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Mar 05, 2009

Brian rated it:

First off, I couldn't finish this book. The last third may be awe-inspiring and clever, but I'll never know.

Being the father of two girls, I borrowed this book in the hopes of getting insight into their still developing minds. What I got was puritanical alarmist drivel. True - in this day and age, there is sex everywhere. From Barbie to Britney and everyone trying to "If you seek Amy"... it's all around in the media. If you have daughters and it takes reading this bo More...

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Oct 12, 2008

Megan rated it:

This was a very helpful book--especially the ideas on how to have conversations about sexuality with your children, and things you can do to address the commercialized gender roles they learn from many types of media. Part of it seemed a little alarmist (they cite Me and You and Everyone We Know without realizing it's critiquing the sexualization of childhood--in my opinion), but most of it is pertinent and pragmatic. The bibliography is very helpful, too. The chapter that I found the most encou More...

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Jan 21, 2009

Cory rated it:

This was a hard one for me because I really, REALLY wanted to like it. It's a great book if you haven't immersed yourself in weird media studies, but I have a long-held interest in media and children and advertising and all that. Maybe I just feel like, since they were preaching to the choir in my case, they should have had a really great sermon. Unfortunately, I don't feel like there were enough specific examples, or enough of a connection made between the science and the conclusions that th More...

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Jan 05, 2009

Lanae3 rated it:

This was a VERY open discussion about the direction our culture is taking and the sexualization of our young people for commercial interests. It talks frankly about all media sources and the effect they're having on the lives of our youth and on children, ie, violence and lack of respect, objectifying women and girls, and making everything about appearance and sexiness - even for very young girls, while taking caring relationships out of the equation for sex. It was eye-opening and thought pro More...

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Sep 21, 2011

Michelle rated it:

These Ph.D authors missed the point entirely. They had this chance to write a valuable educating tool about the mixed signals sent to children as young as five and the first thing they do in the introduction is reassure the parents, "We're not going to blame you for the fact your innocent five year old girl wants to grow up to be a hooker."
They push safe sex education messages, spurn abstinance-only education, encourage parents to talk to their kids about sex (I'm sorry but More...

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Mar 02, 2011

Anne rated it:

I heard Diane Levin speak at a local AEYC meeting. She was GREAT! And th book gave me food for thought in my life as an early childhood teacher and good advice as the parent of twin teenagers. A must read for parents who care about the effects of media on their children...male or female. The notion of "compassion deficit disorder" due to more time with screens than people and "problem solving deficit disorder" due to too much time with toys that can only beused in a presc More...

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Jul 23, 2010

Jenny rated it:

I got this book with my 6-year-old daughter in mind, and surprisingly ended up gaining insights that are most applicable to my 4-year-old.

The book is divided into two halves, the first on early childhood (ages 8 and under) and the second on the tween/adolescent years. I thought the second half of the book was mostly a case of "too little, too late," but I really enjoyed the first half. I had never made the connection before that all the pretty dress up toys and images we're More...

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Sep 04, 2008

Bridget rated it:

I work in the field of youth development and sex education. I thought this book was too sensationalized. True, sex is too pervasive in youth culture and the media, but it needs to start at home. Too few parents/guardians are having open, honest discussions with their kids about sex, standards of behavior--namely respect and responsibility, and communication. You can't blame the media and youth culture on issues that need to be addressed in the family unit and community.

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Aug 03, 2011

Jill added it

Although I didn't finish this book, got about halfway through (my daughter is only 5, so most of it wasn't yet relevant), I thought the author had some interesting points. I too, am irritated by Bratz dolls, sexy clothes, and the attitudes of the "tween" shows on the Disney Channel. My daughter has already copped some attitudes that she got from watching "tween TV," much as I try to prevent it. I actually think her having an older brother and playing "boy" games More...

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Jan 30, 2012

Colleenish rated it:

This book was fantastic. It talks about how media sexualizes our culture to sell stuff and how harmful that is to children. Most parents would agree that media is teaching their children lessons about sexuality and self- worth that are unhealthy. So much of it is common sense, things we know. Reading about all of it together opened my eyes and made me want to change how things are.

