kids

New Moon Girls (The Beauty Issue)

admin — Sat, 01 May 2010 12:00:00 +0000

If you’re a parent or a person who interacts with and cares about children, you might have noticed some worrisome trends, especially among girls. I have seen girls as young as seven show concerns over “getting fat” or being unpopular. Bullying, body image conflict, and other issues seem to be plaguing young women earlier and earlier.

Most women who call themselves feminists would agree that enriching the younger generation is crucial. The statistics on young girls today are disturbing: according to the National Institute on Media and the Family, forty percent of girls between nine and ten surveyed had tried to lose weight. The NIMF also published study results that stated the following: “One in every three articles in leading teen girl magazines also included a focus on appearance, and most of the advertisements (fifty percent) used an appeal to beauty to sell their products.” This is getting serious, folks. We cannot continue to feed our daughters this kind of messaging and then wonder why rates for eating disorders and low self-esteem are so high. That said, I think it can sometimes be hard to give these girls positive messages that are digestible and make sense at their level. Who wants to listen to boring old parents anyway?

Thankfully there are forms of media to help. If your daughter, sister, or friend is drawn to magazines, hide their latest issue of Teen Beat and replace it with New Moon Girls. The magazine has so many fun sections that she will hardly miss it. New Moon puts a spin on traditional magazine sections to make them even more relevant for girls. Instead of a Letter from the Editor being written by an adult, girls who helped work on the magazine write it. The advice column provides advice from—you guessed it—girls. The entire magazine focuses not only on giving girl readers good content but also in making sure that it is credible and relevant by getting it from the very girls New Moon targets. Simply put, this magazine is genius.

The Beauty Issue (May-June 2010) is full of positive messaging and reinforcement, something girls today often lack from the media. The issue contains features on beauty including how to boost your body confidence, your favorite body part, and a piece on inner beauty, as well as short fiction. The idea of beauty is tackled from every possible angle, giving girls an opportunity to discover what they like most about themselves rather than showing them yet another picture of female celebrities and models.

I am encouraged and thrilled about magazines like New Moon Girls and my hope is that they will continue to compete with more mainstream magazines for the attention of young girls. (Hint: They can’t do so without our support!) This magazine is for anyone who wants a girl in his or her life to know just how special she is.

Written by: April D. Boland, May 1st 2010

Grow Your Own Tree Hugger: 101 Activities to Teach Your Child How to Live Green

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0000

By Wendy Rosenoff

Krause Publications

As a woman with young siblings, I have a vested interest in all materials that help me to have a positive influence on the adults they will grow up to become. I was very excited to see this new title by Wendy Rosenoff, an environmentalist who works with children through the Girl and Boy Scouts. Grow Your Own Tree Hugger contains, as noted, 101 activities that you can work through with your kids to help them better understand the planet and how to take care of it.

I often find it challenging (though necessary) to discuss lofty concepts with kids, and Rosenoff’s book helps because the activities serve as examples or analogies to larger, more complicated issues. For example, it might be difficult to get a child to understand the impact of pesticides and chemicals on our food, especially when these foods look the same as organic ones. Rosenoff suggests that you take two pieces of fruit—one organic and the other non-organic—and put them in the refrigerator. After several days, the organic fruit will be green and withered while the chemically enhanced one will still look new. This is a great, visual way to illustrate how pesticides prevent the natural decomposition process for kids.

Some activities do not actually involve activism, but offer a fun game as a way to encourage open conversation. Rosenoff suggests you make and fly a kite with your child and then use the opportunity to talk about wind power. She also encourages parents to take their kids out to experience nature, something the modern child often lacks exposure to.

In this day and age of the internet, video game devices, and television, some kids don’t spend much time outdoors at all. Rosenoff believes you should take them to examine tree stumps and determine the tree’s age, or get outside and plant something. She even includes recipes that parents and kids can make together with organic ingredients.

In working through Grow Your Own Tree Hugger, you not only inform your kids about the environment and the ways in which they can have an impact, but you get to spend time with them doing hands-on activities that are actually a lot of fun. You will probably both benefit from the time you spend growing your own tree hugger.

Written by: April D. Boland, April 30th 2010

Green Kids, Sage Families: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Kids

admin — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:48:00 +0000

By Lynda Fassa

New American Library

We've come a long way since that 1970s TV commercial of a Native American crying at the sight of trash by the side of the road. Green living has finally gone mainstream. Lynda Fassa (author of Green Babies, Sage Moms) takes on the tykes and tweens in her latest, similarly titled, how-to guide on raising kids to be more conscious about treating their bodies, their homes, and the environment in a healthier, more ethical way: Green Kids, Sage Families

This is a great book chock-full of tips on how kids can help contribute to a greener world at home, in school, and beyond. Fassa offers ways to save money too, which is very appealing in this weak economy. Featuring advice on green toys, home repairs, organic snacks, what to ban from the house and garden, and even tips for throwing an eco-birthday party, Green Kids, Sage Families is accessible and creative in the ways in which it offers advice. The author also informs on how to save green by going green if you convert your home's power source to solar.

Of course, most of the book is directed to parents, teachers, and other childcare providers, so that they may become better role models for living the responsible, organic lifestyle. Green Kids, Sage Families is beautifully organized for easy dips in and out for specific topics and works as a very comprehensive guide to running a non-toxic household. It accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do by showing how to go green and protect your two most precious resources: your kids and the planet.

For those seeking writing that’s clean and concise about how to go green, Green Kids, Sage Families is your manual. It offers a well-balanced selection of tips, from basic and easy things you can do to those that are more cutting edge.

Written by: Cheryl Reeves, June 5th 2009