A Roller Coaster Ride

this parenting stuff is. I had better get used to it. Just when I was thinking things are going well for our girls, I see this article. What the heck is this? Disturbing sure. But what is driving teenage girls to send nude photos out on cell phones? Do they think it will be kept private? Do they want it to be forwarded? Why are they risking so much to be seen as sexual? What is it costing them? Is it not enough to be sexual in private- now they need to show the world? Are porn queens at the career day fair?

I remember the high school hormone days. But I didn't see or hear about any naked pictures in circulation. OK there was the one time one girl pulled out a Polaroid picture and flashed us freshman with it in the girls locker room. That was traumatic enough!

Is it just technology? Are teens wired different now? Is it the media MTV, VH-1, surfing the net? I just don't get it. I wish I knew a teen girl well enough to have a candid conversation about it. I just don't get why this is "the norm." In my opinion, it is hard enough to come to terms with your sexual self in high school. Figuring out how to deal with hormones, emotions and respect for yourself without planning your next porn pose to send out on the world wide web.

I guess forwarding pictures of your A papers would not get you up in the ranks of the skanks in high school. Just say NO to teen porn! LOL it is sad that little girls can use that message.............................

Nim's Island

Our whole family saw this movie last weekend and LOVED it. It is based on the book by Wendy Orr. I think it is a good movie for smart girls because:

the main character is a girl

girl is self-directed

girl loves to read

girl swims, climbs, uses tools

girl does not apply makeup

girl has adventures

girl has fun

girl has a respectful dad and wonderful relationship with him

girl does NOTHING to catch or want a boyfriend

Of course, there is the absent (tragically lost) mother. And there is a little damsel-in-distress element. But the savior shows up as a neurotic woman. Woman and girl kind of save each other. BTW said woman is Jodie Foster and she is just FANTASTIC in a split-your-side-giggling role.

I hightly recommend the film for everyone. And the cinematography is incredible!

I need to read the book now.

It must be the spring air because I found more good news for girls. Our elementary school's gazette had the following announcement:

Attention All 4th-8th Grade Girls:
Girl Scout Engineering Day
At Local Polytechnic State University
Saturday, May 17, 2008
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Come have fun in hands-on labs in:
Aerospace Engineering
Materials Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Environmental Engineering
and Forensic Science

So a big Hooray Award for the girl scouts and all the universities/organizations hosting Girl Scout Engineering Days. Even if your girl is not a scout, check out the girlsgotech site and watch for any upcoming events in your area.

She wants karaoke party for her birthday.....

Webkinz World

All three of my kids have been busy with Webkinz stuff for the past 5 months or so. I really like the concept. For those not familiar, basically you buy a small stuffed animal. $5-$20@. Toy comes with a code and kids go online to the webkinz website and "register" their pet. They pick out a username, name their pet, and chose male or female for their pet. They get a starter amount of "kinzcash." The Webkinz website is like training for real life. They have to decide where to spend their money. They have to feed their pet, take it to the doctor, exercise pet and play with it, furnish it's room. They can also go to the job board and work for more money, or play an arcade game or answer quiz questions. I like the unisex reality. My boys both love to "cook" and grow gardens. My daughter's favorite is gem mining. You can buy clothes- pinky stuff available. But nowhere does it say "pretty princess" on the clothes. If webkinz adhered to popular kid marketing strategy- the boys would be buying guns and the girls would be buying cell phones. And they would have separate stores, jobs, chat rooms and games. The only thing I found distasteful was the real life webkinz lip gloss and body spray for girls. I just don't think girls (ages 5-12 which is the target age) need to worry about what their body smells like. Luckily, I only see the toys and the trading cards at the stores.

The kids can go to different chat rooms and interact with kids all over the world, play tournament games and visit each other's rooms. It all seems predator-safe. The kids can only pick from scripted choices for the "chats" and visits. There is no dialogue in the tournament arena. I am really not doing the webkinz justice. There is so much to do, and room for kids to find their own niche within the site. Oh and I personally love the post office. Kids can send virtual (scripted) letters and gifts to other kids. They have to pay kinzcash postage and for any extras: gift wrap, etc.

If you are curious- check it out! And my 9yo third grade boy just has a blast. I don't think he is bragging to his friends about it, but he sure has fun ;) They have bulldog, gorilla, frog, tiger toy for the non-foofoo kids.

So Webkinz gets a big Smart Kids Award from me. Great gifts for birthday parties!

Kmart, Shmaymart

OK, I did go in and ask to see the manager after picking up some of the horrible t-shirts, etc. at our local Kmart. Boy, that manager looked like he couldn't wait to talk to crazy wacko me. He was nice enough and admitted that:
1) maybe the messages were not the best (but he didn't think they were overtly horrible)
2) he would not let his own daughter wear any of them
3) they have pulled merchandise the management has found overtly offensive before
4) he would bring up at his next regional (or whatever) meeting that some customers are not happy with these graphic designs.

So I chalk up a teensy victory. I thanked him for his time, and told him he has a hard job. If anyone has ever worked retail, his job is pretty much a non-stop nightmare. And I did tell him that since my daughter is starting to read, she will not be going to the children's clothes section "because I do not want her to think that is what being a girl is all about."

I would encourage anyone that feels the same, to please take a couple of minutes and discuss the matter with the store manager. Maybe each little complaint will equal big change- someday!

OK now for some funny kid stories. We are doing our spring round up outside. Dear hubby pays the kids to pull the weeds. We were quite surprised when dear daughter was crying when her brother pulled "her" weed. It turns out she got some carrot seeds, planted them months ago in the flower bed and forgot about them. Pulled up the bunch to find some carrots. They were pretty tasty!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

The Kmart Saga Continues...

So as some of you know, I am still furious about the HORRIBLE graphic tees I recently found at our local Kmart. I wrote them an email, got a form response. I then said I wanted to communicate with the parent company and a customer service rep gave me the corporate address for SEARS.
I just mailed them a letter, reiterating what I said in my Boo Hiss post. I will let you know if I get any response.

So it is funny how things work out. I was checking out the hardy girls healthy women website today and found an article about girls in action from December 2006. These girls were protesting Kmart and their awful t-shirt depicting violence on a girl cartoon character by a boy. Kmart/Sears tried to say it was "light-hearted." I am really at a loss with this company. For over a year now (at least) they chose to bimbo-fy, degrade and occasionally show violence on little girls ages 4 and up?

I obviously need to do more research on Kmart and their history. I have looked extensively at Kmart's competition (locally) and I can safely say that Target, Kohl's, Mervyn's, Walmart and The Children's Place have markedly better messages for girls on their graphic apparel. If I don't get the answers I want, I smell a petition or at least a lot of squawking from me. I am just tired of the disrespect I am seeing at this store. I will talk to the manager tomorrow. If anybody reading this blog finds these kind of t-shirts at their local store and you feel strongly they should not be there, please call the manager and tell him or her. Maybe they will finally get the message.

And I want to personally thank Drs. Lamb and Brown for getting back to me so promptly and allowing me to quote their book Packaging Girlhood (my inspiration book) on this blog.