ILY xoxoxox

We had the Eisteddfod on the weekend and Elise went without false eye lashes…and as expected, you couldnt even see the girl’s eyes for long enough with all that dancing, let alone determine who was wearing false eye lashes or not! Facial expression was much more visible, and thats not something that can bought from the cosmetics counter or applied with a brush.

Another of our troupe’s Mum’s was sitting next to me and her daughter was wearing them but she agreed that you couldnt even see their eyes. Another Mum let her daughter wear them the day before but realised that her daughter’s own eye lashes were much longer than the false ones so she didnt wear them at all on the second day.

You’ll be happy to hear that you message really is sinking in with Elise. Her friends mum told me that she had overheard a conversation between the two of them last Friday, and Elise was telling the other girl that there was no need for them to wear false eye lashes at her age at their ages, that they should be being judged at the Eisteddfod on their feet and their facial expressions and not on what makeup they are or arent wearing. The other girl’s mum was very impressed and said I should be very proud of her(which I am) and that what I am are telling her is getting through. You really need to take most of the credit for that as it was your program that brought this to her attention, I am just reinforcing it(if I had bought this to her attention alone, she wouldnt have paid much attention, for what 11yr old likes to believe that their parent is right??) But coming from a third party makes all the difference..and you have made a difference to Elise.

I too am very disappointed at the Senate’s inquiry lack of firm commitment to reduce the sexualisation of our children in the contemporary media environment. But please dont be disheartened, what you do is making a HUGE difference. Through this episode alone, many of my friends are now looking at advertising and childrens products through different eyes. By making people aware, it draws their attention to other topics related to this.

Did you happen to see the article in The Sydney Morning Herald letters section last wednesday titled “All the wrong moves threaten childhood innocence and modesty” ? It was about the inappropriate dance performance of young people at a local dance school. Take heart Dannielle, your appearance on “60 Minutes” has taken awareness of this issue to a whole new level. YOU GO GIRL !!! ))

Great work, as usual.

I’m so sorry to hear that the senate isn’t ready to admit that there is a cause for concern. I’m impressed that the Australian government is at least beginning to hear people discuss the problem– I can’t imagine what it would take to even get the response you did here in America. But of course, it sounds like the officials were only ready to “hear” but not ready to “listen.”

As far as the doll is concerned, I’m particularly disturbed that maturation appears to result in no weight gained, as in a typical girl going through puberty, and the waist appears to be the size of 2 pinky fingers put together. That’s a curvy teen? Could we put a little extra flesh on the girl– and why does she need to still stuff herself in her old preteen clothes which if they weren’t too short to begin with, are definitely too short now! Is that skirt a belt? Lord.

The message I read is this: “This is what puberty looks like. You should still be able to fit into your kid’s clothes when you grow up because this is what a normal curvy teen looks like! Dress like this! Look like this! And if you don’t…you must be an “uncool” teen.” Do they perhaps wonder where girls come up with feelings of low self worth and low body esteem?

All we need is for them to be wearing the “wink wink” thong panties and a t-shirt that says, “Wanna Pop My Cherry?”

Thanks, Danni. Keep me updated– let’s talk soon.

Dr. Robyn

I felt overwhelmed recently by the words of support from women in my state(Qld) who believe in the work that we do at Enlighten as we try to protect our children’s innocence from being consumed by popular culture. The video of “Consuming Kids” about corporate marketing makes me so desperately sad because i see this as a generational disease that has become a “societal and cultural problem”. I see the damage seeping into my own children’s lives as my middle child has become the ultimate “wanter” never satisfied by just one purchase but looking at what tomorrow might buy him. I always analyse this behaviour and wonder what we as parents have done to encourage this needy desire for material goods and it’s not always the want for toys-it’s anything “shiny and new” were his exact 6 year old words. As parents we have worked very hard to create a balanced life for our kids- only G rated games, t.v., no $200 Nintendo etc. Our 10 year old has not seen any of the regular fare such as Spiderman, Star Wars etc. but we do not live in a bubble. This type of saturation by the media does permeate the fabric of children’s lives and we need to safeguard them and create incredibly resilient kids who as Danni says “can grow up on their own terms and make choices that they are truly comfortable with.” The more we talk about these issues and support one another the stonger our voices grow.