Pay close attention to that cartoon your kid is watching after school. There's a good chance that it's not just a cartoon. 
I've mentioned before that Mr. Third Grader is big into these metal spinning "battle" tops. These toys have their own show, complete with annoying theme song. I try to ignore this cartoon as best I can, and I've gotten pretty good at ignoring the TV over the years. I've tuned out all kinds of cartoons (though I was pretty alarmed the time I overheard some Nick Jr. show that began, "OK children, let's turn out all the lights and I'll show you something really special!" That got my attention in a hurry.)
But one day I actually paid some attention to this cartoon. There was nothing really wrong with it; nothing objectionable; no bad language or anything like that. The whole program, though, was a twenty-minute commercial for these tops. It was made clear that certain tops have certain attributes, and particular accessories would make a kid the champion top-spinner in his neighborhood.
Since children in the target audience for this show are too young for working papers, that means they're bugging their parents for these toys. Maybe I'll divert Mr. Third Grader's attention away from cartoons...SportsCenter, anyone?
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