Case for Make Believe

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 … [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

Lego Friends: Please Build on Possibility, Brain Plasticity

January 1, 2012 by Amy Jussel 37 Comments

April 28, 2016 "37 year old son of Lego billionaire takes the helm as Vice Chairman" Congrats, Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, now that you've inherited the Lego legacy, and named your daughter and five … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Emerging trends & STEM, Interactive Games, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: 2012 Lego, beauty industry, brick box, Buildables, Case for Make Believe, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Cordelia Fine, corporate blunders, Delusions of gender, Does stripping gender from toys really make sense?, early child development, Empowering girls, gender equity, Gender Portrayal, girls-self-worth, Kids health, LadyFigs, Lego femininity, Lego Friends, Lego masculinity, Lise Eliot, media analysis, media mindfulness, media-literacy, nature vs nurture, neuroscience, neurosexism, New Moon Girls, Peggy Orenstein, pink brain blue brain, Play-Patterns-Kids, Pop-Culture, role play, science behind sex differences, sexism, Sexualization, spark change, SPARK! summit, stealth STEM, STEM for girls, stereotypes-girls, Stuart Brown, Tetris, Think Different, toy choice, toy marketing

Amy Jussel On Changing the Channel of Media Influence

October 28, 2010 by Amy Jussel 4 Comments

Oct. 28, 2010 Tonight I’ll be speaking on Changing the Channel of Influence in media, at The Third Place.org. I need to reiterate to ALL that Shaping Youth is a nonpartisan, non-religious-based, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Counter-marketing, EcoKids-Environment, 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 Tagged With: Amy-Jussel, Annie Leonard, brandwashing, Case for Make Believe, CCFC, changing the channel of influence, childhood, commodification, Critical-thinking-skills, deconstructing media, don't buy it, family, Girl Effect, LoopScoop, Los Altos, media-literacy, non-faith based, nonpartisan, nonprofit, Packaging-Boyhood, parenting, Parents for Ethical Marketing, PBS Kids, positive media, reclaiming childhood, Sexualization, spark change, Spark Summit Blog Tour, SPARK! summit, Story of Stuff, take back sexy, teaching tools, The Third Place, youth

Babies Movie: Through The Lens of a Young Teen

May 11, 2010 by Amy Jussel 15 Comments

May 11, 2010 I tried to warn her, “This isn’t some wham- bam fast-paced action thriller or rom-com dramedy, but Babies IS my movie choice for Mother’s Day, ok?” In preparation, I showed her the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: EcoKids-Environment, Emerging trends & STEM, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Nutrition & Wellness, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Shaping Youth, Viral & Buzz Media Tagged With: 4 continents, 4 cultures, Africa, America the Beautiful movie, Babies, Babies iphone app, Babies trailer, Baby Mugs!, Bayar, Case for Make Believe, circle of life, commercialism, consumption, cultural cues, cultural literacy, Dare the Movie, defending pretending, Disney Nature, ethnography, first breath, first steps, Girls-Rock, Going on 13, Hattie, Heartland, humanity, indigenous culture, Kids, Killing Us Softly, Kodak, Mari, Media Unplugged, moms, MTV Model Makers, National Institute of Play, natural environs, nature, nurture, one year, outdoors, outside, play, Ponijao, pregnancy, San Francisco, Secret Life of the American Teenager, Susan Linn, Tapestries-of-Hope, teens, The Babies movie, Thomas Balmes, TOH, Tokyo, Toys, Truly moving pictures, tweens, unstructured play, youth

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

November 2, 2009 by Amy Jussel 4 Comments

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 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Emerging trends & STEM, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Product Placement, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: 21st century, Australia, Baby and Me, baby glutton, babydolls, balance board, Bebe Gloton, behavioral cues, boys, Case for Make Believe, CES, Consumer Electronics Show 2009, consumption, digital play, dolls, exergames, gaming, Gender, girls, health games, mommy bloggers, National Institute of Play, NextNow Collaboratory, Nintendo, Packaging-Girlhood, parenting, Pink Think, play, realism, simulations, Stuart Brown, Tech toys, totally wired, Toys, video games, Wii, Wii remote, wiimote, Wired

Packaging Boyhood: What About BOYS Halloween Costumes?

