Learning Something New

Hey Girls! Happy 2009! Hope everyone had a happy & healthy holiday. My hubby & I had a nice long weekend, most of which was spent playing with our daughter. Her favorite activity now is to make her parents polka. Since a good portion of our family is Polish, the word 'polka' was introduced into her lexicon a few weeks ago. She quickly became fascinated by the polka, and now insists everyone who enters our home dance it, including her dollies. So roll out the barrel! This weekend, I too learned a new word: Sexting. Definition: sending promiscuous photos of yourself or others via phone, like texting. According to the Chicago Tribune, about 20 per cent of teens say they've sent nude or semi-nude photos or videos of themselves to others this way. I can only imagine that to some degree peer pressure factors into this. Much of the time, these photos get forwarded on and on and on, seen by hundreds, if not thousands of people. However embarrassing now, the real damage to sexting might not occur until later, when the sendee tries to apply to college or a job. More and more recruiters and employers are Googling applicants or checking out Myspace pages to make sure the applicant hasn't participated in inappropriate behavior. It's up to us parents to teach our kids about the dangers and ramifications of such actions. And if you're a teen reading this: don't do it! It might come back to haunt you! If you receive a photo, don't pass it on. Be better than all that. That's why at Gis4Girl, our designs live above the fray. Before I started Gis4Girl, I did some research and found that there are many clothing shops out there whose messages continue to degrade females. Here we celebrate them! I know my daughter will grow up not believing in any messages that are negative to women. I just wish all daughters did.

EB