Toys R Us Is Sure Taking Some Heat

[Country Kids]

I honestly have a hard time understanding the issue with it.

If you don't like it, don't shop it, work there or support them. We all have a choice and not everyone feels the same way you know?

Freedom in our country also applies to corporate America. I don't see how or why an opposing opinion should ruin what other families might love to take advantage of. It's not like it's anything anyone is being forced to participate in.....live and let live? :confused:

This is what bothers me and just my own little minut opinion-

I have worked hard and strived to have a program that embraces the outdoors. Having the children outside a minum of 1 hour a day is in my rules and regulations. That to me is sad that providers have to be told to do this-

Children should be outside constantly-its something our bodies need! Air, the room to run, play, explore, look at the sky, etc.

For someone (corporate america or whoever) to tell me/children or parents that kids should not be outside is wrong. Even Michelle Obama is about having kids outside and having a healthy lifestyle (yes people were even upset at her about this?).

When I have to take childcare classes to teach/tell me to take kids outside, I find this mind boggleing. We average around 3 hours a day outside. Even when we didn't necessarily play outside we were always going on walks.

We have an obesity epidemic in America! I really hope its not from to much time outdoors-. My kindergarteners are gone for 4 hours in the morning at school and only have 15 min of outdoor time and thats not everyday as there are other things they have to do sometimes instead of recess.

No, I don't have to shop there but they are reaching more people via television and raking in the money then I will every be able to do to spread my message.

[nanglgrl]

My sister and I Black Friday shop together and since we don't get to spend a lot if time together we have a blast. We only go early Friday morning though and will not start while Thanksgiving is still going on. A lot if the stores are opening on Thanksgiving and will have sales but if its like prior years the big sales won't start until after midnight.

[MsLaura529]

This is what bothers me and just my own little minut opinion-

I have worked hard and strived to have a program that embraces the outdoors. Having the children outside a minum of 1 hour a day is in my rules and regulations. That to me is sad that providers have to be told to do this-

Children should be outside constantly-its something our bodies need! Air, the room to run, play, explore, look at the sky, etc.

For someone (corporate america or whoever) to tell me/children or parents that kids should not be outside is wrong. Even Michelle Obama is about having kids outside and having a healthy lifestyle (yes people were even upset at her about this?).

When I have to take childcare classes to teach/tell me to take kids outside, I find this mind boggleing. We average around 3 hours a day outside. Even when we didn't necessarily play outside we were always going on walks.

We have an obesity epidemic in America! I really hope its not from to much time outdoors-. My kindergarteners are gone for 4 hours in the morning at school and only have 15 min of outdoor time and thats not everyday as there are other things they have to do sometimes instead of recess.

No, I don't have to shop there but they are reaching more people via television and raking in the money then I will every be able to do to spread my message.

I get what you are saying, and I completely agree with you that outside is important, and it is strange for providers and parents to have to be TOLD that outside is good.

I just don't see where that commercial said anything about how kids being outside is wrong? Not trying to start an argument, I'm just curious how this is being read? Maybe I'm missing something.

[WImom]

My issue is that I feel bad for the people that work at these stores. They now have to work most of the day on Thanksgiving. That used to always be a day of family and all retailers were closed.

I used love going BF shopping. DH and I would leave the kids at my mom's overnight and go shopping. Last year I just did most of it online. I didn't want to go on Thanksgiving.

[Willow]

This is what bothers me and just my own little minut opinion-

I have worked hard and strived to have a program that embraces the outdoors. Having the children outside a minum of 1 hour a day is in my rules and regulations. That to me is sad that providers have to be told to do this-

Children should be outside constantly-its something our bodies need! Air, the room to run, play, explore, look at the sky, etc.

For someone (corporate america or whoever) to tell me/children or parents that kids should not be outside is wrong. Even Michelle Obama is about having kids outside and having a healthy lifestyle (yes people were even upset at her about this?).

When I have to take childcare classes to teach/tell me to take kids outside, I find this mind boggleing. We average around 3 hours a day outside. Even when we didn't necessarily play outside we were always going on walks.

