Entries from May 2009 ↓
May 29th, 2009 — Mother-Daughter Emotional Osmosis
What do sticky notes have to do with dreaming boldly? I propose that sticky notes can be a tool for girls to see themselves achieving milestones along their path of self actualization. Here’s how…
Begin with a sheet of paper and colorful pens or pencils for brainstorming. Next, spend time with your daughter discovering together her challenges, her successes, her passions, her fears, and her strengths. When you have a list going, rephrase your brainstorming into positive statements. For example, with the challenge of learning to swim, you might write, “I am learning to handle the feeling of water on my face, in my ears, eyes and nose. Each time I swim I am more confident.”
Here are a few more suggestions for creating personalized affirmations:
The more I practice… (piano, soccer, multiplication tables…), the better I am getting.
I am wonderful at….
My (…mom, dad, family, teacher, coach, etc.) loves me, and so does my (…best friend, dog, sister, brother, etc.).
I’m safe and it is ok to (…sleep in my own bed, ask the teacher a question, try out for the play…).
My talent is…
I’m smart and I know I can (…ace the spelling test, say no to bad choices, figure out how to make it practice on time…).
I am saving money wisely, and I will be able to afford to….
Now you are ready for the sticky notes. Copy your affirmations onto the notes, and stick them in places that have a context for what is written on them. For example, you might adhere a note about gaining proficiency at playing the flute to the inside of the flute’s case.
This exercise of brainstorming, writing and formulating personalized and specific affirmations with your daughter serves many purposes. One is to spend time together celebrating her unique mix of traits and talents, another is to bring fears into the light in a way that grows confidence and awareness. In addition, deciding where to place the sticky notes may open new channels to creativity or help you see connections that you may not have been aware of.
The most important purpose of brainstorming and writing out affirmations goes back to the idea of what it means to get started. Yes, your daughter may already be on a soccer team, but the intentional and specific encouragement of the sticky note on her water bottle may cause her to notice her increasing sports skill set rather than focusing on a win or loss of a particular game
Dreaming boldly is the best way to push the limits beyond the ordinary, and using an ordinary piece of sticky notepaper is a way to make extraordinary dreams come into existence in the lives of our daughters. Try it and see!
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May 28th, 2009 — Body Image & Self Esteem, Girl Culture, Media, Marketing and Advertising
Thank you to Amy Jussel of Shaping Youth for allowing me to use this wonderful post about an upcoming film we should all make time to see. Using the tactics of industry insiders, Shaping Youth is embedding innovative programs that promote healthier, positive values by using the power of the media turned on itself. Shaping Youth’s programs are deployed via the digital sphere using film, web, and hands-on counter-marketing games in train the trainer format.
He’s baaaaaaaaaack! ‘Tell it like it is’ director Darryl Roberts of America The Beautiful is wrapping his last personal appearance on his U.S. screening tour to benefit two worthy Bay Area orgs promoting positive body image: About-Face.org (love their “don’t fall for the media circus” tagline) and Beyond Hunger (“freedom from the obsession with food and weight) And just in time for summer ‘swimsuit season’ when sensibility takes a backseat to ‘sexy/slim’ media surround sound.
I can’t begin to tell you how many tweens and teens I’ve overheard stressing out about their year-end splash fests and ‘graduation’ pool parties…not to mention all the self-critical body slams and strident high notes wafting from retail dressing rooms everywhere. I know, it’s ‘time eternal angst’ but never quite so amped…
If you didn’t catch the film last time when I wrote “See it. Support it.” or when I reviewed it and asked Dr. Robyn to add her expert voice, or when I interviewed Darryl directly, in this post, “An R-rated film you WANT your kids to see” then now’s the time to e-blitz it to all of your friends to sell out the screenings and support About Face & Beyond Hunger too! Continue reading →
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May 27th, 2009 — Family Life
A few regular readers of The Girl Revolution have their own secret blogs. Sit At My Table is written by a lovely woman who has become my virtual friend, but she won’t let me sing her name. She’s on My Team. You’re going to love her poignant poetry.
I trundled through, ticking off a thousand grown-up things,
and then I looked up and you were nearly gone:
just at the edge of the frame,
humming scarlet.
I am grabbing at your coattails now, skinning my knee,
but you are gone and went.
It’s never too late though. You’ll be here tomorrow, ready to play,
a new year, a new slate, a jar of soft paintbrushes
and all the silver tubes plump with every colour that ever was.
(Omisoka is the Japanese word for New Year’s Eve, when this post was originally published.)