I have so many thoughts. First, I'm thankful for my parents. My mom previewed most of my books until I wa More...

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May 12, 2009

Clare rated it:

I would recommend this book for parents of young girls. It has an intelligent discussion of how the media and peers influence our daughters, and what we can do as parents to counteract the influence of "sex sells anything." Short of moving out of the country, it seems nearly impossible to shield our children from the pervasive messages in advertising, movies, and music that insist that all things "sexy" are positive. As adults we know that this message is not accurate. Se More...

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Jan 05, 2009

Kitchengrrl rated it:

picked this up at my parent's place, and I made it a few chapters in. I disagree with one part of the premise, this very old-school feminist line that girls don't have an adequate idea of their possibilities. However, the rest of it, that kids are growing up to fast, that media and culture is hyper-sexualized, I totally agree with. I'm looking forward to getting to the chapters about what to do about it. I don't have my own kids, but I teach seventh grade and whoa..... :P

Okay, h More...

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Aug 06, 2011

Haven rated it:

Well, this book definitely confirmed every decision my husband and I have ever made to shield our children from the pop culture and keep TV-watching out of their daily lives. A bit alarmist in the beginning (but maybe I only think that because my children aren't exposed to much media), it ended with great suggestions on basic communication with your children. Although my sexual moral values didn't come in line with the authors, I found it helpful and affirming of many of the decisions we have More...

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Jun 07, 2010

AdultNonFiction rated it:

Teton County Library Call #: 649.65 LEVIN
These two authors are personal heroines of mine. I was fortunate enough to have Diane Levin as a college professor, and mentor. I have been a huge fan of Jean Kilbourne as an author, end educator as well. Both women have teamed up to help parents and educators learn more about the commercial sexualization of today's children and how to help children learn to have healthy, loving relationships throughout their lives. With popular culture and advert More...

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Sep 23, 2009

Lisa rated it:

I picked up this book first because I have read and enjoyed other books by co-author Jean Kilbourne deconstructing media and advertising, and second because I am an expectant mother.

The authors engage less in deconstruction/analysis (which I would have enjoyed more) and more in practical advice for parents, but I did like the book. Still, I admit it was preaching to the choir. I liked the perspective that it is not *that* children are learning about sex but *what* messages children ar More...

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Apr 06, 2010

Krissy rated it:

I was so happy to stumble upon a book that addressed the issue of sexy advertising targeting young children. The fact that kids who buy into this kind of marketing are skewed as they grow and develop into young adults never really crossed my mind - I suppose I have become terribly accustomed to our warped media culture. This book gave such grounded and simple advice about keeping the lines of communication open and using everyday moments to teach your child to have a critical eye about adverti More...

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Jun 27, 2011

Helena rated it:

If you're a parent, this book is pretty horrifying. Some of it isn't exactly news--I think we've all seen the shorts for five-year-olds with "juicy" on the butt--but learning how drastically this sexualization of childhood affects kids was mostly new to me. I have a very young daughter, and it's hard to resist the urge to keep her under wraps at home forever, even though I know that's not realistic. This book does give parents some ideas for how to cope, and how to communicate with the More...

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Dec 01, 2009

Suzy rated it:

These two authors are personal heroines of mine. I was fortunate enough to have Diane Levin as a college professor, and mentor. I have been a huge fan of Jean Kilbourne as an author, end educator as well. Both women have teamed up to help parents and educators learn more about the commercial sexualization of today's children and how to help children learn to have healthy, loving relationships throughout their lives. With popular culture and advertising within a fingertip's reach these days, More...

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May 14, 2011

sparkles rated it:

i really loved the first half or so, but as soon as it started talking about teenagers, i felt that there was more fear-mongering about "hook-up culture oh no!" than there was helpful information. tangentially, and completely based off of my personal thoughts on sex-- this book is a parenting book, aimed at like scared parents, so i didn’t exactly expect a radical sex-positive agenda or anything, but i couldn't help but roll my eyes every time they implied that sex should only be betwe More...