We have an obesity epidemic in America! I really hope its not from to much time outdoors-. My kindergarteners are gone for 4 hours in the morning at school and only have 15 min of outdoor time and thats not everyday as there are other things they have to do sometimes instead of recess.

No, I don't have to shop there but they are reaching more people via television and raking in the money then I will every be able to do to spread my message.

I don't disagree with you one bit! As a matter of fact between postings I'm reading Last Child In The Woods (shout out to Heidi for mentioning it, awesome read so far ). I have no kids here and my mind is racing faster each day it seems with close date closing in (the only detox I've ever done is off of refined sugars and caffeine. This feels oddly, insanely adhd like, in a very familiar way).

One of the main reasons I'm out is it was too difficult to come to grips with how other people parents (or rather didn't parent at all) their children. So much of it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion, knowing how it was going to turn out and being helpless to stop it.

I can't change that, or them, so instead I wave the white flag and retreat. My life is too short to fret about things I can't change.


Corporate America will always be this way and unfortunately, right or wrong, there is no changing it. We can only do what's best for our own and protect them from what we see as crap as best we can. I personally don't mind the advertisements and use them to teach my kids that they have brains of their own, don't get ****ered in by anyone or anything. They don't need the bead-y spa foot thing or newest electronic device just because the tv tells them they do. If that still sits ick then leave the tv off.

As much as I hate it I hate the notion of personal opinion impeeding the rights of others more. It doesn't bother many and to the other extreme completely there are others who love it. As long as it doesn't directly impact me or mine I don't give a rip what others do kwim?


(I get it was just a rant and you weren't expecting to change the world to suit yourself but remember I'm detoxing right now remember.......when you go from doing 400 things a minute to dead silence for 8 hours a day you have to fill all those clock ticks with something )

[NeedaVaca]

My issue is that I feel bad for the people that work at these stores. They now have to work most of the day on Thanksgiving. That used to always be a day of family and all retailers were closed.

I used love going BF shopping. DH and I would leave the kids at my mom's overnight and go shopping. Last year I just did most of it online. I didn't want to go on Thanksgiving.

There are still some states that do not allow retail stores to be open on Thanksgiving. I think RI and Maryland are 2 of them, those states get different Black Friday ads and can't start the sales until midnight. Based on the facebook page I would say they are losing a lot of customers.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Black Friday is dumb. What is the allure? I don't get it. The "deals" are not THAT great, the crowds are ridiculous, stressed employees give terrible service, normally nice people act like jerks and the big box stores with advertising might crush the independent stores.

Small Business Saturday is where my time, sanity and $$ goes. Better service, better products. I hope anyone reading this will consider NOT shopping at toys r us,.Walmart, KMart, etc.(especially NOT on Thanksgiving) and patronize an independent toy store instead. (if any are left in your town).

[Cat Herder]

I love Black Friday and After-Thanksgiving Dinner Shopping Hours!!!! happyface

I get two days off paid and the extended relatives are all somewhere else shopping...

(JK)

[NeedaVaca]

Black Friday is dumb. What is the allure? I don't get it. The "deals" are not THAT great, the crowds are ridiculous, stressed employees give terrible service, normally nice people act like jerks and the big box stores with advertising might crush the independent stores.

Small Business Saturday is where my time, sanity and $$ goes. Better service, better products. I hope anyone reading this will consider NOT shopping at toys r us,.Walmart, KMart, etc.(especially NOT on Thanksgiving) and patronize an independent toy store instead. (if any are left in your town).

Where I live it's awesome, there is a lot of camaraderie in the lines. We have fun! There are people that drive from store to store selling hot chocolates, I have seen people standing next to each other in line order pizzas! I personally save a ton of money on gifts for my family & I also make over $1000 profit from shopping each year which covers my Christmas gifts completely so my Christmas is free I guess I'm lucky where I live because "most" everyone is really nice including the store employees. I usually buy big boxes of hand warmers and pass them out to everyone around me.

[craftymissbeth]

If they had chosen to visit a museum rather than the forest then Toys R Us would hate science.

