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Someone at Capri Sun is Thinking Free-Range Thoughts
May 31, 2012
Hey folks — Let’s not get into a discussion of whether any child NEEDS to be drinking a foil-pouch drink. Let’s just enjoy this ad. I did! – L.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDgjJxJp6DQ&feature=related]
Hehe, love it. Though it reminds me of my mum who seemed to only be able to express love through buying or making me yummy food/drinks when I was young. Bless her. 🙂
Lenore, I saw this commercial the other night on TV and thought of you. I also thought what a shame it is that so many parents seem to think the same way the mom in the commercial does.
Small steps, right? It is a cute commercial. My kids only get stuff like that when we camp or hike, but they may like that juice. They are always asking to drink my V8 (that I get as a treat for myself!)
I love the expressions on the kid’s face when the mom is “stepping in” to try to do her thing.
Saw this a couple times and LOVED it! I actually bought some of these the other day for camping and hiking with the kiddos. Only time we get these kinds of things and I still try not to do it too much and use our reusable drinks. I prefer the V8 stuff in a bottle or making my own.
I saw that commercial the other day and immediately thought of you, Lenore. I was cracking up but there was a part of my that cringed because there really are mothers out there that wish they could do those kinds of things. So sad.
We only buy juice boxes and stuff as a rare treat for the kids and always get the 100% juice kind. Well, I do. My husband goes for the cheapest and can’t understand why I put it back when it’s only 2% actual juice. They don’t need all that sugar.
Good commercial, but I think the juice is kind of beside the point. It reminds me of an old commercial for Quaker Instant Oatmeal, which showed a mother and a father proudly watching as their daughter climbed to the top of the high diving board at the swimming pool, and jumped off for the first time, and it ended with the tagline, “You prepare them for life, we help prepare them for the day.” In that case, it doesn’t really matter what the parents fed their daughter for breakfast–the bigger message was about letting children challenge themselves and take small but safe risks in life. In this case, the Capri-Sun commercial seems to be a little bit about Capri-Sun, but more about letting kids fend for themselves, while still caring about their well-being by feeding them healthy food and beverages, even if Capri-Sun isn’t the healthiest thing out there. But, it obviously has some redeeming value, if the V kind has a full serving of fruit and vegetables in every pouch. It’s sort of like when Sunny D was really popular–it got a bad rap for having so much sugar in it, but it also had a day’s worth of Vitamin C, and at least a serving each of Vitamins A and B1, in every single-serve bottle, and at the same time, kids actually liked it, and drank it willingly.
I had a talk today with a bunch of other moms. I’m considering learning how to ride the city bus so I can teach my older two how to ride the city bus downtown to the library. Last summer it was a 10 minute walk. Now we live clear across town. The moms were totally shocked that I was considering letting my 11 and 8 year old ride the bus alone. One of them pointed out that the kids would be MUCH safer on the public bus than on the school bus. 🙂
@ Tara: Go for it! When the school district cut out Fridays last spring due to budget cuts, we made Friday bus-to-the-library day for my oldest two (7 and 9 at the time). We rode together a couple of times, talked about procedure and etiquette, and pointed out important landmarks. In our town, the bus station is right across the street from the library so getting there is easy; the hard part is finding the right bay for the bus home. But they used the buddy system and did great on their own. When they told their teachers and even their principal about their bus routine, they (and I) got lots of positive feedback.
The only hard and disappointing part for me was that their dad had to take time off of work to be supervise them at the library; no kids under 10 are allowed in the children’s section without an adult. (Meanwhile, my mom was reminiscing just the other day about spending hours at a time alone at the library as a child — starting when she was six. *sigh*)
I know moms like that….seriously. Anyway, I buy ‘juice’ pouches for my daughter’s lunch. Judge me if you must; they are cheap and easy and she likes them. So what’s the big deal? When I was a kid, we actually ate a lot WORSE than kids do nowadays. Chips, sodas, Kool-Aid – all of it. You know what the difference was? We were running around outside all day long, and we were all skinny!!
Juice is sugar, just a different form than the stuff in the bowl you put in your coffee. There may be some other healthy components to juice but overall, if you want healthy, eat the whole fruit. Juice does contribute to obesity because people think it is “healthy.” It is sugar.
Sometimes when thirsty, stuff like this is nice. The idea for all foods and drinks is MODERATION. Keep that in mind and you will usually be fine.
