Ahh, the terrible twos. Parents the world over know about them, some may dread them while others may have more of a ‘bring it on’ attitude towards them. The second birthday of a child is a big deal, it sees them slipping further away from babyhood and, unfortunately, comes with the promise of ‘terrible’ things to come. Leo was showing signs of a temper quite early on so by the time his second birthday rolled around I was a bit of a nervous wreck. With him already throwing regular tantrums and being fiercely independent, I was convinced this next year was going to be hell. Anyway, last month Leo turned three and we have all made it through the terrible twos in one piece! Now that dreaded year is behind me I feel like it is time to reflect and to share with you my verdict – was it really all that bad? View Post
Today, my lovely readers, I would like to discuss with you the latest Vodafone TV advert. It has been on our screens for the last month or so and it infuriates me almost beyond words..almost. The advert is titled A happy bus journey, if you don’t know the one I mean then here it is..
I don’t know about you but this advert makes me mad, probably too mad really. I am not one for moaning about such petty things and if you were to scroll through my timeline you would have a hard job finding one of those ‘Facebook rants’ the kids of today go on about. However, I feel I need to talk about this advert just to get it out of my system and to find out if I am on my own here or not.
We have all been this poor woman at some point haven’t we? Maybe not necessarily stuck on a bus with a crying toddler but unless you have a very rare, angelic little darling, I’m sure you have had to deal with a public display of toddler fury at some point. Whenever my boy has a tantrum in public I do find it quite difficult to cope and really embarrassing but if people want to sigh, put their headphones on or shake their heads in disgust that’s fine, that’s their decision.
However, it is my responsibility to console my screaming toddler not anyone else’s. Sorry if my crying child is annoying you but you, my friend, can put your headphones on, stick your fingers in your ears or even walk away, all luxuries denied to me. I totally relate to this woman on the bus and I feel sorry for her because I know how hard it is when your child is inconsolable but, unlike this lady, I would not be smiling if some stranger decided to interfere.
Now, I will be honest, I am no stranger to using technology to distract Leo or calm him down. Many a lunch out has been saved by Peppa Pig and a recent meltdown in John Lewis was extinguished with bribes of watching Noddy when we got home. However, it is not something I allow all the time and it is definitely not up to someone else to decide it for me. For all we know, that little boy could have been crying because his mum had said he can’t watch Cbeebies until they got home? For all that man knew the little boy could be scared of Dora the Explorer , which could have resulted in even more crying.
Perhaps I am overreacting, I just feel the marketing minds at Vodafone could have thought up something else to show off their new super fast 4G network. I am concerned that as a result of this advert, inpatient people across the country are going to start shoving smartphones in the faces of grumpy toddlers to keep them quiet. Maybe 3 years of studying media at uni has forced me to analyse adverts too much or maybe I am just in a bad mood lately but Vodafone you have disappointed me and have made me glad to be an EE customer.
Phew, I actually do feel better for having a good old rant. I feel like I can happily change channels when this advert comes on now, instead of forcing myself to watch it just so I can sit and scowl at the TV.
How would you feel if a stranger got involved while your child was having a tantrum? Would you be grateful? Am I just horrible? Let me know!
