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I have to say that I don’t agree with this ongoing doll debate-whether its Barbie, Bratz, “Little Miss Poops-A-Lot” with real diapers, or otherwise.

I will say this again (in my outdoor voice): THESE ARE F-ING DOLLS-toys- and you have to give kids credit for understanding this. They DON’T look like real people because they are TOYS.

Can’t kids just play creatively anymore without someone picking apart the “hidden meaning” of what they are doing, or someone trying to ban harmless fun? (That in itself is a topic for another post.) If we are that concerned with what our kids think about the toys we buy for them-then that is an issue of either encouraging flawed thinking-or buying toys that are not age-appropriate. Its not an issue with the toy itself, that has no actual power on its own.

The only way a child can get the “wrong idea” from dolls (or any toy), is if the dolls talk to the kids on their own, (and then you have an altogether different problem) or if a (well-meaning) adult is projecting their own doubts, fears and insecurities onto the children and their dolls. Other wise, I think we are making too big of an issue of this “dolls and self image” idea, and need to just relax, leave them alone and let them play.

If  ‘your 4 year old daughter’, for example, plays with these dolls and then ‘equates sexuality with popularity and power’, (as one blogger wrote), then maybe you need to re-evaluate exactly what values YOU are teaching your 4 year old. They don’t learn this from an inanimate object-but from other human beings: parents, family, educators and peers. Find better (living/human) role models.

This article (link below) talks about how the Monster High dolls are only modified versions of Barbie. But as you read, you will see that the piece itself does not encourage diversity & acceptance at all-but criticism & exclusion. The author suggests that along with Barbie, we should reject these dolls too, based on their flaws being non-flaws.

How does this line of thinking support acceptance/diversity/individuality? Rejection is still rejection & exclusion is still exclusion.

In addition, the article selectively cites specific flaws that support the writer’s point of view-however it does not look at, as one reader pointed out, the positives that the doll’s flaws & characteristics can teach kids-such as the Zombie doll only speaking zombie, and walking very slowly, which can be something that a child with special needs or speech difficulties can fully embrace. Each child will look at these dolls through their own lens-just as the adults seem to be doing.

The author feels that the line reflects  “a disturbing obsession with body image”  and prints a few descriptions, one belonging to the Clawdeen Wolf doll, who has hairy wolf legs, as an example.

Now, maybe I’m living on a different plane of existence, or maybe I am just disturbingly obsessed with body image, but I think that is just hilarious! I think it reflects a very human (female) quality: which one of us has never marveled at how, in the summer, when its shorts and flip-flop season, the hair on your legs seems to grow back 10 minutes after you’ve shaved?

So now I ask you, is that in itself a disturbing obsession with body image or a matter of self-care, pride in one’s appearance, comfort and hygiene?

The point is, children learn what we teach them-and what we allow them to learn. What they learn on their own-what perceptions they have- will depend partly on their personality and partly on how WE teach them to perceive things.  If you only show them one side of the coin, then they will tend to only look at that one side, no matter who the person or what the situation.

So rather than being critical, and freaking out over kid’s toys, wouldn’t it make more sense to show BOTH sides of the coin-and to also find the positives that these dolls can teach, rather than resorting to the politically correct “jump on the diversity bandwagon” or the “reject what I don’t understand” approach? Why does our thinking have to be so polarized and why does everything have to be either an “epidemic” or a crisis?

Use the Force: Its called “open mindedness” also known as  “imagination” and its got unlimited potential to empower, and to help develop and build on positive – or negative – characteristics in kids.

We all have positive attributes-and negatives-and they are all valuable in helping us to learn about ourselves and about the people and the world around us. WE can set the example: embrace them, flaws and all, and stop hovering over kids. Stop being so critical about toys, particularly dolls, as I hope we would strive to do with other people. Wouldn’t we want our kids-especially our girls-to do the same?

Read the original article here:

Goth Barbie Celebrates ‘Freaky Flaws’ by Looking Like Regular Barbie

Food for Thought:

I want to hear from you: Are these just “F-ing Dolls” or “Bad Examples” ?

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PHOTO: NY Times

What?? I just can’t imagine kids who don’t want to eat black bean burgers and kale salads…. #sarcasm

Students, and school districts everywhere are not happy about the ‘healthier, smaller and more expensive than ever’  lunches.

Coaches and teachers are reporting that students are hungry during after school, activities, apparently because they are not getting enough calories. In the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act  of 2010, calorie requirements are different for various ages, yet all the kids have to pass through the same lunch line. This creates a huge challenge for schools to effectively address.

