Shaping Youth at Sundance: Film Finds +Parenting Perspectives

Feb. 21, 2014 For the first time ever, Sundance Film Institute added a Sundance Kids division, to introduce and inspire youth with indie films...alas, I couldn’t find anyone who knew about it.It's been a month since Sundance, and though I've asked around repeatedly, even fellow media/screenwriter pals like Dana Moe Halley, who is covering some of the films focusing on families … [Read more...]

Reach and Teach: Get to Know the People Behind the Products

Dec. 5, 2013 Amy's Note: For more Shaping Youth posts I've written about Reach and Teach's Global Goods That Do Good and "10 under $10" finds, as well as  year round positive picks for kids like New Moon Girls magazine, see the bounty of selections from our archives...It's important to vote with our wallets and make purchases count! Reach and Teach.com  has consistently … [Read more...]

Upstanding Is A Force Field! Feel The Anti-Bullying Gravitational Pull

Oct. 23, 2013 May the anti-bullying force be with you, upstanding digital citizens…The month of October, once known for autumn leaves, pumpkin patches and Halloween, is now sharing time with newly fabricated monikers of bullying officialdom like Digital Citizenship Week and National Bullying Prevention Month neither of which existed a scant few years ago.In fact, these six … [Read more...]

Navigating Boy Culture With Masterminds & Wingmen

Aug. 30, 2013 There are certain overused terms pervasive in our media culture that jolt my critical thinking radar into high alert skepticism: ”parenting expert” is one of them, and “bullying prevention specialist” is another…And though author Rosalind Wiseman uses neither title, she’s one of the few that merits both monikers. In her new book “Masterminds & Wingmen: … [Read more...]

Family Diversity In Books: A Child’s View of DOMA

Update: June 26, 2015It's official. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5 to 4 in favor of marriage equality (see Justice Kennedy's closing paragraph summation which poignantly concludes, "it is so ordered.") Here's hoping this "kidlit" gets revisited with fresh eyes and an empathetic lens to see how profoundly meaningful this is for children whose families have been denied this … [Read more...]