THE JOLLIBEE SPELL AND HOW I (TRY TO) RESIST IT

Growing up, I see lots and lots of kids enticed with Jollibee.  Kids will see Jollibee and they'll go crazy. Parents get the notion that they have to bring their kids to Jollibee and feed them there to make them happy. My son, Shalom, is no exception. His cousin has a little Jollibee stuffed toy that they love playing with. This is why he is familiar with that big smiling bee. Whenever we're on a road trip and we pass by any Jollibee store, he would eagerly scream "Jollibee! Jollibee!"

For most parents, when kids scream Jollibee, they interpret it as the child wanting to eat there. But really, all they want is the image of that happy smiling bee. Because most parents fall into the trap of the Jollibee marketing strategy, they would usually bring their children to Jollibee as a treat. This experience creates positive memories into the child's brain, which makes them love Jollibee even more, because the equation becomes "Jollibee = family time".

Obviously, Jollibee isn't the healthiest place to bring our children to eat. I would rather bring my kids in a restaurant with home-cooked meals rather than a fastfood whenever we go out to spend some family time. But because Jollibee is so irresistibly cute and they're literally everywhere in the country, children would always be attracted to Jollibee.

The other day, we went to a mall and we were looking for a place to eat. My husband and I are not fans of fastfood restaurants and we didn't want our children to grow up loving their unhealthy meals. We happened to pass by Jollibee, and guess what? My son automatically stopped right in front of their entrance where the big Jollibee statue stands welcoming each customer. We let him play with Jollibee for a while, he shook the hand, tapped the belly, touched the body and smiled at his big smiling face. And then, we told him we have to go on. When it was time to go, he didn't resist. I guess it's because all he needed was a litte time to play and then he's done. I guess that's what most  children just need. A little time to play, without necessarily eating there. Well of course, you can also eat at Jollibee. I'm not saying it is wrong. But when children scream Jollibee, it doesn't mean you have to always go inside the store and order something. They may just need a little high five.

So what happened on our trip was that we went to the restaurant right across Jollibee where we ordered some pasta and pizza. While eating, Shalom just kept looking at Jollibee and saying Jollibee while enjoying food from across the hall. Not bad, hey? We call it compromise. :)

Shalom saw Jollibee on a mall and can't help but to play with this giant happy bee :)