Mother’s Day Improv With the Mother of ‘The Rugrats!’

April 10, 2009 Feel like you’re interacting with your family via text message? Facing screens more than each other? Using drive time as quality time and packing parental fun into cellular size? Kids and parents, come see yourselves and each other in a whole new way! One month from today on Mother's Day, Actress Melanie Chartoff, screen voice for The Rugrats mom, Didi Pickles … [Read more...]

Counterstrike: MEF Film “The Price of Pleasure” Screens For Free

April 9, 2009 Even though K-12 youth is Shaping Youth's primary focus, this campus controversy caught my eye for the overlap with our own counter-marketing tactics. In a ‘fight fire with fire’ media literacy move straight out of the Shaping Youth playbook, the Media Education Foundation is responding to this week’s University of Maryland campus uproar of whether or not free … [Read more...]

The Oprah Factor: Stop the Yo-Yo Dieting Messages

April 8, 2009 Young women and their moms have been "under the influence" of Oprah longer than you can say “she’s gotta have it.” From cuddly bathrobes to kids' book club picks, when the grand dame of daytime speaks, people listen. Precisely the point that Director Darryl Roberts of America the Beautiful is making in his recent “open letter to Oprah” plea to curb the weight … [Read more...]

3 Sisters Adventure Trekking: Changing the Game Through Sport

April 7, 2009 How can you empower women, make change happen with a quick click and take that Nike swoosh to the next level of youth and cultural change? Those of you who have ‘friended’ me on Facebook already know I’ve been championing my WLW (Women Leaders for the World) gal pal, Lucky Chhetri from Nepal who co-founded 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking, a sustainable geotourism … [Read more...]

What’s With 8th Grade Proms & Glamorama Tween Diva-ization?

April 3, 2009 “Myths & Realities of Eighth Grade Graduation/Dance: Students may wear something nicer than normal school clothes. However, we strongly discourage formal dresses and tuxedos.” Well, it’s too late for April Fool’s, so I’m guessing this very surreal statement is indicative of the point being made in Newsweek’s recent article, “Are we turning our tweens into … [Read more...]