Pro-Social & Positive Picks

When We Were Free To Be: Revisiting A Classic w/Deesha Philyaw

December 18, 2012 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

Dec. 18, 2012 This year marks not only the 40th Anniversary of Title IX changing women’s sports forever, it’s also the 40th Anniversary of the cycle-breaking, movement-making pop culture childrens' classic Free to Be, You and Me created by one of my very first childhood ‘sheroes’ Marlo Thomas. Marlo Thomas’ Free to Be Gold record and '70s era bestseller flipped the script on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, People Shaping Youth, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: 40th Anniversary Free to Be, 40th Anniversary Title IX, 70s sitcoms, African American sitcoms, Amy-Jussel, black sitcoms, children's classics, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Co-Parenting 101, cultural literacy, Deesha Philyaw, feminine versus feminist, Free to Be, Free to Be at 40, Geena Davis Institute, gender and media portrayals, Gender neutral toys, Gender Portrayal, gender research, Girl Child Press, Glee, kids free to be kids, Laura Lovett, Lego Friends, Lori Rotskoff, Marlo Thomas, media-literacy, Michael Jackson Grew Up, Modern Family, Nancy-Gruver, New Moon Girls, Norman Lear Center, Packaging-Boyhood, Packaging-Girlhood, Peggy Orenstein, Pop culture impact on kids, Pop-Culture, race and class stereotypes, SEL, Self-worth-kids, Social Emotional Learning, Title IX, When We Were Free to Be

A Mighty Girl: Healthier Media Messaging, One Click Convenience

December 10, 2012 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

April 11, 2013 Update: Check out A Mighty Girl pics for Environmental Books and movies for green kidlit and Earth Day 2013! Dec. 10, 2012 What to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature “Hey!” and some REAL Christmas cheer! A Mighty Girl holiday story: I’ve written about rampant sexualization and gendered absurdity narrowing choices in the toy aisle many times … [Read more...]

Filed Under: EcoKids-Environment, Emerging trends & STEM, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, People Shaping Youth, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: A Mighty Girl, Amy-Jussel, antidote to sexualization, Brave, Carolyn Danckaert, Early-Sexualization, encouraging STEM, Geena Davis Institute, Gender, gender and media portrayals, gender literacy, girl-empowerment, girlpower, girls leadership, girls-self-worth, graphic novels, healthy choices, healthy girls toys, healthy media, media-literacy, Monster High, multicultural kids books, Packaging-Girlhood, Peggy Orenstein, pink and blue, positive messages about girls, positive role models for girls, Shero, sheroes, STEM for girls, strong female characters, SuperGirl, supershero, top books on bullying prevention for girls, Ultimate guide to the independent princess, winx, women and girls lead

CCFC: A Positive Pick, Even When Calling Out Negative TOADY Toys

December 4, 2012 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

Dec. 4, 2012 No question I continue to land hard on watchdogs that aren’t woofin’ when it comes to media and marketing’s impact on kids, but nobody does it better than Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC) with a solid lip curl and warning snarl before tearing the pants off of those without a corporate conscience focused on profiteering over public health…...So … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Counter-marketing, EcoKids-Environment, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Interactive Games, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Mobile Media, Apps & Gaming, Nutrition & Wellness, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Product Placement, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: age compression, apptivity ball, baby media, best toy of the year, Bratzillaz, building brain plasticity, Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, CCFC, consumer watchdogs, corporate profiteering, digital devices, Digital Literacy, Digital Media Learning, digital world, early childhood education, Early-Sexualization, Facing the Screen Dilemma, FTC, Healthy kids in a digital world, impact of excessive screen time, Kids health, kids rights, kids socioemotional health, Lego Friends, media use, media-literacy, Monster High, National Parenting Publications Awards, Nielsen reports, nurturing healthy brain development, power of play, screen time, Susan Linn, TOADY Awards, Truce, value of unstructured play, winx, worst toy of the year

Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building Through The Power of Play

November 29, 2012 by Amy Jussel 2 Comments

Nov. 29, 2012 Kuala Lumpur’s famous Petronas twin towers will now always look like ‘stacking cups’ to me, the Guggenheim Museum in New York upside down stacking rings, and Tokyo’s Yoyogi National Stadium a cozy fort “blankets flung, stretched chair to chair”…As I close the picture book “Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building,” brought to life by author and illustrator Christy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Emerging trends & STEM, Media Literacy, People Shaping Youth, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Shaping Youth Tagged With: A Celebration of Building, A+ schools, Art and architecture, award-winning kids books, building kids, building minds, Caine's Arcade, can't be unseen, Case for Make Believe, children's books, Christy Hale, creative thinking, defending pretending, Dreaming Up, early childhood education, ECE, eco art, Edweek arts as essentials, encouraging STEM, engineering, Environment-Kids, Forgiveness Garden, illustrations, imagination, Imagination Foundation, Institute of Play, Lee and Low, Lego, maker faire, multicultural kids books, National Institute for Play, nature of art, once you see it can't be unseen, open ended play, Our School Garden, play, positive kids media, reach and teach, recycled art projects, school gardens, ScrapKins, STEM building toys, Stuart Brown, teaching resources, The Power of Play, unstructured play

Year Round Media That Matters: Positive Picks for Kids

November 26, 2012 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

Nov. 26, 2012 With all the coinage and consumption swirling around Black Friday and Cyber Monday for people hunting “deals” I think it’s fitting to honor the organizations that deliver positive media and transformative vision to kids’ lives year-round. It stays with them long after the holiday hoopla and instills the notion that we all have choices in how we want to walk … [Read more...]