Using Media Themes as Presence Over Presents

Dec. 21, 2014 Every year my teen prefers experiential "go-see-do" gifts to anything I can wrap up and put under the tree, (other than a GoPro which was a 'save up' winner for a milestone birthday) and so every year I have had a media "spin off" that segues from pop culture pervasiveness into an offline unplugged  adventure. Studies show that presence over presents continues … [Read more...]

Hollywood Climate Change: Warming to Sheroes or Still in Denial?

Jan. 7, 2014 2014 is the year of Redefining Girly. Not just Redefining Girly, the new book on gender stereotypes and sexualization of kids by parent actionist Melissa Wardy, but redefining girly in the creation of lead characters who aren’t all about form over function.Can you feel the climate change? The energy surge? The sardonic wit of media critics pointing out the tired … [Read more...]

The Nature Principle: Experience the Earth Beyond Instagram

April 22, 2015 Update Recycling my resource roundup of eco-literacy quizzes on greenwashing, nature apps in a wired world, and games for good like TiltWorld that build on green media themes of kids' exploration and discovery (like TumbleLeaf to get kids outside) in order to add a very LOUD shout out to this poignant Richard Louv post about Hybrid Minds: (premise: The more high … [Read more...]

Talking to Kids About Headline News; The Positive Social Media Lens

Talking with Kids About Ukraine: Resource Roundup March 10, 2022 Update-Russia's Invasion of Ukraine As parents and educators grapple with urgent headlines, grisly visuals and untenable war crimes popping up on social media, one has to be especially mindful of this same level of saturation landing on children with equal horror. I've 'added' to this initial post far too … [Read more...]

Youth Aids Day: First Gen Who’ve Never Known a World Without HIV

Nov. 25, 2015 Update World Aids Day is coming up Dec. 1st, and Durex is promoting the creation of a "condom emoji" to be used via social media to shorthand safety messages for public health. April 10, 2013 “I’m a virgin! I’m not gay. I don’t use drugs! I’ve never had sex, none of this applies to me.” These are the kinds of responses and misinformation both teens and their … [Read more...]