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May 26th, 2009 — Other stuff
Jen Lea is Queen of Financial Peace. Visit Jlogged and you’ll always come away with valuable ways to save your family budget. Being her friend is like Keeping Up With the Jones’ on a Budget. Way more fun and far less guilt.
One of the easiest ways to teach our children empowerment is to teach them about financing and budgeting. Freedom does not come from relying on your mate’s income, credit cards, or loans. Real freedom comes when one is free to pursue their purpose without the shackles of debt. This can be achieved by teaching your children to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. One of the ways our family saves is by throwing simple birthday parties Vs. costly extravagant ones.
- We invited immediate family and Jonas’ two very best friends. (not the whole class and every person we know.)
- I made the cupcakes and brownies myself. Then I provided ice cream + toppings for brownie sundaes.
- I drug out a stack of board games, and broke the kids into teams. They had a blast playing Operation, Trouble, and Checkers.
- Didn’t make party favors (that are always plastic junk that ends up in the trash, or sugary candy)
- Hosted after dinner, so didn’t feed the whole group. Just cake, ice cream, and drinks. This is a first for me, as I have always served food of some kind to party guests.
It was simple, inexpensive, and F-U-N! I didn’t have to worry about entertaining (or impressing) people I don’t know, IE: parents from the Kindergarten class. No complicated party schedule. No fussing with meal prep. I was there for every whimsical second of my twins’ special day, and not busy doing other trivial tasks that over-the-top parties entail. Living small is really working out nicely for our family. Because less stress=fewer glasses of Merlot more joy.
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May 22nd, 2009 — Fit Girl, Politics & Legislation
I’m so lucky that Joanne Bamberger, aka PunditMom, let me go to her website and steal great content to use while I was on vacation.
The PunditMom household is lucky when it comes to health insurance. Even though we pay the “full freight” for the policy we have, the coverage is pretty good and I never have to worry about whether PunditGirl’s health care will be covered. But even as secure as Mr. PunditMom’s job seems to be, I do wonder what would happen if the luxury of health care went away? Would I be so quick to consult the pediatrician for a nine-year-old’s fever or complaint of a sore throat, let alone well visits?
That’s right, I said luxury. How wrong is that — to live in America and view good health care as a luxury? But that’s exactly what it is for millions of families.
President Obama promised as a candidate that revamping our flawed health care system would be a priority. As Congress and the Obama administration move forward this month with plans to reform how families are insured in our country, I assumed that children, naturally, would be at the forefront of those efforts.
Of course, Obama has signed a law that increased funding for the SCHIP program, but wouldn’t it be great if we could just assume that our country would, as a matter of policy, would insure children without having to show their families’ incomes met certain requirements?
Health care for children no matter what.
I was lucky enough to be invited to a program to hear about a new initiative to move us in that direction called Speak Now for Kids, sponsored by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals, to make sure that children’s health gets the attention it needs as Congress and the Obama administration move forward on health care reform hearings.
Many will raise their voices about the cost of such an idea, but as I was thinking about this whole topic I was reminded that it’s essential to look at the big picture — it all comes down to how we as a society value our children. If we view our children through the lens of making sure they have what they need to succeed as the next generation we have to rely on, maybe even those fiscal conservatives would agree that ensuring that all children have good medical care benefits all of us!
Here’s some food for thought in the form of a few factoids put together by Speak Now for Kids:
Children’s coverage varies among states — a child’s chances of being uninsured is about 5 percent in Michigan, but 20 percent in Texas
Increasing numbers of employers are cutting back health benefits. Most children who have private health insurance have it through a parent’s employer
Yes, there is Medicaid and CHIP, but coverage and eligibility varies greatly from state to state
Children covered by Medicaid and CHIP aren’t guaranteed access to health care
Even with insurance, children receive only about 68 percent of recommended care for acute problems
At the moment, the GOP is holding fast to their current political M.O., saying they are not going to compromise their position on health care. So while President Obama did get an increase in SCHIP funding for states, things aren’t looking good for our kids. But there is a way you can make your voice heard to try to change the minds of some of these lawmakers.
Please take a moment to go to site for Speak Now for Kids. Submit a video that will get sent to legislators, talk about this on Twitter and on Facebook, and send an E-mail to your lawmakers about your thoughts on making sure children’s health doesn’t slip through the cracks. And don’t forget to include your friends!
See how simple it is to be a political activist from the comfort of your own couch! And what better reason to become an activist than to make sure that no child goes without medical attention.
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