Product Description Thong panties, padded bras, and risque Halloween costumes for young girls. T-shirts that boast ?Chick Magnet? for toddler boys. Sexy content on almost every television channel, as well as in books, movies, video games, and even cartoons. Hot young female pop stars wearing provocative clothing and dancing suggestively while singing songs with sexual and sometimes violent lyrics. These products are marketed aggressively to our children; these stars are held up for our young daughters to emulate?and for our sons to see as objects of desire.
Popular culture and technology inundate our children with an onslaught of mixed messages at earlier ages than ever before. Corporations capitalize on this disturbing trend, and without the emotional sophistication to understand what they are doing and seeing, kids are getting into increasing trouble emotionally and socially; some may even to engage in precocious sexual behavior. Parents are left shaking their heads, wondering: How did this happen? What can we do?
So Sexy So Soon is an invaluable and practical guide for parents who are fed up, confused, and even scared by what their kids?or their kids? friends?do and say. Diane E. Levin, Ph.D., and Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., internationally recognized experts in early childhood development and the impact of the media on children and teens, understand that saying no to commercial culture?TV, movies, toys, Internet access, and video games?isn?t a realistic or viable option for most families. Instead, they offer parents essential, age-appropriate strategies to counter the assault. For instance:
? Help your children expand their imaginations by suggesting new ways for them to play with toys?for example, instead of ?playing house? with dolls, they might send their toys on a backyard archeological adventure. ? Counteract the narrow gender stereotypes in today?s media: ask your son to help you cook; get your daughter outside to play ball. ? Share your values and concerns with other adults?relatives, parents of your children?s friends?and agree on how you?ll deal with TV and other media when your children are at one another?s houses.
Filled with savvy suggestions, helpful sample dialogues, and poignant true stories from families dealing with these issues, So Sexy So Soon provides parents with the information, skills, and confidence they need to discuss sensitive topics openly and effectively so their kids can just be kids.
Basically Good but with a Few Caveats November 8, 2008 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
"So Sexy So Soon" contains a good discussion of the problem parents today face with the hypersexualization of childhood. I really appreciated how Drs. Levin and Kilbourne go beyond simply recounting the problem to actually making concrete suggestions on what parents can do to fight back. Too many other books on the subject don't offer enough in the way of solutions (for example Girls Gone Mild: Young Women Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It's Not Bad to Be Good and Prude: How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls (and America, Too!)).
One of the main criticisms I had is that like Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers' Schemes, "So Sexy So Soon" has a tendency to not distinguish between what is truly harmful to children and what is innocuous. For example, the sleazy Bratz dolls are lumped in with the wholesome Disney Princess ones and superhero cartoons like Spiderman or He-Man are made to seem just as bad as the completely antisocial video game "Grand Theft Auto".
The other big issue I had with "So Sexy So Soon" is the authors' continual bashing of abstinence education. Throughout the book, they keep going on and on about the supposed "need" for so-called "comprehensive" sex ed that promotes the idea to children that "sex can bring pleasure, joy, and connection...and [teaches them] to say 'Yes!' in a loving and responsible way." (pg. 183). Yikes! What about all those parents who believe that the only responsible place for the joys of sexuality is within marriage? Pop culture does enough to undermine that message without schools also doing so.
An important and helpful book September 18, 2008 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I would like to disagree with another reviewer who commented on So Sexy So Soon's "shallow" concept (i.e. the strong influence of media on peoples' lives), and criticized the authors for only citing examples about abnormal teenagers and ignoring the "real problems of sexual violence and related troubles." I'm not sure what book he was reading, but the authors' thorough research, examples, and direct attention to real teens and widespread problems are the reasons I would recommend this book to parents, teachers, and counselors! Levin and Kilbourne's ideas are far from shallow and truly important both to today's youth and adults, as well as to the state of tomorrow's world.
As a 26-year-old woman who grew up in the "MTV generation," I witnessed some of my best childhood friends turn into adults with real problems, at the base of which was a lack of self-esteem and the ability to feel comfortable being themselves outside of pop culture. Now as I work with youth in my job, I see first-hand just how much younger sexual talk, dress, and activity begins even than when I was a child. This is not an issue of nostalgia for a more naive era, but truly a problem for the lives these children will grow up to lead, for when children take sexual cues from media, unwanted pregnancy, assault, drug use, poverty, disease, and depression can be the eventual result (I've seen it myself!). While this is a bleak thought, I found it very heartening to read Levin and Kilbourne's suggestions that will give parents, teachers, and counselors ways to think about and address today's impact of commercial pressures so that more positive ends are met. I am very glad to see Levin and Kilbourne bring their expertise, research, and advice to the challenges that today's parents and tweens/teens face.
Parents-put this book on your must read list September 8, 2008 4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Jean's books should be required reading for all parents! She offers insightful solution focused strategies to counter media messages with children of all ages.
So Sexy So Soon, But Who's Preaching to Whom? September 6, 2008 4 out of 15 found this review helpful
I utilized the book for a college class I teach on "Media Effects." The response of the students reveals an important, and, in my opinion, valid critique of the tone of Levin and Kilbourne's approach: That "rather than illuminating an issue in a way that can be revealing to *both* parents and children alike, their approach does more harm than good in *furthering* not *illuminating* the generational divide." That their approach takes *so* much a judgemental and alarmist approach, that the students (of the upper end of the youth generation she's addressing) feel it to be completely "out of touch" with their experience of the very phenomenon of which their book speaks.
Eloquent and practical support for parents! August 26, 2008 8 out of 9 found this review helpful
It doesn't sound to me that one of the previous reviewers, Mr. Males, bothered to read the book. If he had, he would recognize that the main premise is ALL children from a very early age are learning toxic lessons from the media about sex, gender, body image and human relationships that have devastating effects on every aspect of their development. These effects can not be measured solely by statistics.
Anyone who spends time with children knows that the lesson that corporate America teaches them (especially girls) is that self-worth is based on appearance and acquiring material possessions. The main purpose of this constant barrage (children spend more time with the media than with their own parents according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study) of commercialism into every aspect of children's lives is to increase corporate profits. When a culture is more concerned with money than healthy human growth, it is obvious that our children are at risk for a host of physical, cognitive, emotional and social problems.
We are at a crucial time in our history when more than ever we need competent creative problem solvers who can tackle the real issues we face as a nation and as citizens of the world. Levin and Kilbourne, internationally recognized educators, authors and social activists, solidly grounded with scholarship and experience provide us with the guidance we need nurture the healthy development of our children. If you want to read a comprehensive, eloquent and practical book on this extremely important issue, this is the one to buy.
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