Campaign for Real Beauty

Many people have complained recently about the constant – and morally-deficient – marketing and skewed societal ideals that our kids are exposed to everyday. Yet aside from parents limiting TV time or controlling what channels their kids watch or magazines they read, few have done anything to actually put a stop to it.

Yet Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, launched in September 2004, has continuously sought to increase self-esteem in women by reevaluating our concept of beauty - and the way the media conditions our daughters to think about their bodies. 

Dove’s newest ad, called “Onslaught,” is part of the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, dedicated to changing the way both women and girls understand beauty.  The one-minute video, already being touted as a “triumph,” has been featured on the news and was one of the top-viewed videos on YouTube the day it debuted in the U.K.

So it’s powerful, to say the least. And also poignantly true. The video opens with the face of an adorable little girl, smiling for the camera and reminding us all of the innocence of youth. This is followed by a literal onslaught of images, documenting the way the media teaches girls about being thin, sexy, and beautiful through miracle products, fad diets, and plastic surgery. Once you’re sufficiently disgusted by the juxtaposition of these images and that of the little girl, Dove spells out their message: “Talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does.”

While Dove is clearly building its own brand name with these campaigns, at least their motive is noble. The Self-Esteem campaign plans to reach 5 million young women by 2010 through different programs, breaking down stereotypes about beauty and changing the way girls and women think about themselves and each other. With resources for both girls and parents online, Dove is dedicated to empowering women in an unprecedented way - with the type of ad a mom can get behind.

It’s time we all rethink what beauty means – and what messages we are giving to our daughters.

Sore Throat? Just Google it.

Here’s a trend that doesn’t surprise me: according to the new issue of Parenting magazine, more and more parents are using the Internet to diagnose their kids’ illnesses. Hey, we’ve all done it. We just hop on Google or WebMD, type in the symptoms, and voila! It’s fast, it’s convenient – but is it correct?

That seems to be the million-dollar question. Doctors warn that this habit can lead parents to draw conclusions that are often not only incorrect, but alarming as well. (Okay, we’ve all done this too. Who hasn’t searched for information on a bad headache, only to find themselves poring over pages and pages of information on various diseases and tumors that list “headache” as a symptoms, ultimately leaving them worse off than when they started?)

And, yet, the web can be helpful as well when it comes to home treatments and basic information for worried moms and suffering kids. So where do you draw the line? I say pediatrician first, research second. While the Internet can help in a pinch, such as when your child won’t stop coughing at 1 am and you can’t reach your doctor, web-based diagnoses should not be taken as fact. If your child has a problem, you should always see your doctor, who, as the article suggests, can examine your child, consider her medical history, and put all that knowledge they garnered during years and years of med school and residencies to use.

It’s also important to take what you read with a grain of salt. If a website suggests a harmless remedy that may be useful – such as a cold cloth on the forehead or some Tylenol – it might be worth following; otherwise, it’s always best to check with a doctor. And, of course, it’s vital to remember that the scariest statistics probably don’t apply to your child’s minor symptoms, so don’t get worked up before you ever even get to a doctor’s office.

Lastly, the article advises making sure that, if you insist on checking websites, you check the right ones. Intelihealth.com and kidshealth.org come highly recommended. But, remember, nothing comes more highly recommended than your own pediatrician.