You Don't Need the Baby Cam
Get real, folks
A few years ago I was interviewing for a job. The company brought my family out to Lake Tahoe to meet the team for a few wonderful days. That included a delicious dinner with my potential future employer. So, we had to leave our kids behind at the hotel with a babysitter. The hotel wasn't far from the restaurant, and we had our trusty Nest baby cam...so it was going to be fine.
When we returned home to Denver after the trip, the baby cam was not in our luggage. We couldn't find it anywhere. The hotel also didn't have it. This was problematic because....we needed the baby cam NOW! Our baby needed to sleep and so we had to have eyes on her as she slept. Because that is what all millennial parents need, right?
WE HAVE TO WATCH OUR BABIES OR THEY COULD......DO SOMETHING.
How are we going to know if our baby is not having a perfect REM sleep cycle?!?
But, as you might suspect...our baby slept. And slept. And slept. And when she was no longer tired, she let out a few cries and alerted us that naptime was over.
We had other problems to solve for that day, and the baby cam was not one of them. It would have to wait until the day's work was zone, workouts got done, and dinner was prepared.
But bedtime happened and she was tired. So she laid down for bedtime. And then we forgot that we needed a baby cam. Just like that.
And so the days skirted on and our 4 month old became 5, 6, 7 months old. And, we never got another babycam.
What's more, we had a 3rd child...and then a 4th child earlier this year and, still, no baby cam.
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Many of us consume products because we think we need them. A baby cam is, in my limited experience, a simple example of the worst parts of consumerism and best parts of marketing. Either some brilliant marketers or society itself have led us to believe that we need to have a baby cam to watch our babies sleep. And, for that matter, a coat for the rain, the sun, the snow, the fog, and probably a coat for our coat (just to be safe). We need a new pair of pants because our old pair isn't in fashion anymore. We need this pair of sunglasses because look how fucking cool they look!
So this holiday season - no - for all holiday seasons going forward, don't fall for some marketer's trap buying shit you just don't need. The brand wants you to feel comfortable, confident, and look good. But chances are, you already are those things and so much more. You don't need a thing to make you look cool.