Blog 5

This week, we read alot about body image. We all know that body image has been important to us since we were little. If you were a bigger kid, you were called "fat". If you were too tall, you were called "beanstalk". If you had glasses, you were called a "dork". Amazingly, this all starts when we are all just young! When my son started school, he came home and told me that some of the kids were teasing him. This bothered me because I know how cruel kids can be. I was one. I ask myself, why is body image so important, even as a young child? Why are we so stuck on having to be skinny, beautiful, and well dressed? Why do we only feel like a "sexy" women if we are showing lots of skin? Why was I jealous of so many other girls? I remember some of my most embarrassing moments, being jealous, were in middle school. The gym locker room to be exact. In sixth grade you have to change into gym clothes. I still remember starting to change into mine. While glancing around, I saw everyone else had on bras. I did not. I did not even have breasts at the time. That was so horrible. It almost made me feel like there was something wrong with me. After that, I did wear a bra, but I also dressed in the bathroom. Years later, I still do not have a big chest, but I do not care. I am who I am. I am old enough now to know that I am beautiful, even without gorgeous long hair or a size D chest. What about our young children though? Our young girls love barbie's and brat's. They play with these toys, thinking that this is how girls look. Barbie has the perfect body. How many people do you know that look like her? Not many because she is not real. My point is, we need to teach our children that everyone is different. No two bodies are the same. That is ok, because we are all beautiful in our own ways. If I teach my daughters anything about body image, I hope they just take in that all I want for them is to be healthy. Same goes for my boys. Big, small, muscular, whatever! Just be healthy and happy. Everyone is beautiful in their own unique way!!

Blog 4

Well, what to talk about today. Let's pick the crazy influences on T.V. Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan to name a few. These people are not little girls anymore. They are women now. Rich women with a lot of power over the little girls in our society. I am not blameless. I as a parent realize that children do not become who they are because of music or because of the people that they see on T.V. I know that children become who they are because of what type of parent we are. Reguardless, these women on T.V. are unfortunately not people that our little girls should look up to. Reality is, some little girls want to be like Hilton or Spears. They want to live the life of luxury. They want to be superstars just like them. They want to go to the clubs, have the cameras flashing in their faces, and live in a house the size of a hotel! I am all for dreams. I hope all my children follow their hearts and reach for the stars. I also want them to use their future success for something great. These women are getting arrested, getting pictures taken of them getting out of cars without underwear, partying every night, and the list could go on and on. These women have power. I wish that they would show our little girls that they can have all this success and still be good mothers. Mothers that protect their children and spend time with their children. I wish that these women would show our little girls that you can have a little meat on your bones and still be beautiful. My wish list goes on and on. I want those women to show my little girls that alcohol and drugs are a waste of time and power. I want my girls to know that these things are not pre-reqs for being famous. These three women have the opportunity to show the world that women can be strong and beautiful. They can be successful and intelligent. You can go through your whole life without smoking pot and still win an Emmy when you are older. If these women were listening I would beg them to show my little girls that women are wonderful people. Use your money and power for all the little girls that think you are so great! Paris, show my little girls that you can be someone to look up to. Stop wasting your life! Appreciate the women that did so much to pave the way for you. 100 years ago this would not have been possible for women!

Blog 3

I was watching T.V. last night. I was flipping through my guide looking for something good to watch. I came across a show called "The Girls Next Door". I turned it on and began to watch it. I was stuck. I could not turn it off. I just could not believe what I was watching. Three girls were all living with Hugh Hefner. Not only were they all living with him, but they were all his girlfriends. This may not directly pertain to our class, but what are these women doing. All the women in our past that have given up so much for us to be free, and this is what these girls are doing. They are dating a man that cannot commit to just one of them. They are throwing their naked bodies around for him like it is nothing. All for what? To live a life of luxury. Holly designed a calendar on her own in the episode that I watched. She seems so intelligent. I do not understand why she feels like she has to get naked all the time and share her boyfriend with other girls to get what she wants in life. She seems strong. I would think that you would have to be to feel comfortable doing the job that she does. She could do so much just by being a strong women and proving her talents to a company that appreciates her brain instead of her breasts. What bothers me the most is that I have two daughters that one day might see that show. What are these three girls teaching my daughters? I will tell you what they are teaching them. If you want to live the life of luxury, forget using your brain like a women, just get naked!

Blog 2

It is me again! I am a day late doing my blog. It is because of this, that I know what I want to say this time. WOMEN ROCK!!!!!! For the last week and one day, my family has been extremely sick. A couple of my children got so sick that they were in the hospital. I got extremely sick and so did my husband. It has been horrible. I noticed though that as a mother, I did not even realize how sick I was until days after it had started and when I knew all my kids were all better! It was as if all my pain went away and my focus was on them. This is not the first time that I have noticed this. I have had migraines that would normally knock me off my feet, but when the kids are awake it stops mattering until they are in bed that night. When I was a little girl, my mom was the same way with us. I have also noticed that my four year old and my two year old daughters are the same way! If someone is not feeling well, they want to help them with anything they can. They have a baby brother. When he is not feeling well, they will rub is back, cover him up, WIPE HIS NOSE ON THEIR CLOTHES, and wipe his tears. I am not trying to say anything bad about men. The men in the family were there to help too. It is just weird. I don't feel like I have raised my daughters any differently than my boys. I feel like I have raised them all to be compassionate, loving, and emotional. It is almost like we are hard wired to be motherly when we are born??!!?? It is almost like we have something in our brain that says take care of others first no matter what. It is something to think about anyways!!

Blog !

I encountered something that I believe pertains to our class during a sad experience. This week, my daughter got very sick. We had to take her to the hospital and we had to spend the night. We were there for atleast 24 hours. During that time, we saw doctors, nurses, lab people, x-ray techs, and many others. I did not realize while we were there, for obvious reasons, but the people with the "higher" title, were men! The wonderful nurses were all very sweet and loving women. The doctors were intelligent, but very quiet, men. The x-ray techs were very PATIENT women who understood that my daughter was very scared. After the x-rays were developed they were sent to a man to be read. I could keep going, but the more that I think about it, the more I see a very common picture. It almost feels like the hospital was behind in times. I wonder now if it was just that shift or if woman just are still not in high positions there. If they are just not in higher positions I also wonder why? Do woman just not want to go to school for as long? Are they made to feel like they do not belong in those types of schools? It really has gotten the wheels turning and now I want to know more. The arrangement seemed to work. The atmosphere was great and my daughter was in very good hands. Does it really work though? I wonder how the women that work there feel? I wonder if they even notice????