I really like that the stuff in Capri Sun is not artificially colored – if the kids squeeze it out, it doesn’t stain. Also, our friends who react badly to red dye 40 can eat it, when they can’t have certain other sodas or juices.
So yes, like we do monitor our kids when outside, we can let them have some stuff like this, even, (gasp!) soda pop on occasion and not do them permanent harm. Unless we do act on the thoughts the mom had and answer for our kids in school.
I must say that the “of course I only give my kids juice as a very special treat” somewhat irk me. It sounds a bit judgemental. We are all intelligent people here who know that the sugar in juice is no better than the sugar in soft drink. But letting your kids have some sugar is not going to permanently damage them. My mother was always offering us sugary stuff because in the 80s people didn’t really think much about diet. The only reason why we were only allowed soft drink 3 times a week – 1 liter bottle shared between 6 people!!! – was because it was too expensive. Neither me nor my 3 sisters suffered any negative side effects from it.
I try use my common sense when it comes to my child’s diet and just follow the ‘everything in moderation’ mantra. But there are times when I am more relaxed about the sugar intake than usual. I’m not going to lie awake about it. We just have a rule that if she doesn’t brush her teeth, she doesn’t get any sugar at all that day!
Saw this commercial last week, though about it mentioning it to you, and it totally slipped my mind! So glad you posted it. I hope that, besides being entertaining and good advertising, it will make some parents laugh at themselves and loosen up.
I loved this commercial. I’m a teacher and a parent. I see parents like the one in the commercial all the time.
That said, my pre-schooler frequently drinks capri-sun because he cannot drink too much juice. It just has too much acid in it and even cutting it with water didn’t help. He would get terrible diaper rash when he drank it regularly. So we only stock juice-like things that are not 100% juice on purpose. He is also a big milk drinker. I think it evens out eventually. He’s a very busy kid so worrying about him becoming obese is pretty distant in my mind.
Love it! My son would agree – but he thinks insisting he go to bed by a certain hour is interfering with his life!
I’m goin’ out and buying some Capris Sun Super Whatever and I don’t even know what it is! This was great! MORE, MORE, MORE!
See if you can find the Cy-bear attack one… the boy doesn’t fear cyber attacks but does have to battle a giang Cy-Bear…
Hehe, love it. Though it reminds me of my mum who seemed to only be able to express love through buying or making me yummy food/drinks when I was young. Bless her. 🙂
Lenore, I saw this commercial the other night on TV and thought of you. I also thought what a shame it is that so many parents seem to think the same way the mom in the commercial does.
Small steps, right? It is a cute commercial. My kids only get stuff like that when we camp or hike, but they may like that juice. They are always asking to drink my V8 (that I get as a treat for myself!)
I love the expressions on the kid’s face when the mom is “stepping in” to try to do her thing.
Lenore, here’s another you might like (although since KaBoom is involved, you may already know about it!). http://providencechildrensmuseum.blogspot.com/2012/05/video-benefits-of-risk-in-childrens.html
Saw this a couple times and LOVED it! I actually bought some of these the other day for camping and hiking with the kiddos. Only time we get these kinds of things and I still try not to do it too much and use our reusable drinks. I prefer the V8 stuff in a bottle or making my own.
Wow. Subversive, by today’s standards. But subversion sells. Here’s to more people subverting hysteria.
I saw that commercial the other day and immediately thought of you, Lenore. I was cracking up but there was a part of my that cringed because there really are mothers out there that wish they could do those kinds of things. So sad.
We only buy juice boxes and stuff as a rare treat for the kids and always get the 100% juice kind. Well, I do. My husband goes for the cheapest and can’t understand why I put it back when it’s only 2% actual juice. They don’t need all that sugar.
YAYYYYYY!
There are people who definitely won’t see the parody.
Good commercial, but I think the juice is kind of beside the point. It reminds me of an old commercial for Quaker Instant Oatmeal, which showed a mother and a father proudly watching as their daughter climbed to the top of the high diving board at the swimming pool, and jumped off for the first time, and it ended with the tagline, “You prepare them for life, we help prepare them for the day.” In that case, it doesn’t really matter what the parents fed their daughter for breakfast–the bigger message was about letting children challenge themselves and take small but safe risks in life. In this case, the Capri-Sun commercial seems to be a little bit about Capri-Sun, but more about letting kids fend for themselves, while still caring about their well-being by feeding them healthy food and beverages, even if Capri-Sun isn’t the healthiest thing out there. But, it obviously has some redeeming value, if the V kind has a full serving of fruit and vegetables in every pouch. It’s sort of like when Sunny D was really popular–it got a bad rap for having so much sugar in it, but it also had a day’s worth of Vitamin C, and at least a serving each of Vitamins A and B1, in every single-serve bottle, and at the same time, kids actually liked it, and drank it willingly.