October 19, 2009 by Amy Jussel 21 Comments

Oct. 25, 2016 Update: Given that media is slowly giving more coverage to the impact of body image on boys, including wee ones as young as six years old being 'fat-shamed' and toddlers even at age … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Misogyny & Racism, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth, Stereotypes & Diversity Tagged With: action heroes, aggression, APA study, body dissatisfaction, Body-Dysmorphia, boys, boys Halloween costumes, buffed boy, bullying, candy scares, Case for Make Believe, children, cliche characters, corporate social responsibility, costumes, DIY costumes, dominance, eating-disorders, Gender, ghoulish, girlish, girls Halloween costumes, Halloween, Halloween horrors, Halloween makeup, health, heroes, Jackson Katz, Kids, kids costumes, Lyn Mikel-Brown, machismo, macho, make believe, makeup tips, male, Mark Tappan, masculinity, media-literacy, Michele Borba, Packaging-Boyhood, pimp costumes, pirates, power, prostitots, racy, raid boys souls, Responsible Men, revealing, salacious, scary, Sexualization, sexy costumes, Sharon Lamb, skanky, slackers, So Sexy So Soon, social-media, special forces, spooky, superheroes, Ted Rutherford, teens, tough guys, toxic cues to kids, Trick or treat, true child, violence, wicked innocence, youth

Using Digital Hide & Seek To Get Kids Outside: A Treasure Trove of Ideas

September 17, 2009 by Amy Jussel 5 Comments

Sept. 17, 2009 “Childhood obesity may be a problem of epidemic proportions in many parts of the world, but several games are doing their part to help keep kids moving. We've already covered … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Consumerism, Counter-marketing, EcoKids-Environment, Emerging trends & STEM, Interactive Games, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Mobile Media, Apps & Gaming, Nutrition & Wellness, Positive Picks, Pro-Social & Positive Picks, Shaping Youth Tagged With: Amy-Jussel, Aspyr Media, Case for Make Believe, Discover the forest, Gamine-Expedition, geocaching, iphone apps, Kids, Last Child in the Woods, LocoMatrix, nature, NCLI Coalition, Nintendo DS, outdoors, play, Richard-Louv, Sara-Grimes, Springwise, Stuart Brown, Susan Linn, Swinxs, The Hidden Park, Treasure World, wifi treasure hunt, youth

Shaping Youth is in the Philadelphia Inquirer Today

September 2, 2009 by Amy Jussel 6 Comments

Sept. 2, 2009 For a media shy writer wonk who likes to fly under the radar, you might say I’m a ‘glutton’ for punishment each time I agree to making a comment to the press. The Bebé Glotón toy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, EcoKids-Environment, Emerging trends & STEM, Growing up too soon, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Nutrition & Wellness, Sexualization & Body Image, Shaping Youth Tagged With: APA study, Bebe Gloton, behavioral influence, Berjuan, breastfeeding, breasts, Case for Make Believe, commercialism, controversy, cultural context, dolls, Dr.-Robyn-Silverman, Eco-Childs-Play, feminism, Jezebel, Kids, Kids health, lactation, magnet dolls, make believe, media-literacy, Miley Cyrus, minimama, natural, nipple bib, nursing, Philadelphia Inquirer, pregnancy, pretend play, public health, reputation management, Sexualization, simulations, Spain, Spanish breastfeeding doll, suckling, sucks, Susan Linn, teen, Teen Choice Awards, Thingamababy, Toys, tween

Kids@Play: Elf Island Unlocks the Secret to Parent Approval

January 12, 2009 by Amy Jussel 8 Comments

I was AWOL at CES as my IBM went MIA. Translated? You're SOL (simply outta luck) if you're seeking a fresh thread on the big Consumer Electronics Show toys and tactics targeting kids at the Kids at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advertising, Branding & Consumerism, Consumerism, Emerging trends & STEM, Interactive Games, Marketing Shaping Youth, Media Literacy, Nutrition & Wellness, Product Placement, Shaping Youth Tagged With: Brain Based Business, brandwashing, Case for Make Believe, CES, CES Kids summit agenda, change begins with me, Consumer Electronics Show 2009, digital technology kids, digital-natives, Dizzywood, eco literacy, electronics, Elf-Island, fitness kids, focus, gaming, gaming for good, gizmos, Good Quest, have fun do good, high tech toys, Humanitarians, iphone filters for kids, Izzy-Neis, Kids, Kids at play summit, kids brains, Kids@Play, KidsAtPlay, Liz and Craig Kronenberger, Mattel, Mattel Mind Flex, MC Milker, memory games, Mirrored Gaming, new media, No-Child-Left-Inside, open ended play, Packaging-Girlhood, Pamela Poole, physical health kids, Planet Soccer, power of play, SafeEyes mobile, Sandbox Summit, social issue games, stick and cardboard, Strong Museum of Play, Susan Linn, Tech mamas, teens, teens in tech, theta waves, Toy Hall of Fame, value of unstructured play, video games, Virtual-Worlds, Wii Are Family, Wii Mii, youth, Zookazoo