Personification

While browsing ‘round the ‘Net for some books for my little princess the other day, one of the pages listed in my search engine’s results page grabbed my attention. The company offered a rather interesting spin on what was otherwise not a new idea: personalized items. You see this company offered personalized kids’ gift items but went one step further in providing customized products for kids: they also personalized DVDs (a headshot pasted on an animated figure, if the image on the home page is anything to go by, still it looks like it might get a laugh out of children), children's books (yup, I guess they just change the name of the main character to whatever the customer’s name is), and even songs. A number of the items they offer are also mainstream products (Disney stuff and other well-known cartoon characters). I admit their services are neat, but that’s about as high as they’ll rank with me: neat. Personally (no pun intended), I’d rather make up my own stories for my little one. Why? No one knows (ideally) what your kid wants more than you do and it should take all of 10 minutes at most. It’s easier than you think. You should also keep in mind that even if the story should teach a good lesson, it doesn’t have to make sense (no pressure going for a Pulitzer.) So there, customization for kids is an OK thing but maybe you should go DIY first.