[MotherNature]

Black Friday is dumb. What is the allure? I don't get it. The "deals" are not THAT great, the crowds are ridiculous, stressed employees give terrible service, normally nice people act like jerks and the big box stores with advertising might crush the independent stores.

Small Business Saturday is where my time, sanity and $$ goes. Better service, better products. I hope anyone reading this will consider NOT shopping at toys r us,.Walmart, KMart, etc.(especially NOT on Thanksgiving) and patronize an independent toy store instead. (if any are left in your town).

High five! I agree completely. It's funny that everyone goes out to spend up their credit cards the day after expressing what they're thankful for. We shop locally & independent as much as we can, for everything, not just Xmas. I know big box stores are the only option for many though.

[spud912]

I honestly have a hard time understanding the issue with it.

If you don't like it, don't shop it, work there or support them. We all have a choice and not everyone feels the same way you know?

Freedom in our country also applies to corporate America. I don't see how or why an opposing opinion should ruin what other families might love to take advantage of. It's not like it's anything anyone is being forced to participate in.....live and let live? :confused:

Willow, have I told you that I really like how you think ? I couldn't agree more! To each their own!

I personally do a mix of all of it. Sometimes I go, sometimes I don't. If I do go, it's only for entertainment and after our Thanksgiving celebrations. One thing my dh and I love to do more than anything is people watch and black Friday (or any day between Thanksgiving and Christmas) is a great time to do just that. I just don't like the crowds when I actually have a schedule to keep because it slows me down (like if I'm price-matching groceries at Wal-Mart and I have to deal with the crowds ).

[CedarCreek]

I only like Black Friday in that I take that day off.

Sooo not watching any grumpy kiddos who stayed up late with mommy BF shopping!

[e.j.]

Honestly, I don't understand what is so bad about the commercial ... it's a commercial for a toy store, so yes, it is going to be geared towards toys. People are starting their holiday shopping already and they need to get their store name back out there on people's minds over Amazon and such. I think the backlash against it is just silly.

I totally agree. I really don't get why there would be an uproar about this ad.:confused: The ad doesn't say that playing outside is bad or that you can only have fun playing inside with plastic toys. It's just touching on every kids' fantasy....spending an entire day at a toy store where you can play with any toy you want. As a kid, I would have loved to have been on that bus! I don't know too many kids now who wouldn't love to be on that bus! It's just an ad, a fantasy. It's not what happens in the real world. I don't get the fuss over it.

As for Black Friday, I'm usually way too tired to even think about going shopping after Thanksgiving. I have my brothers, sister and their families over for dinner and we visit late into the night. There isn't a discount big enough to make me want to cut that night short to fight the crowds and stand in long lines at any retail store.

There have been some deals that were almost tempting to me but from what I've heard, most of the big sale items are stocked in limited quantities and sell out so fast there isn't much hope of getting one anyway. I'd much rather spend my Friday after Thanksgiving sleeping in, eating leftovers and relaxing with my own family in front of the fireplace, watching a movie or playing board games.

[Memc2001]

My husband has been the Store Manager at a retail store for 11 years. For the last 3 years, with Yankee Candle Company at an outlet mall. My children have never gotten to see their Dad relax and enjoy the holiday. We eat at 12 noon or 1 pm and then off to bed till 7pm to go to work. He then works from 8pm on Thanksgiving for about 20 hours straight. Goes home for 8 hours and goes back again until Sunday night. I am not exaggerating. This is what's expected of any salaried manager on that weekend. He does not get overtime or holiday pay like his employees do. At 40 years old and a degree in business management/accounting he will probably never be able to do anything different with comparable pay.
It didn't used to be this crazy, as we all know. It's just getting worse every year. What the retailers are realizing is that they are not making any more money, they are just spreading the amount out over a longer period of time. I don't know if it will end.
I usually stay out overnight so I can check in on him and his staff and bring them food and coffee. Retail ****s. Stay away from it if you want to ever have a family life. The only "sacred" day they are not open is Christmas.