Alright, people, I'm back. I worked through my blog-estential crisis, and I've come to the conclusion that I don't need to be "viable." Phew. Pressure's off; so let's get typing.
Did you see the article this week on How to Talk to Little Girls? Or how about How to Land Your Kid in Therapy? Both are really great food for thought.
The first, which reminds us of the media and culture generated obsession with women's appearances, made me think a lot about my own childhood. Interestingly, as the child of two feminist parents straight out of the 60's, I actually received the message over and over again that looks don't matter at all.
One day, circa second grade, I came home from the playground and was so excited to tell my mom about this great new cheer I had learned from my older (female) neighbor:
"Firecracker, firecracker, boom, boom, boom! Firecracker, firecracker, boom, boom, boom! Men have the muscles, teachers have the brains, but girls have the sexy legs, so they win the game!"
I think my mother's head almost exploded. To this day, I think it's the angriest I have ever seen her. Of course we then talked about how these were stereotypes, and how women are smart and have muscles too. What also got communicated to me, although inadvertently, was that being sexy was bad.
Which brings me to the second article I mention above, which delves into the pitfalls of parents doing too much to shelter their children, and the resulting dearth of kid's coping skills. As one of my friends who also read the article said, sometimes it feels like no matter what you do (or don't do) you will somehow give your children issues.
So, then, what issues shall they be?
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