I had a talk today with a bunch of other moms. I’m considering learning how to ride the city bus so I can teach my older two how to ride the city bus downtown to the library. Last summer it was a 10 minute walk. Now we live clear across town. The moms were totally shocked that I was considering letting my 11 and 8 year old ride the bus alone. One of them pointed out that the kids would be MUCH safer on the public bus than on the school bus. 🙂
@ Tara: Go for it! When the school district cut out Fridays last spring due to budget cuts, we made Friday bus-to-the-library day for my oldest two (7 and 9 at the time). We rode together a couple of times, talked about procedure and etiquette, and pointed out important landmarks. In our town, the bus station is right across the street from the library so getting there is easy; the hard part is finding the right bay for the bus home. But they used the buddy system and did great on their own. When they told their teachers and even their principal about their bus routine, they (and I) got lots of positive feedback.
The only hard and disappointing part for me was that their dad had to take time off of work to be supervise them at the library; no kids under 10 are allowed in the children’s section without an adult. (Meanwhile, my mom was reminiscing just the other day about spending hours at a time alone at the library as a child — starting when she was six. *sigh*)
Could this be another sponsor for your TV show, Lenore?
That’s an awesome video.
I know moms like that….seriously. Anyway, I buy ‘juice’ pouches for my daughter’s lunch. Judge me if you must; they are cheap and easy and she likes them. So what’s the big deal? When I was a kid, we actually ate a lot WORSE than kids do nowadays. Chips, sodas, Kool-Aid – all of it. You know what the difference was? We were running around outside all day long, and we were all skinny!!
Kim, “skinny” does not mean “healthy”. You can be skinny and VERY unhealthy, or fat and pretty healthy overall.
Juice is sugar, just a different form than the stuff in the bowl you put in your coffee. There may be some other healthy components to juice but overall, if you want healthy, eat the whole fruit. Juice does contribute to obesity because people think it is “healthy.” It is sugar.
Sometimes when thirsty, stuff like this is nice. The idea for all foods and drinks is MODERATION. Keep that in mind and you will usually be fine.
I really like that the stuff in Capri Sun is not artificially colored – if the kids squeeze it out, it doesn’t stain. Also, our friends who react badly to red dye 40 can eat it, when they can’t have certain other sodas or juices.
So yes, like we do monitor our kids when outside, we can let them have some stuff like this, even, (gasp!) soda pop on occasion and not do them permanent harm. Unless we do act on the thoughts the mom had and answer for our kids in school.
Sorry, Lenore. I know you wanted to stay away from the whole “should kids drink this” thing. I tried holding back for a while!
I must say that the “of course I only give my kids juice as a very special treat” somewhat irk me. It sounds a bit judgemental. We are all intelligent people here who know that the sugar in juice is no better than the sugar in soft drink. But letting your kids have some sugar is not going to permanently damage them. My mother was always offering us sugary stuff because in the 80s people didn’t really think much about diet. The only reason why we were only allowed soft drink 3 times a week – 1 liter bottle shared between 6 people!!! – was because it was too expensive. Neither me nor my 3 sisters suffered any negative side effects from it.
I try use my common sense when it comes to my child’s diet and just follow the ‘everything in moderation’ mantra. But there are times when I am more relaxed about the sugar intake than usual. I’m not going to lie awake about it. We just have a rule that if she doesn’t brush her teeth, she doesn’t get any sugar at all that day!
Saw this commercial last week, though about it mentioning it to you, and it totally slipped my mind! So glad you posted it. I hope that, besides being entertaining and good advertising, it will make some parents laugh at themselves and loosen up.
I loved this commercial. I’m a teacher and a parent. I see parents like the one in the commercial all the time.
That said, my pre-schooler frequently drinks capri-sun because he cannot drink too much juice. It just has too much acid in it and even cutting it with water didn’t help. He would get terrible diaper rash when he drank it regularly. So we only stock juice-like things that are not 100% juice on purpose. He is also a big milk drinker. I think it evens out eventually. He’s a very busy kid so worrying about him becoming obese is pretty distant in my mind.