What has Hello Kitty got that I haven't?

Yes I know she is cuter than me, probably has nicer clothes than me, definitely looks a lot better on t-shirts than me, but do you know what, along with her sisters of consumerism: Peppa Pig and Minnie Mouse, I'm a bit fed up of them.

I wrote a post last week about whether or not I found it different having a girl after three boys, and the conclusion was that it wasn't really any different at all. Apart from her general devotion to all things pink and a determination to wear, and I mean only wear, what she wants to wear and will not be swayed once her final decision has been made. The other difference, and this has only really materialised in the last few months, is her obsession with Hello Kitty and her cohorts.

Aaah, that's lovely! Say some of my family members. No! It's not lovely! It's a pain in the backside. You quite literally cannot go out without coming across these characters. Even in Tesco the other day, having sneakily skidded past the toy aisle at high speed so as to avoid the screaming tantrums that accompany most visits these days due to mean mummy not buying her anything, I screeched to a halt in the nappy aisle and lo and behold, I hear the words; "Mummy look, Hello Kitty!" and "Peppa Pig!" I could cry and I mean lie down on the floor and bang my fists on the ground. Is there no escape?

And there they are dangling deviously between the packs of nappies: Peppa Pigs that you can wash with. Really? Is that necessary? I really do not, nor ever will want to wash myself with Peppa bleeding Pig. Also have you noticed how ugly the Peppa Pig toys are. I mean I have watched a fair few episodes of Peppa Pig with my daughter and Peppa is quite sweet if you like that sort of thing, but the cuddly toys in particular are really ugly. I swing around to get away from the ugly pig anf there glittering menacingly are a bloodey Hello Kitty lollipops. You know the ones: sparkly wrappers with the character du jour on the front and then when you take off the wrapper there is a small amount of crappy chocolate underneath.

It's genius marketing on the part of the supermarkets really. They realise that there are a percentage of us parents who strategically avoid certain aisles to avoid 'tension', so the clever sods dangle child-friendly treats along the aisles that they know we will have to go down. It seriously does my head in. I'm looking for a box of Shreddies and suddenly A is screeching at the top of her voice and trying to dive head first out of the trolley to get to something far more interesting that she's spotted.

Clothes shopping. There they are again; the terrible trio, adorning tops, t-shirts, trousers in fact just about anything. We went to Asda today to change an outfit that she had been given for Christmas that wasn't to her liking, I was looking at the plainer, less expensive clothes but A had already spotted what she wanted. It was quite funny really, she ran up and down the aisle grabbing any item of clothing emblazoned with Peppa, Minnie and Kitty. It was like watching an episode of Supermarket Sweep. I then had to prise them off her and explain that we already had lots of clothes and were only buying a couple of things. Then came the tears. She was distraught. Eventually, I managed to get away with one of each character. Oh and a Minnie Mouse swimming costume that we didn't need!

Next stop was W H Smith. Even worse. She was out of the pushchair like a sprinter off the starting blocks, squealing with delight as she got her little hands on about five magazines all sporting her television favourites. For the person who bought subsequently bought the Peppa Pig magazine with the tear and tear stains on the front, I apologise profusely.

There was a sale on in the shoe shop with a rather nice pair of brown suede boots that mummy would have liked to have had a look at, but no it wasn't to be. There was a Hello Kitty and a Peppa Pig bag that A had spied with her beady eye and wanted more than anything, in spite of the fact that she has more bags than the average two year old really needs. If there is any upside to this, our bank balance is definitely not going to get such a hammering if today's shopping experience is anything to go by.

I suppose I've only got myself to blame. Up until last summer, we lived in the lovely gentle world of Cbeebies where we lolled around In the Night Garden and did yoga with the piplings and the cheebies. It was a calm and pleasant viewing experience, without adverts for awful toys and we only watched repeats on really bad days. Then we went to Disneyland Paris. A completely fell in love with Minnie Mouse. That is, the concept of Minnie Mouse; the toys, the clothes, the bags and accessories, she was so scared of the actual characters themselves, we had to run away from them at high speed. When we returned, my little girl was changed. She was no longer content with Cbeebies and before I knew it we had moved to Nick Jnr and a Peppa Pig obsession with a sprinkling of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney Junior.

Then I asked her a stupid question. She was cuddling her little Hello Kitty and she told me that she loved Hello Kitty. I asked her who she loved more; mummy or Hello Kitty? Yes, I know, I asked for it really, and I am sure you know exactly what she said... (sniff)