everyone, and all age people, are if not expert, certainly familiar with computers and, of course, every kid knows how to use one and learns in school. As far as I know a major part of the South fits this picture and I have a suspicion that unless you live in a cave, this is true of most places, especially in an advanced state like California.
I doubt that the people you are describing are typical.
Lucille
Ganz doesn't advertise them because they're selling out on word of mouth alone.
Best wishes, Ericka
Well, typical or not, those are the ones she's trying to sell to so she has to consider their probable knowledge and interests when deciding what to make.
My experience is actually quite different from yours - while I know older people (let's say, definitely in the grand-parent age range and up) who use computers regularly and have done so for years, I know even more who don't own one and have no interest in one. In fact, I recently spent a bit of fruitless time trying to convince an older relative of my own that it would be to her benefit to learn to use email, at least, on a computer that was going begging for a home (so the cost wasn't a barrier), but no way, no how.
I'm also been surprised at some very recent high school (and even, sometimes, university) graduates, who have somehow managed to avoid attaining much in the way of computer literacy. I mean, *everyone* can use a word processor, email, basic spreadsheet or database, do some simple stuff with images and have the basics of how to find files even when they aren't in 'My Documents', do backups, and scan for viruses, right? Those 'Introduction to Computing' classes which begin 'this is a keyboard' seem to be full of people of all ages, including those I'd have thought must certainly had the chance to learn how to use a computer in school.
Webkins are popular here, but I'd still bet on Barbie for a broader popularity and familiarity.
Cheryl
I think there are ads in some of the "kids" magazines. Or was that the latest clone???
Hey Erika, what magazines would you recommend for a 9-12 year old girl that isn't loaded with teen idols/celebrities. She loves her USA Hockey, but is bored with Nat Geo Kids.
Cheryl
om,
Cheryl -
American Girl magazine - really! Also there is an even better one - Discovery Girls. My dd got it from about 9-11 and loved it. One of the cool things is they show real girls who do real things - not just cheerleader types, but also hockey, swimming, piano players and more. My dd found it very much related to her life.
Linda
I expressed an opinion on cheating and its portrayal on television in prime time. I also never once watched Sex in the City, which is on A&E in rerun now. I am commenting on content, or basic plot tpe and personally, I find it disgusting the way some of these shows take license to put women in these "poor little things" roles. No woman HAS to do anything.
It's nothing personal about who watches it. I am commenting on the content of a show. I don't have to watch it to make this comment. It's hypocritical, that's all. Our president is trying to make birth control a form of abortion, yet, we have television shows which promote poor housewives stuck doing everything who cheat. That's amazing to me.
I don't watch South Park, either. I can't change the channel fast enough after we watch The Colbert Report at night.
v
I remember as a kid we had a magazine called "Ingenue" but I don't think it's the same as it was when it was for teen girls. There is "Seventeen" magazine, but that most likely also has dirt about the youth in Hollywood and their antics. The moral fiber is so scewed I think you'll find it hard to locate a magazine suitable for a young lady which doesn't involve some trash. That is very sad.
vAnother one I have heard is very good but did not subscribe to is New Moon. One I DON'T recommend is "Girl's Life" - it is not appropriate for the under 13 crowd.
Linda
It's one thing to coment that the show contains cheating. It's another to claim that the show *promotes* cheating. And no, you don't have to watch it to make a comment, but it sure would help your credibility if you'd seen it even once.
Elizabeth
lewmew wrote: > American Girl magazine - really! Also there is an even better one -
Thanks for that recommendation. I'm looking for a gift for my 9 y.o. niece and this looks perfect!
sue
Could be. I avoid those like the plague ;-)
Honestly, I've just gone straight to adult magazines with mine in that age range (nine might be a tad young). DS likes Discover, and they've also enjoyed a few issues of Science Illustrated that I've brought home (fun puzzles in the back of that one). We might subscribe to that. My history/current events loving kid likes "The Week" because even though it has some stuff he doesn't care about, it gives a broad perspective on news events from around the world in bite-sized pieces. I don't know if we'd subscribe to that just for him, however (the adults read it too).
Best wishes, Ericka
Years ago, I got my oldest brother a subscription to Smithsonian because I like it so much. He said he rarely got to read it because my nephew kept taking off with it. He wasn't going to complain, however, because he was tickled that the kid had found something he wanted to read.
Elizabeth
Only one of Mom's elderly neighbors has a computer, and all she knows how to do is send e-mail. Took years before she could figure out how to download the attached photos of the grandkids. I've offered to send my old one to the folks and put them on my AOL account so it won't cost them anything, "no thanks, not interested". They have better things to do with their time than play around online.
Only one of my aunts has a computer (her sons' idea), and all she knows how to do is send e-mail; one other has a MailStation, which only does e-mail, and tells Mom that pretty much the grandkids have to phone her to let her know "you've got mail" before she thinks to turn it on and check. My uncles are all totally disinterested in computers.
Among the older people I volunteered with here, the last I heard only one had a computer -- it was given to him -- and even under my tutelage he couldn't grasp how to use it and stuck with his manual typewriter till the day he died.
I'm afraid that the ones who are not typical are the ones in this group who are completely computer-savvy. Statistically, over-65s are LEAST likely to have computers, or want one.
Well, their word of mouth seems to have failed to reach Mom's social circle or mine. None of the grannies she asked had any clue about them. DBF and I would have the excuse that neither of us have kids of our own, therefore don't have grandkids, but all the people Mom asked *are* grannies, one of whom is live-in babysitter for the grandkids, and have never heard of these things.
It may be regional and just isn't as big in their area or mine.
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