We’re all snowed in here in Northeast City. I love it (I will only feel this way today - the rest of the winter will be piss and moan city, so enjoy my positivity while it lasts)! Thing 1’s preschool is coming to campus today to go sledding. I’m so excited, I wore my fleece. I’m going to surprise her and join in! Workday sledding! SQUEEEE!
This will take away from my blogging work that I do so diligently at my desk all day, but I wanted to point to a few things that are pretty interesting…
First, CCFC and Lisa at Corp Babysitter are all over Webkinz for adding ads to their website, on the sly. Bastards! We’ve discussed the need for ad free virtual worlds here before, so this is an important update. CCFC lets you email Ganz and tell them that they are scumbags. I highly suggest you do so - it takes 2 secs. Izzy, you’re the VW queen - comments, new ad free ideas to add?
Second, I’m intrigued by the person who seems to accuse Lisa of being a communist when she recommends an alternative to the Scholastic Book Fair (New readers? Scholastic = bad. Venting on this Here and Here.). Check out this little exchange in the comments from Corp. Babysitter. Read the complete Post.
Thanks to Lisa, over at Corporate Babysitter for these two gross posts that have my anti-childhood commercialism mind reeling. ARGH.
First, commenting on Shrek’s outrageous full throttle marketing blitz and near complete ownership of the Macy’s Day Parade, she goes exploring at amazon and finds: Read the complete Post.
Well, many smart bloggers have me thinking about the holidays. Mom Unplugged has really been posting great, thought-provoking stuff that asks us to reconsider what holidays are and what they can be (Man, does she make some good points I’d rather not hear, remincent of Candace’s post on bloggy guilt). I know she’s right and it hurts a little. And the Not Quite Crunchy Parent has several posts addressing toys toys toys and good buying for smart, healthy, creative play.
I’d like to add to the discussion a little by highlighting a few goodies we can all take under advisement. The first is that the teachers’ org. TRUCE has released their annual toy guide. It’s a nice resource for parents and also a gentle nudge we can forward to well intentioned relatives who are filling your house with things you don’t really care for.
Some of you might want to get into the a healthier consumption mindset by checking out What Would Jesus Buy. At least we can laugh at the insanity. I can’t wait to see it. I heart me some Reverend Billy - I tip my hat to him and all the other culture jamming activists out there who make us smile and keep dissent fun and photogenic. Read the complete Post.
The wonderful Lisa Ray, formerly Two Knives, has done something amazing. She has taken what emerged as a parental concern / important political issue for her and taken it beyond the blog! Lisa has founded a new organization, Parents for Ethical Marketing, where those of us concerned with such issues can turn for information and for guidance on how to best take action outside of bloggy land. I am in awe. The site looks incredible and is packed full of great information. Now, Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood and Commercial Alert do not have to bear this burden alone. Lisa is interested in creating a forum that will spotlight the unethical behvior of corporations attempting to reach children. A little bad PR can do wonders, she hopes. Me too!
But, fear not — bloggy land will still benefit from Lisa’s incisive critique and watchful eye, as PEM has a blog, delightfully named, Corporate Babysitter. Be sure to check it out.
Thanks Lisa!
Well, we had the big meeting yesterday and it went fairly well. Because the teachers in the preschool have Master’s degrees in child development or education and the director has an EDD, I made the mistake of going in ready to talk about solutions/alternatives, but presumed I didn’t really need to “teach” why this is a problem. In fact, I specifically avoided professor mode, since I only study media – they are the experts on Read the complete Post.
In preparation for my upcoming meeting with Thing 1’s preschool about Scholastic, I started sniffing out additional information. I couldn’t find nearly as much as I would like on preschool commercialism, but then I was magically referred to Rebekah Cohen and voila, paydirt! Cohen has a Master’s in Child Development from Tufts University (where she specialized in children and media) and formerly worked as a research assistant with Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. Her Master’s research focused on (drumroll) commercialism in preschools. She now lives and works in San Francisco. Cohen was gracious enough to let me interview her a few days ago. Her insights follow:
So, okay, tell us, how bad is commercialism in preschool? Read the complete Post.
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is having their annual summit in Boston in April.
The topic is sexualization of children(read as BRATZ et al - that image above is of Bratz Babyz, btw - I know my dd always wore a LOT of liquid eyeliner when she was part of the under 1 set.) Read the complete Post.
Hmmm. I am summoning the powers of teh internets to help me strategize.
My daughter goes to a wonderful, wonderful preschool that impresses me every day. The profoundly qualified and committed teachers, the curriculum, the director, the families - it’s a place that I feel great about. Not only do they provide a rich setting and ample resources for social and intellectual development, they are also very progressive and deal brilliantly with issues of diversity - racial and ethnic, class, gender, ability, family structure etc etc.
The only complaint I have is that they currently Read the complete Post.
Okay, so I need to get to work, but sometimes you have moments, you know?
I get Blender magazine. Not maybe what you’d expect, but people are funny. At any rate, this was the cover photo that I found on my doorstep today:
In case you do other things with your leisure time, that’s the former lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls (and also former member of “Eden’s Crush” — remember them?) who is now releasing her solo album. At any rate, I grabbed it just as Thing 1 said, what was on that “maz-a-geen”? I said - nothing - just a picture that was pretty inappropriate. “I saw it” she giggles. Most of the time the cover is fine, but I’m pissed at Blender, and at myself.
I distracted her with a different piece of mail – from her younger cousin — she opened it - it was a thank you card. This thank you card to be specific: Read the complete Post.
Hey — Thanks for all the great comments lately everyone - such witty and smart visitors! I have a serious case of infatuation with you all and the time I spend on this blog and on the clever blogs of others (that person in your analytics who visits 6 times a day waiting for you to post — it’s me — I’m an addict)! I’m in love with the blogosphere. Do I have to tell my husband? Also, if you’re lurking, c’mon, no need to be shy. Say hi! Read the complete Post.