“Bring Your Baby to Life With Your Wii Remote?”

Nov. 2, 2009 Not sure which part of this creeps me out more, the fact that 21st century baby dolls have a Wiimote crammed up the wazoo to ‘bring the baby to life’ as a Wii system accessory, the passive pink gender cues for girls and total absence of boys as video parenting poppas, or the product picture being a dead-ringer look alike of my own offspring at that age. Ewww all … [Read more...]

Media Morsels for Lil’ Goblins: Next to New BOOks as Treats!

Oct. 29, 2009 Every year I try to come up with ‘green Halloween goodies’ or attempt to find ‘healthier’ ideas that are not a snore or a bore... just to balance out the gobs of candy kids receive and seed the concept that other treats can be even cooler than standard fare. The trick is to go for the wide smile alternative and the ‘value-add’ as they say in marketing, because … [Read more...]

Halloween Beyond the Cliché: Packaging Boyhood Part Two

Oct. 7, 2014 Update I realize I've been 'deconstructing' Halloween for years with pushback on the societal sexploitation of girls as we fiercely try to "Take Back Halloween" by mythbusting "market demand"...But the little boys' lens of how some of the girls costumes land on them is one to watch too, instilling critical thinking early on...in this case, two posts by SheKnows.com … [Read more...]

Why 350.org? Fun Edu/Eco Activism Today For Int’l Climate Chg!

Oct. 24, 2009 Kids love "dress up" and DOING things, so today’s the day to blend the two into global fun to seed ‘one world’ thinking with 350.0rg early on, joining 181 countries for the most widespread day of environmental action in history! (CNN World coverage) Find a local event near you (ck out the global 350 map!) or create one yourself by snapping some 350 group … [Read more...]

“I’m Not A Prude, But…”

Oct. 23, 2009 How many times have you heard that preface to a conversation about pop culture lately? Tweens? Teens? Okay, I promised NOT to do a Halloween Horrors bit on girls' costumes and tramp vamp cues (been there, done that) BUT the irony in the timing of this post from Australia titled, "Musical Tarts are Infecting Our Children" that referenced us here at Shaping … [Read more...]