Worst companies of the baby industry?

Question

I am constantly dismayed by the ever expanding empire of baby paraphernalia. Honestly, if I bought into everything the marketing machine leads me to believe I "need", I could probably just throw common sense out the window and surely, good parenting would simply happen because I am so well equipped.

For me, the baby food companies throw up red flags... Nestle(eek!) et al... Luckily, I am provided with a handy "schedule" of when, how and what to feed my child. From the puffs to the stages? to the consistency... how can I go wrong? Too bad more foods don't come in little pots!

Ugh... sorry!

Which companies make your worst list?

Answer 1

1. Gerber - I can't believe they have made "special" toddler meals. TV dinners for babies? Seriously! Can they not eat regular food by then!

2. Disney - I hate the idea of Baby Einstein! TV isn't good for adults, we all know that, so why are we convinced by Disney that it is good for babies?

3. Pampers, Huggies et all - Why do babies need to be wearing toxic waste on their bums all day decorated by Winnie the Pooh and Sesame Street characters? I have a problem with what the diapers are made of, plus I have an even bigger problem with the fact that they are trying to indoctrinate babies with their advertising at such a young age! Why do they need to print bloody pictures all over the diapers? Can they not just be plain white? Of course not, the baby is a consumer-in-training --- they must be trained from birth!

4. Enfamil, Nestle, Similac - I am sick of seeing things like "Our closest formula to breast milk" and "with nutrients normally found in breast milk" on cans in big print on the front and then the disclaimer they are required by law to print on the back in teeny-tiny print - "Breast milk is best for babies." Shouldn't that be in bold on the front?! Close to breast milk isn't the same as actual breast milk! People get fooled all the time. It sickens me.

5. Noisy baby toys - I hate that baby toys all need batteries and spew out three languages and vibrate and light up all the time. Our daughter really prefers to do things herself and learn that way. She loves dials and knobs that make mechanical noises, not some weird recorded stuff. There is no evidence that the baby will be "smarter" because some dumb toy they had when they were 3 months old told them how to say "apple" in English, French and Spanish ...

Answer 2

I hate all formula companies! I'm a formula feeder and I was formula fed, but they're the ones who led the previous generation to feel that bm was "not good enough," thus leading me to find almost no support and information when I was struggling to bf my son. They truly crushed my dreams of bfing, especially after my son's pediatrician and my OB so easily gave me the go ahead with formula instead of helping me through my struggles. And I hate that I have to buy cans of that stuff every week when I could have easily had enough milk on my own if I knew where to look. Yes, I blame myself for not trying harder too, but I was bedridden and you'd think that the "professionals" you pay thousands to would be able to help. So yeah, I hate the formula companies for that...although I understand that not all moms can bf.
I also HATE Baby Einstein. I can slap some colorful socks on my hand and entertain my son on my own, thank you very much!
And let's not forget the major diaper companies that always raise their prices every year. They're not broke and have no need to do that. Babies are born every day and keeping them in business. Shame on Huggies and Pampers, who will both raise their prices in 2008.
Also, the maternity necessities are getting ridiculous too. I just saw this beaded skirt you're supposed to wear during labor (LABOR!) so you can be "fashionable and relaxed."

**I also agree with the baby food companies. I make my son's baby food, even though everyone told me it would be too hard and too time consuming. Well guess what? It takes about half an hour a day to stock up for a full month of several types of fruits and veggies. The food steams and I'm free to take care of my son. I puree for about 20 seconds, then put it in the ice cube tray and freeze. So easy! And tastes way better than the Gerber mush.

This question has made me realize how angry I am at the world!!! LOL

Answer 3

Honestly I don't listen to what these companies told me I needed. I go with what I found out my baby likes. She has a lot of the 'things' (swing, bouncer, rocker, stroller/carrier, snugli, highchair) but I got a lot of that stuff as hand me downs or gifts from my 'meet the baby' party. What I didn't use I gave away on craigslist to a woman who was 4 mo's pregnant (that felt good giving stuff away). I'm honestly going to probably try to sell the highchair also. I loved using the seat that attached to a chair for my son 12 years ago, highchairs are so bulky.

