Olympic Body Image: Talking Points To Get it Right, Fit vs Fiction

Aug. 9, 2016 Rio! This post still applies tenfold in terms of word watching and body image critiques of Olympic athletes! Media Smarts has added some parenting talking tips for boys/girls too! Meanwhile, here are more relevant Rio updates on athletes and body image for 2016: TeenVogue: US Olympic Swimmers Open Up About Body Image & Eating Disorders Fast Co: When … [Read more...]

Olympic Life Lessons: Go For Your Personal Gold

March 2, 2010 Do you miss the Olympics already? I know I do, as it’s one of the rare times I tune in to the tube regularly to witness the spectacle, the quests, the rivalries and glitches that define drama in life’s own reality TV show...I mean, really. You can’t get more ‘central casting’ than this… ...Wholesome looking athletes, intriguing back-story baggage, triumphant … [Read more...]

Disney XD: A Case Study on Packaging Boyhood

Nov. 3, 2009 In diving into media messages targeting boys for my weekly Tuesday Packaging Boyhood posts, my mind snap went to ‘gaming’ pronto. Is this a stereotype? Or did I just do a Malcolm Gladwell style "Blink” in rapid cognition? I flipped to the Packaging Boyhood chapter on “What Boys Do” since we know marketers are tapping a boy’s desire to be ‘powerful’ and admired … [Read more...]

The Civility Solution

Sept. 14, 2009 Rather than rehash the coarse conduct of music stars, athletes, and politicos reaching some new lows this past week, I’d like to point to The Civility Solution (Sept. '09) the sequel to one of my faves, called "Choosing Civility: 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct."Why? Because we've got major media moments ripe for peeling back a deeper conversation on how this is … [Read more...]

FREE iPhone Apps Dad Will Appreciate More Than Soap On A Rope

June 19, 2009 Let’s face it, young kids win ‘em over with artsy casts of their little hands, or fingerprinted cards and plates, poems, rhymes, recitals and songs... ...But some tweens and teens start running out of useful ideas once they’ve gifted freebie music mixes, personal playlists, chore chart IOUs to wash the car and all that good stuff. So how can kids dodge the … [Read more...]