kids

Fighting for social justice doesn’t need to stop when you give birth. In fact, in my opinion, we should fight even harder if we have to raise a kid or two in this world. Also, by continuing our activism postpartum, we’ll set kick-ass examples for our children. It’s win-win all around.

Halloween is a time to bust out that creativity, play into the fantasy, and eat a ton of candy. It’s not a time to push adult sexuality or hyped up ideas of ideal bodies onto young kids. I’d rather by scared on Halloween by ghosts and goblins than by thoughts of little kids running amok in overly sexualized costumes.

Whether in the form of advertisements, cartoons, books, food, or toys, pop culture is out there and is feeding a host of tropes and stereotypes that can heavily impact a developing mind. This series will take a look at where pop culture, parenting and feminism meet, as we explore the affects (whether outright & obvious or much more subtle) of media & marketing on children, and their families. I’ll also take a look at how pop culture promotes certain stereotypes of families, especially in so-called "reality" shows.

Before I launch into talking more about sterilization and permanent birth control next week, I want to quickly touch on (and probably later come back to) something that's been on my radar the last week or so. You no doubt realize I read tabloid gossip if I'm able to come up with a photo montage like this one. So imagine my surprise when I read what Italian model-actress—known lately as George Clooney's girlfriend—said to Italian Cosmopolitan magazine.

I’m here to talk about social pressure to procreate, media attention on multi-child families, tabloid obsession with childless women and pregnancy, and voluntarily female sterilization.

Ah, a new twist on the classic rags-to-princess-riches tale: An American woman dreams of royalty, moves to London, continues to obsess about royalty, meets the man of her dreams, and... starts a luxury princess camp. Yes, royal enthusiast Jerramy Fine has launched Princess Prep Camp. Now, for just £2,545 (that's $3,995) per child—girls only, natch—the eight-year olds in your life can live at the height of excessive opulence, complete with a butler, for one week (airfare not included).

The series may be barely over, but we all knew from about the fourth book on that Harry Potter is the children’s literary icon of its time. Let’s take a look at its author, J.K. Rowling, and the young ladies of the series.

Gather around, children. It’s time for a story. Several, actually. I’ve been thinking about picture books, and how big an impact a story can have with just a few words. Get thinking about the picture book icons of your childhood while I take you through some of my experiences and what the kids are reading these days.

If any icons loom large, they’re those of our formative years. Let’s open up some children’s books, shall we? With sales numbering at about 145 million copies and, according to UNESCO, as the world’s twenty-fifth most translated author, Astrid Lindgren is about as formative as it gets. Who among us doesn’t love Pippi Longstocking?

I recently watched afternoon cartoons on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network and I was shocked to find a flood of highly gendered toy commercials. These ads not only market toys to children but they also promote and encourage gender-specific values that are very limiting to boys and girls in different ways. The values and skills promoted in these commercials can play a critical role in the socalization of youth and their development of emotional expression, conflict resolution, the confidence to pursue various careers and the ability to maintain healthy relationships as adults.