Do you remember the beer commercial with the dog and the horse that ran repeatedly during last year’s Superbowl?  I loved that ad.  It was so sweet—it made having a beer seem as innocent as having a diet soda.  And that was exactly what that ad was supposed to do, according to my colleagues, Susan Kurlander, M.Ed., and Howard Reznick, LCSW-C, Prevention Education Specialists at Jewish Community Services.

Last year 14 million viewers under age 18 watched the Superbowl; 7 million of them were under age 12, and I’ll bet most of those kids saw that ad at least once during the game.  I’m all for entertaining commercials, but let’s look at that ad critically.  The ad was about a very cute, smart dog helping a sad, lonely horse be a part of the T-E-A-M-  the Budweiser team.  So what the ad was really saying was something like this:  Be a part of the team, be cool, be happy, drink a Bud.  I don’t remember any factual information in the ad about a legal drinking age, drinking and driving, etc.  I just remember the cute dog, the horse, how good the commercial made me feel and more importantly, I remember the product.  My guess is that those viewers ages 18 and under remember pretty much the same thing.

Okay, I’ll stop harping on Budweiser and the ad.  But this year’s Superbowl game will be viewed in millions of homes on February 1, and you can bet there will be other equally entertaining commercials for alcohol.  So can we enjoy the game and the ads, and at the same time help our children think critically about what they are being “sold”?  I think so.  The important thing is to talk about the ads as they appear.  According to the website http://www.medialiteracy.net, children who understand the often subliminal messages the ad agencies employ are more likely to make healthy decisions regarding alcohol use.

I plan on watching the Superbowl and the ads with my family.  My 11-year-old nephew will be glued to the set and there will be a 16, 13, and 8-year-old watching periodically.  We will enjoy the game and discuss the ads.  You can bet that whatever strategy those marketers use to make drinking seem fun and harmless, I’ll be there talking about it with whoever is in the room.

By Donna Kane, MA, Jewish Community Services, Baltimore, MD

Jewish Community Services offers a wide range of supportive services and resources for you and your family.  To learn more, call 410-466-9200, or visit http://www.jcsbaltimore.org.  Questions about parenting?  Send an e-mail to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), and check out the Parenting Tip of the Week at http://www.jcsbaltimore.org. 

The holidays are great, but getting kids to write thank-you notes for the gifts they’ve received can be a struggle.  Should parents require their children to send notes?

Jewish Community Services social worker Joan Grayson Cohen, LCSW-C, agrees that getting your child to write thank-you notes can be a challenge.  But it is worth the effort because you are teaching valuable life lessons, such as being gracious about receiving gifts and valuing the gesture of gift giving.  Writing thank-you notes also teaches children to think beyond themselves and to make the giver feel appreciated.  Taking a little time to express thanks teaches the protocols of civility and consideration, which can be transferred to other situations later in life, such as writing a note after a job interview. 

Here are some approaches to writing thank-you’s that may alleviate the battles; they can even make the process fun. 

• Choose a method appropriate to your child’s age. Younger children who don’t write yet might draw a picture.  They can dictate their thanks and Mom or Dad can write down their words.
What a wonderful opportunity to begin teaching your child to write his or her name!

• For children who can write but for whom writing is difficult or who are resisting, here are some creative ideas to encourage them in the process. Children can:
  -Design their own stationery.
  -Cut out a picture of the gift from a magazine or the box and
    tape it in the note.
  -Draw or paint the gift in the thank-you note.

• Make the task manageable.  Don’t be a perfectionist about grammar and spelling. The thanks is more meaningful when it looks like it comes from the child.  Brief notes are fine.  If a child receives many gifts, space out the notes by writing a few each day.

• Be open to different methods of expressing thanks. Today e-mail is acceptable.

• Give your child positive models by sharing appreciative notes you have received, showing how much the thanks means to the giver.

• Purchase thank-you cards with your child before the holidays. This will set up the expectation that notes will be written for gifts received – another way to minimize the conflict.

Whoever thought writing thank-you notes for holiday gifts could teach so many valuable lessons?  A favorite quote, shared by a friend, says, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”  (Aesop’s Fables)

By Donna Kane, MA, Jewish Community Services, Baltimore, MD

This discussion previously appeared in The Baltimore Sun blog, “Charm City Moms,” at baltimoresun.com, and is used here with permission of The Sun.

Jewish Community Services offers a wide range of supportive services and resources for you and your family.  To learn more, call 410-466-9200, or visit http://www.jcsbaltimore.org.  Questions about parenting?  Send an e-mail to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), and check out the Parenting Tip of the Week at http://www.jcsbaltimore.org.