Shaping Youth

Using Media Themes as Presence Over Presents

December 21, 2014 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

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...]

Filed Under: Marketing Shaping Youth, Shaping Youth Tagged With: experiential gifts, Hunger Games, parent child bonding, presence over presents, using media to teach, wrapping up the gift of time

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

January 7, 2014 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

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...]

Filed Under: Emerging trends & STEM, Shaping Youth Tagged With: Amy-Jussel, Bechdel Test, Brave Girls Alliance, Brave Girls Want, female superheroes, Female-Action-Heroes, Frozen and Catching Fire teen heroines, Geena Davis Institute, Geena-Davis, gender equity, gender inequity, Gender Portrayal, Keep Merida Brave, media matters, media-literacy, Miss Representation, money talks Hollywood, not buying it, redefining girly, See Jane, sexism, Sexualization, Shaping Youth, sheroes, Sheroes Sell, stereotypes in media, stereotypes-girls, strong female characters, strong female roles make more money, Top 50 movies by Bechdel breakdown, toy industry complicity, Vapid Values, Vocativ, Women in Film, Women in Hollywood, Women in Media, Wonder Woman film, year of women at box office

The Nature Principle: Experience the Earth Beyond Instagram

April 22, 2013 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

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...]

Filed Under: EcoKids-Environment, Mobile Media, Apps & Gaming, Shaping Youth Tagged With: Children and Nature, clicktivism, climate change, Cool the earth, Earth Day, EarthSeeds, eco activism, eco moms, environmental children's books, Environmental Education, Environmental-Kids, EnvironmentaLISTS, family man, get outside, get-outdoors-kids, Green media, greenwashing, hiking apps, hiking etiquette, Last Child in the Woods, Let's GO, marketing mindfulness of nature, media netiquette, media savvy kids, mother Earth, mother nature network, Naturalist, nature and wildlife apps for kids, Nature Rocks, nature study of happiness, Nature-Deficit-Disorder, power of play, reach and teach, reconnecting with nature, Rich Louv, Richard-Louv, school gardens, Screen Free Week, Sharing Nature with Children, stewards of the planet, stewardship, Teens Turning Green, The Nature Principle, this is your brain on nature, unplug to reconnect, videogames

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

April 15, 2013 by Amy Jussel 2 Comments

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...]

Filed Under: Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Media Literacy, Shaping Youth, Viral & Buzz Media Tagged With: ACE, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Amy-Jussel, Boston Marathon, Boston Marathon Tragedy, childhood trauma, children media management, children media violence, childrens health, Dark-Knight, explaining current events to kids, explosion, Facing Fear, first responders tragedy, focus on the positive, Good news beats bad news, impact of world news on kids, KBO, Keep Buggering On, Kids and headline news, kids coping with violence, kids feeling unsafe, kids stress, kids-media, Look for the helpers, media massacres, media-literacy, Mr. Rogers, Patriot's Day, Patton Oswalt, resources to reassure kids, Sandy Hook, social media positive news, Talking to kids about Boston Marathon, talking with kids about Ferguson, Talking with kids about Ukraine, Talking with kids about war, terrorism, Tools to teach about 9-11, violent news, war in Ukraine, What to say to kids

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

April 10, 2013 by Amy Jussel Leave a Comment

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...]