Empowered by Play » dads http://www.empoweredbyplay.org Helping families and teachers protect and promote imaginative play in our way-too-busy, consumer-driven, media-filled world. Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:54:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 "Boyfriend jeans" for toddler girls?!? http://www.empoweredbyplay.org/2010/01/boyfriend-jeans-for-toddler-girls/ http://www.empoweredbyplay.org/2010/01/boyfriend-jeans-for-toddler-girls/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:57:00 +0000 Geralyn http://www.empoweredbyplay.com/2010/01/boyfriend-jeans-for-toddler-girls/

Wow, it has been a week since I last posted – but my time has been well spent getting the new website ready. Stay tuned because we will launch it later this week. In the meantime, a friend sent me a link to an item on the babyGap website. He was looking for jeans for his [...]]]>

Wow, it has been a week since I last posted – but my time has been well spent getting the new website ready. Stay tuned because we will launch it later this week.
In the meantime, a friend sent me a link to an item on the babyGap website. He was looking for jeans for his just-turned four-year-old daughter. He wanted something that was not flowery, pink or “skinny”. He came across “boyfriend” jeans for toddler girls - as young as 12 months – for “your budding fashionista”. Whoa! What are they thinking?! Why would babyGap name them “boyfriend” jeans? The jeans are also “comfy-cool”. Why can’t they just be “comfy”? This is a great example of age-compression. Marketers use this term to describe the phenomenon of younger children doing things that older children used to do. Age-compression is an effective way to sell more products – such as expensive clothes and electronic gadgets – to younger and younger children. It’s not so great for kids who are being pushed to grow up too quickly. My friend was outraged, and worried about the future his young daughter will face. I was outraged, too, and disgusted as well. You can be sure I’ll be writing a letter to the Gap to let them know.
The babyGap “boyfriend jeans” reminded me of another friend who has a four-year-old daughter. This little girl suddenly took a strong liking to a certain pair of sparkly jeans. She wore them to preschool one day – and then wanted to wear them every day. Guess why. A little boy in her class had told her the jeans were “cool”. Her mom said to her, “You’re four. You’re cute – not cool.”
Raising daughters in today’s highly-sexualized world is a daunting task. In my post from December 28th I mentioned So Sexy So Soon; The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids Diane Levin’s book (cowritten with Jean Kilbourne) as an excellent resource for parents. Another great resource is Joe Kelly, The Dad Man, and an expert on dads and daughters. He has written a whole bunch of books on this topic. Here is the link to his 10 Tips for Dads and Stepdads with Daughters.
If you see things that outrage you as a parent, share your outrage. Let companies know when you aren’t happy. Write to me about what outrages you, and I will share your stories.
]]> http://www.empoweredbyplay.org/2010/01/boyfriend-jeans-for-toddler-girls/feed/ 0 Lots of ways to be a good dad… http://www.empoweredbyplay.org/2009/06/lots-of-ways-to-be-a-good-dad-2/ http://www.empoweredbyplay.org/2009/06/lots-of-ways-to-be-a-good-dad-2/#comments Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:57:00 +0000 Geralyn http://www.empoweredbyplay.com/2009/06/lots-of-ways-to-be-a-good-dad-2/ My sense of humor comes straight from my dad. Sitting at the dinner table or driving in the car, I’ll make a quick quip, and my husband will call it a “Wally Joke”. I’ve learned that some of the jokes were passed to my dad from his dad. Now my sons are starting to make [...]]]>
My sense of humor comes straight from my dad. Sitting at the dinner table or driving in the car, I’ll make a quick quip, and my husband will call it a “Wally Joke”. I’ve learned that some of the jokes were passed to my dad from his dad. Now my sons are starting to make “Wally Jokes” as well. Generations of folks make laughing an important part of the day. Playful dads come in many shapes and sizes.

Some dads are dancers, some play basketball, others are writers, builders, or passionate video gamers. Be sure that whatever kind of dad you are, your kids are watching, listening and learning about life. They are shaping ideas about what is important and who they will grow up to be. In this busy, ever-changing world, it is sometimes hard to know how to be a good dad. Today I offer a great resource: Joe Kelly. He is a father – and writer, blogger and activist working hard to help build strong families with engaged, responsible fathers and stepfathers. Check him out at http://www.thedadman.com
Fathers are a powerful, yet largely untapped resource in our society. On this site, you will learn how men can be better fathers, and how everyone can activate fathers to help enrich and strengthen our families, communities, organizations, workplaces, and schools.


If you ever tried to watch a major league sports game with your daughter, and were embarrassed by all the racy commercials for beer, Joe Kelly has great advice. If you are a dad who is deployed, divorced, or for some other reason away from your child, he has 12 Tips for Live-Away Dads. His blog posts include great titles such as Real Dads Play Dolls. On so many dad questions, he is outstanding.

Happy Father’s Day!
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