Besides, variations of all these items have been around forever, just rather then the stores selling them in masse quantities the dads would make them.

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Hokie is right, WIC uses contracts and right now it's Enfamil and Good Start for soy. It's up to each mom to research and figure out what is best for their child, not just give them something because it's free.

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I really have to add that when I walk through Babies R Us I see something new each time that I say to myself 'why would any one NEED that'. Yesterday it was a special mattress pad that held the baby in just the right position and showing how the babies head was resting just right, causing first time moms to be more paranoid then they already are. My daughter would NEVER sleep like that. I wouldn't either, i would be very uncomfortable.

Answer 4

I do agree w/ a lot of the answers on here. I think that there is entirely too much "stuff" that people feel inclined to buy babies...that aren't really needed.

I think that we need to spend more time 1:1 with our babies and read more to them, sing to them, and play with them. My 3 month old was fascinated for 20 minutes the other day by just tracking my silver thumb ring with her eyes.

I will say right now, that I do have a play mat that she likes and does free up time to get things done and she has a mobile and light show that she likes...but I do think that things have gone way overboard to make parents think they "need" these things to have a child that is developmentally ahead of the game.

I can also understand formula companies topping the list for most. I just happen to fall in the rare category that breast WASN'T the best for mine. Enfamil Nutramigen saved my baby a lot of pain. I was pissed that this was the case...I don't know what they did before this crap came out but it worked for my daughter and made her a happy baby.

Answer 5

In all honest it's not the companies that produce educating and stimulating toys for babies it's the Baby formula companies that promote baby milk formula as a replacement for breast milk and more or less promote it as better than breast milk when it's shown in many studies that formula is sadly lacking in as many as 400 (many unknown) nutrients that are naturally present in a Mothers milk. Yet they get away with it an Mothers fall for the sales pitch giving up breastfeeding because they believe formula is just as good!!!

If they did a little research they would be shocked at what they'd find about about formula companies. I feel sorry for the babies forced to drink it...

http://www.mercola.com/2000/oct/22/infant_formula.htm

Answer 6

Nestle and Gerber usually top my baby company sh*t list. Lately, I've been disgusted that I own the Simplicity (Graco) Aspen crib that killed a few babies. It's been retired. I am sickened and horrified at the accounts of how those precious babies died. I personally believe that Simplicity knew that there was a problem long before the recall was announced because the hardware was . . . well, I'll spare you the details. Suffice it to say that Simplicity is a shady, shady company.

Answer 7

I am so glad that you asked this question becasue I must say that I am now 16 weeks along with baby #4 and my youngest one is now 8 years old. A ton has changed since he was a baby way back in 2000. I still plan on bottle feeding just like I did with 2 of the others but have no clue who offers the best formula on the market today. I quite honestly think that all the new crap that they have come out with for babies is kinda cool. I mean 8 years ago your swing and car seat and bouncer was too big to bring in the bathroom with you when they were infants when you had to shower. It just seems that they have come up with soo much more stuff to help parents out for the times that we are not able to spend with baby like when we have to go potty, do dishes, do laundry, alone time, clean house etc. Well thanks for all of your advise on products.

Answer 8

Heinz because their jarred baby food in Canada contains 30% more water than the same jarred food in the US.

And of course all the bloody infant food and formula companies.

Baby Einstein and many other "educational" products.

Answer 9

The company of co-workers. They constantly asked me what I wanted and told me what I need. And here I am with a 7 week old, using only about 3 outfits, diapers, a carseat, and a handy little diaper pale. .. It IS pretty simple! Babies = eat, ****, and look cute.

Answer 10

Formula companies, baby food companies, pretty much anyone who makes baby products and thinks they are baby "experts". All the toys that babies were supposed to "love", were completely ignored by my son. Lol I almost forgot Baby Einstein.

I had to laugh when my friend bragged about how WIC provided her with Good Start because it was "the best on the market". When her second was born, WIC changed the formula to Similac, and she again said it was the best on the market. When she asked why they changed it, they told her because they got a contract with Similac, which means, Similac gave them a cheaper rate for their formula. lol