Halloween Week in April?

I've been disturbed lately with things on television and tend to be very aware of what my daughter (almost 8) watches on television. Disney channel is the "in" thing for most girls her age. I'm a bit leary about many of the shows - on the surface they may seem harmless but I see them as teaching values I don't want my daughter to grow up buying into. There seems to be a huge emphasis on material things. Of course that is just the world in general right now and I can't shelter her to that extent. All I can do it limit her exposure and make sure I discuss these things with her so she understands my concerns and reasons for them.

In addition, I've always been a bit disturbed about the shows that pop up around Halloween. As the years go by, Halloween is a holiday I would rather avoid and I don't care for the way many things associated with it are glamorized now. Disney even has a show about a wizard family on their normal line-up right now that makes it all seem okay. I've watched a couple episodes and found myself chuckling along with it at times. I'm concerned what we may be teaching our kids though, what we may be passing off as harmless that in reality is not so harmless. (I already posted awhile back about the vampire shirt I saw at Target)

Now I've found out that Disney is doing a Halloween in April week. It is to be this week (started yesterday). Beginning on Palm Sunday, through Passover and Good Friday - through Saturday, the day before Easter.

Maybe it is just a coincidence, but I find the timing disturbing. The older my children get the more sensitive I am becoming to things in this world and the way they subtlely influence our children. As I said I don't want to totally shelter them as they need to know how to function in this world. But I definitely want to equip them. What are your thoughts?

Correction: Halloween Week in April on Disney is actually starting on April 12th, Easter Day. I think this is just as bad if not worse than having it during the Holy Week which includes Passover. They are starting this on the day we are all celebrating our Savior's resurrection. Once again, I must wonder if this is just a coincidence or not.

In the News - Kids & Porn

As I get older and I've had children of my own, one thing that concerns me more and more each year is the whole "sex sells" attitude that it seems you just can't escape any longer. Sometimes I feel in order to keep my children's innocence I need to lock them up with no television, radio or computer access.

I'm not going to this extreme, but I am seriously concerned not only about how prevalent this attitude is in our culture, but also how so many don't seem to give it even a second thought. The lack of concern regarding this by many parents concerns me just as much as the attitude itself.

Here is an article that you might find interesting, I think I might just be checking out the book as well...

The Pornification of a Generation

The idea for a book about porn culture came to Kevin Scott the day his daughter decided she absolutely had to have a Bratz-doll pony. For months, the 5-year-old had begged him for a Bratz doll—clad in spike heels, fishnets and miniskirt, enormous puppy-dog eyes protruding from her oversized head. Her sexy look seemed a little too sexy for a preschooler, so he and his wife bought her a different doll, which she was happy with. Except that a few months later, Bratz came out with Bratz Babyz. "If Bratz had looked like Barbie hookers, these looked like baby hookers," Scott says. Again, he convinced his daughter that My Little Pony was just as cool—and for a moment, the conversation ended. Until, of course, the Bratz came out with Bratz Ponyz. And then, says Scott, an English professor at a small college in Georgia, "I realized porn culture and I were in a death match for my daughter's soul."

In a market that sells high heels for babies and thongs for tweens, it doesn't take a genius to see that sex, if not porn, has invaded our lives. Whether we welcome it or not, television brings it into our living rooms and the Web brings it into our bedrooms. Read more

Breast Milk Ice Cream

Here is a very interesting article I came across this morning. Apparently PETA has written a letter to Ben & Jerry's asking them to consider using breast milk instead of cow's milk to make their ice cream. They claim cow's milk is hazardous and it is cruel to milk cows.

Here is the link to the article - Mama's milk ice cream, anyone?

I admit, my first reaction was "EW!" But at the same time I did breast feed each of my three children for a short period and I know it has some very good qualities to it. However, it is just weird!

To be honest there are a couple groups that I tend to automatically discount any ideas that come from them. PETA being one of those groups (Planned Parenthood is another). Not that I have anything against treating animals humanely, but I do have some major issues with how extreme PETA is.

I'm also curious what this would mean for us. In the end wouldn't this create the same issue PETA is claiming for the cows, but with humans? My imagination is running wild with the implications of this for the women who are trying to produce the milk for the ice cream and the consequences that may follow in order to produce the necessary quanitities.

So, here is my question - what do you think of this? I'd be curious to hear the opinions of others regarding breast milk ice cream.