VIDEO: "Homeless Doll" Debate Follow-Up

As promised, here is the follow up video that we shot last week with Susan Avery from AOL's Parent Dish.

For those just 'tuning in', last Friday, I spent the morning on Fox & Friends with Susan Avery discussing the new doll from American Girl which is being billed as "Homeless". We had a good conversation on air, and decided it would be useful to take a few more minutes to continue the conversation. So we fired up the iPhone video camera, and shot this in a nearby hotel lobby. The content makes up for what is lacking in production quality ;)

Will you be buying this for your daughters? If you have already, what is your strategy to discuss this with her? If you haven't, are you addressing homelessness with her in another way?

VIDEO: "Homeless Doll" Debate on FoxNews

Last friday, FoxNews flew me in to 'debate' the new Homeless Doll from American Girl with AOL ParentDish senior editor, Susan Avery.

What do you think?

Let's Play Homeless? Is This Doll For Real?

Wow, what a day! Yesterday afternoon I received a call from FOX and Friends in New York City. They asked if I would be willing to participate in a debate this morning over the new Homeless Doll which is part of the American Girl Series. I jumped at the chance and in three hours I was landing in New York City. The experience was phenomenal! I had the pleasure of meeting and debating with the intelligent and well-spoken Ms. Susan Avery, AOL Senior Editor for ParentDish.com. We had a brief, yet spirited, debate over the messages that this controversial toy is sending to our young girls. Is it teaching compassion and visions of hope? Or is it promoting messages of dependence, helplessness and loss? We taped the debate and will be posting it soon. Susan and I also took the opportunity to continue our discussion in a more intimate setting following the broadcast. What an insightful and thought provoking conversation we had. A clip of this discussion will also be posted here shortly. So, stay tuned. See what you think. Will this doll promote compassion or complacency? You be the judge! Check out this article for more information:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/homeless_doll_costs_hairstyling_4Ic0hC7Lacpfo8HQbczsQM

By the way, Susan Avery is a bright, amazing woman and I am hopeful that she and I can partner in the near future in our endeavors to bring new focus and strength to parenting.

Self-Rescuing Princess

I am amazed at the great feedback I have been receiving from parents everywhere. I just want to keep the fire burning and encourage everyone to pass along my free eBook to everyone who influences young children. We must encourage our young women to rescue themselves. A follower gave me a lead on a great tee-shirt. Go to thinkgeek.com and you can buy a great tee that proclaims "Self-Rescuing Princess". I bought mine and I love it.

By the way, today I was amazed to find this link promoting my work. Please pass it on!
http://www.amazingwomenrock.com/myblog/seven-powerful-parenting-secrets-to-help-create-amazing-women-of-the-future.html

Are Women Really Rising to the Top?

This morning in USA Today, I read an article entitled Women Gain as Men Lose Jobs. My heart skipped a beat for a brief moment. Are we really rising to the top of the employment ladder?

As I read the article I was disheartened to find that the information is not at all what I had hoped to discover. Although women in today's volatile economy are on the verge of outnumbering men in the workplace, it appears to be a result of the fact that fields dominated by college-educated women, like education, have not felt the crunch of the severe recession felt by many male dominated fields.

Health care and education have received stimulus funding and have continued to grow...two fields which have traditionally hired more women. What is interesting and concerning is this article also states that although this change reflects the growing importance of women as wage earners, it still doesn't show full equality. On the average, this author states, women work fewer hours than men, hold more part-time jobs and earn 77% of what men make. Men still dominate higher-paying executive ranks.

So, once again, I continue in my quest to nurture strong girls and strong women. We must continue to speak up and speak out. We are needed in leadership roles. We have the talent. We are strong. We are invincible. We are women.To see the complete article go to: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-09-02-womenwork_N.htm