Young Runners: A Media Must For Healthy Track Season

May 18, 2009 I confess, I hate to run…always have. It harkens back to my days in 3rd grade when I was given the moniker ‘paddle foot’ for a goofy gait, and self-consciously abstained from public ridicule in favor of water sports instead...(I grew into my size 9 feet, and those flippers came in handy in the pool!) When Marc Bloom’s new book Young Runners: The Complete Guide to … [Read more...]

Get Out of Your Own Life! Environmental Influence on Kids

Mar. 30, 2009 Mea culpa for the unannounced vanishing act, but I’ve been out of town interviewing teens in a different ‘pocket’ of the greater Bay Area, exploring how environmental influences (peers, nature, geography) shift the volume and decibel level of media intake among kids and where we might learn some 'best practices' to leapfrog into a healthier place for the … [Read more...]

Overachievers: Interview with Liz Funk Author of SuperGirls Speak Out!

Mar. 4, 2009 I'm berating myself for not having this interview 'go live' on Eastern time, where teen author Liz Funk (now 20) resides...I'm doing the best I can... ...ESPECIALLY since I got behind the eight ball due to delivering five hilarious "free-range teens" to their respective homes on a school night and didn't get the formatting done...So, alas, it's going live via … [Read more...]

Smart Girls At the Party.TV: Interview with SNL’s Amy Poehler

With eight seasons of Saturday Night Live under her belt, I automatically thought SNL actress Amy Poehler's new digital TV series would be a spoof or a sketch by the screenshot alone! I mean, c'mon, as a name generation branding gal, somehow seeing Smart Girls + Party + Barbie in one princess-pop logo was almost too much to bear. My bad... Amy Poelher's intent is to … [Read more...]

Girls’ Prescription for Self-Worth: Respect Rx

As we wind down All Things Girl Week on Shaping Youth (which has turned into more of a month) let’s connect the dots on the one theme that keeps resurfacing time and again from sports and school to body image and brains…Respect. Respect Rx is the universal inoculation against media and marketing cues that can damage girls’ psyches and erode their souls … [Read more...]