In addition, school districts are dealing with tons of wasted food as well, because the program/law requires that the kids to take fruits & vegetables even if they don’t want them. So, they are taking the fruit and then not eating it and it winds up being thrown away.

After implementing the new lunch standards a year early, one Florida school district estimated students threw away about $75,000 worth of food.

$75, 000 worth of food wasted.

So – what did we learn here boys and girls?

Food for Thought:

What could your school do with the $75,000? If you were in charge of new lunch program standards at your school, or for the nation, what changes would you make?

Related Links:

No Appetite for Good-for-You School Lunches

 

 

 

 

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PHOTO: ernestholistichealth.com

I have had the opportunity & good fortune to work with and study under some phenomenal educators, one of whom created a program called Brain Balance, that focuses on stimulating the brain in a variety of ways, including physically, cognitively and sensory, to encourage equal growth & development on both right and left sides, and therefore helping children overcome many learning challenges.

The program has had some great success. I’d like to summarize & share with you a few highlights from what I’ve learned from Dr. Robert Melillo about how young brains grow & learn:

 

• Neuroplasticity: The theory that the brain can be changed—something once thought impossible. That means that learning challenges aren’t always permanent, and the situation isn’t always hopeless. The brain can change.
• Functional Disconnection: This is an imbalance in the connections and function between and within the 2 sides of the brain—this condition is responsible for many behavioral, academic, and social difficulties. What may appear as a willful non-compliance, may actually be a connectivity issue, much like a bad fuse.
• Diet and Nutrition: Diet is a critical element to the successful treatment of learning disorders. Proper nutrition goes hand in hand with fostering stronger connections in the brain. We include hydration in this list as well-an often overlooked factor in learning and behavior. Water and certain vitamins and minerals aid neuro-conductivity as well as brain growth.
• Sensory Motor Activity: The first step to prepare the brain for learning is to wake up and balance the sensory system. No learning can take place at all until the senses are regulated. Gross motor movement is the easiest way to do this, as well as tactile, visual, auditory and olfactory stimulation. Sensory motor activity helps the brain prepare for cognitive tasks. (Be sure not to overload a child with sensory processing challenges! Select one sensory activity, preferable movement, or a visual organizing activity, before moving on to cognitive tasks.)
• Cognitive Warm Ups: Cognitive tasks are secondary to physical movement and sensory activities and should be done after a movement game, exercise, OT, PT or an appropriate sensory activity. Begin with a fun cognitive warm up exercise, like a math or word puzzle or a maze or labyrinth before other learning tasks are begun. Work in shorter durations when possible.
• Social Learning: Social/Emotional learning is the most difficult to grasp and can only take place once the sensory-motor systems and cognitive processing are integrated. Social skills groups and caseworkers should take this into consideration when writing curricula, behavior plans or IEPs. Drills and repetition do not effectively “teach” social skills. Experiential learning, along with peer or therapist support, is more beneficial, but only after a sensory motor activity, then a simple cognitive “warm up” activity that sets up the social skill to be learned.
• Down Time: Every moment can be a learning moment, but remember that an integral part of learning is the down time needed to assimilate and process the learning. Be sure to allow plenty of pure quiet time (no electronics) and breaks in between teaching/learning moments. Down time differs from sleep. During sleep the brain is only using automatic processes (heartbeat, breathing) but during waking rest, the brain is fully aware and is capable of assimilating new stimuli &  information.

Food for Thought:

What are some ways you can integrate and use the model of : “Movement/Sensory/Cognitive/Social/Relaxation” at home or in the classroom to support learning?

 

Related Links:

4 Pillars of Brain Health

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Don’t mess with Texas!

Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) introduced legislation this week to block federal funding for schools that enforce rules that punish students for playing with imaginary weapons.

The Student Protection Act, H.R. 2625, is a reaction to what Stockman says is the zero tolerance policy at some schools that has led to several suspensions of very young children who engage in these activities, including cases where students pretended their thumb and index finger is a gun.
The bill finds that these school policies are being used to outlaw “harmless expressions of childhood play,” and are only teaching students to “be afraid of inanimate objects”  that are shaped like guns.

Read the full article here.

Food for Thought:

Does your school have a policy that prohibits imaginary guns? What do you think of these and other policies? What is your opinion of this proposed bill?

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“Never forget that you are one of a kind. Never forget that if there weren’t any need for you in all your uniqueness to be on this earth, you wouldn’t be here in the first place. And never forget, no matter how overwhelming life’s challenges and problems seem to be, that one person can make a difference in the world. In fact, it is always because of one person that all the changes that matter in the world come about. So be that one person. ”  ~Richard Buckminster Fuller” ‪