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Parenting is bigger than Barney. There are 33 pages of blogs in BlogHer's Mommy and Family blogroll and 59,833 blogs that use Technorati's "parenting," "mommy" or "daddy" tags. In 2007's blogosphere, the politics of parenting are well documented.
Hillary Clinton famously wrote, "it takes a village to raise a child." I'd say it also takes a village to raise a parent, and today more than ever before, that village is available to anyone with an Internet connection. I'll be posting once a week to bring you highlights of the ongoing conversation on parenting.
For my first post, I looked to see what people are saying about a subject pertinent to me as the parent of one two-year-old, little redheaded girl: body image. Though body image concerns grow more relevant every year for boys, girls seem to take the brunt of it.
After a "pleasantly plump" childhood, a combination of circumstance and disposition launched me into a full-scale eating disorder by the time I was 17, and this was before Bratz and thongs for eight-year-olds.
Parents in the blogosphere are concerned about the influence of media and the retail monster on their little girls, too. They're not content to just talk, though -- many are encouraging their readers to stop store managers and complain when they see inappropriate products marketed to their offspring.
We're speaking out about our own body image and how that may impact our children, and I'm so relieved this discussion is underway. There may be something we can do about the barrage of perfection slamming our kids every day via magazines, billboards and the talky box. Check it out.
Izzy at IzzyMom kicked off the conversation for me in this aged but wonderful post about Bratz dolls and padded bras for tweens.
Meghan at My Dog Harriet has this to say about girls and body image.
Momsquawk writes about a 12-year-old who had liposuction to remove 35 pounds.
Two Knives quotes the Bratz founder in response to the parental uproar caused by his dolls.
Risa Green of Mommytrack'd worries when her daughter says she wants to grow up to be a movie star.
A lot of food for thought. Go on out there and tell a little girl she looks great just the way she is tonight.