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May 21, 2009

Hayley rated it:

The premises of this book was very interesting. Essentially the authors describe how "sex sells" and how this notion is being used to market products to younger and younger children (with devastating results). They argue that advertisers are presenting kids with ideas about sexuality that they are far to young to comprehend and analyze. About half of the book is spent citing examples of this.
For me (as the reader), they were just preaching to the choir during the argument phase More...

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Feb 01, 2009

Andrea rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Oct 13, 2008

Julie rated it:

My thinkgirl.net review:

Diane Levin, cofounder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and Jean Kilbourne, creator of the films Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women, have crafted an informative and advice-filled guide. The authors analyze media and consumer trends in a fascinating overview that spans the 1980s to present. They consider such events as the de-regulation of FCC children’s television guidelines and the recent popularity of Bratz dolls.

Mor More...

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Sep 27, 2008

melissa/missy rated it:

This is a fantastic book. It's disturbing (1/3 of American kids under the age of 3 have TVs in their bedrooms?!) It's really sad (In one study, 40 percent of teenage girls reported having had unwanted sex, and 1 in 3 teenage girls have been victims of some form of dating violence.) I recommend this book to any parent who is concerned about the sexualization and commercialization of young children...which should be all of us. So Sexy So Soon has some concrete suggestions: how to increase your More...

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Nov 05, 2009

Kelli rated it:

Wow. This book is frightening and eye-opening in looking at media and the reasons why our media culture is so sexualized, specifically why sexual content in marketing and films is targeted to children. It is not a "sex is bad" book; rather, it tries to show parents and educators negative messages and results of sexualized marketing and a sexualized culture that can have a harmful impact on children's healthy sexuality and relationships. I only gave it four stars because I think there w More...

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Aug 07, 2009

Hali rated it:

There were some excellent points in this book, but I wasn't drawn to it. I agree that open communication by asking questions is the best way to understand anything & everything. Some of the cartoons that the authors brought up I haven't found much wrong with....but then again maybe I've been exposed to them too much to see the problem.

I do agree that there needs to be a change in advertising to become less degrading for women & girls, but this book just didn't stand up to what I tho More...

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May 14, 2011

Jessica rated it:

Horrifying. Totally disturbing. I knew that the pop culture was bad - but I remove myself from it and therefore was shocked to find out just how bad it really is and how much it affects young children - to the degree that without help many become incapable of having healthy, caring, adult relationships. Anyway - if you can get through the disturbing first few chapters, chapters 5 and 6 contain very helpful parenting advice on specific ways parents can protect their children from being sexuali More...

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Jan 27, 2009

Shelley rated it:

Good information. Could have been written in about half the pages, or perhaps as an expanded article/series, as it just gives a very basic overview of the authors's research. Nonetheless, an important book for all parents. If you've taken gender psych at all, you may not find too many surprises in the book, BUT, that said, I was surprised at all the advice I can really use as a parent. Good.

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Jun 09, 2009

Meaghan rated it:

A lot of interesting information about media/children and sexualization. Toward the end it lost me a little bit because they started discussing what parents can do - and while useful, I'm not a parent yet and it was really techniques for parents (someone who is in the home) and not so much for professionals. Obviously this is in the title, but I was hoping for a bit more of a broad "what people can do". Overall, an interesting (and saddening) read.

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May 08, 2009

Frederick rated it:

My 14-year-old daughter saw a review of this book, read some frank excerpts to me, mentioned some shocking (to me) things going on in her middle school, and recommended that I read this book. I did and it has given me a better understanding of what is influencing her at school from her peers and from also from the media. It has opened up a channel of communication between us and gave me a basis to begin explaining to her how she is being influenced and how she can develop her own set of values i More...

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Jun 06, 2009

Mandelyn rated it:

this was kind of a fear monger book. although it did have it's good points, they didn't start until after the 1st hundred pages. (i think the book is less than 200 pages.) i think we all get that the world, even for our babies, has become highly sexualized. i think time would have been much better spent reading about specific ways to deal with it - recommended community groups, national groups, lists of people we can write to . . . i did think the idea of opening communication between pare More...

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