Abercrombie & Fitch Pitches New Trashy College Line T-Shirts to America’s Sexualized Youth

afshowthetwinsAbercrombie & Fitch is at it again. The “Abercrombie & Fitch pitches new trashy T-Shirts to America’s Youth” headline is creating quite a stir around the internet, and for very good reason. It’s called the Sexualization of Children and Abercrombie & Fitch continues to target American young people with their highly sexualized clothing lines and t-shirts. Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) has come out with a new line of t-shirts called “New College Tees” with inappropriate, sexualized messages appearing on the t-shirts.

College students may find A&F clothing styles appealing, but tweens and teens shop and spend their own money or allowance at Abercrombie and Fitch too. These tees are not appropriate for any age, let alone tweens and teens wearing such “sexy” smut. Parents would be wise to consider very carefully what department store gift cards to buy as gifts, especially gift cards or clothes from stores such as Abercrombie & Fitch.

The American Family Association and OneMillionMoms.com is spearheading an e-mail campaign to the popular A&F clothing store over their new “Get It On” Fall line of T-shirts. Regarding the new line of trashy tees, OneMillionMoms director Monica Cole said, “A few of their little slogans are pretty offensive to women in general, so you wouldn’t want your daughters or nieces wearing these shirts.” Cole continues saying the trashy tees are “only available in stores. It’s not online, and parents can’t even get a preview before they go in the stores, so they will be shocked; then it will be too late.”
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Most Popular Christmas Toys 2009-Hot New Toys For Kids Christmas

LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical TableChristmas 2009 is here. Are you ready? Every Christmas holiday season parents ask, “What will be the most popular hot new toys for Christmas this year?” The latest trends in new toys for Christmas correspond closely to the economy, which is why the “Recession Christmas” or frugal Christmas gifts term is often used by people looking for affordable Christmas gifts for their kids and teens.

Toy makers and manufacturers understand that people have less money to spend on Christmas this year and are making smaller versions of large more-expensive toys, with one example being the new mini version of last years big Fur Real dinosaur from the Hasbro Fur Real Friends line of toys.

A hot new trend in toys for 2009 are Eco-friendly, “Green” or recycled toys that are made out of recycled materials to help the environment. Toys made from environmentally friendly materials are called Green Toys, such as the Fuzz That Was by Mary Meyer, which are stuffed toy pets made out of old recycled water bottles.

Green Toys for Kids

An Eco-friendly green toy company in California called The Green Toy Company sells “Made in the USA” toys for kids from 100% recycled materials, including a toy recycling truck, a toy dump truck, indoor gardening kit, jump rope, sand play set, an Ecosaucer, a toy cookware and dining set, toy tool set, a toy dish set, a toy chef set, and a toy tea set – each made from recycled milk bottles.
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Kids Christmas Songs, Funny Christmas Songs For Kids, Children’s Christmas Music

Kids Christmas SongsKids Christmas songs that are funny makes listening to Christmas music especially delightful for children and preschool kids during the Christmas holiday season, and grownups often have a great time listening to silly Christmas songs too.

If you are looking for children’s Christmas music or carols for your kids to sing along to, below you will find a large extensive list of Christmas songs to choose from, perhaps even the ultimate kids Christmas music playlist found anywhere online.

You can spend a lot of time going through all of the online lists of Top 10 Christmas songs for kids or even lists of some Top 25 kids Christmas songs, but here you will find a total of 103 Christmas songs for children.

If you are looking for a list of the best Christmas music that includes traditional Christmas songs, funny Christmas songs for kids, Spanish Christmas Carols or even Christian Christmas music, look no further because this is the only list you will need. Having downloadable Christmas songs to listen to on an iPod, mp3 player or in your car cd player will definitely help you and your kids get in the Christmas spirit. Enjoy!

Kids Christmas Music – Funny Christmas Songs
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Stocking Stuffer Ideas: 103 Christmas Stocking Stuffers For Kids and Teens

Stocking Stuffer IdeasDo you ever have trouble coming up with new ideas for filling Christmas stockings? Christmas stocking stuffers for kids and teens are often one of the last things parents or grandparents shop for during the Christmas holiday season, and by the time you decide to buy kids candy stocking stuffers in the cheap dime store aisles, all the good stuff is gone.

If you think kids stocking stuffers are a challenge, just wait until your kids become teenagers and you find the typical stocking fillers of candy or small toys just doesn’t cut it anymore. That’s usually when parents start feeling like there is no such thing as cheap stocking stuffers anymore, often finding themselves spending a small fortune on filling stockings when the money may be better spent elsewhere.

Watching kids and teens discover the unique little goodies in their Christmas stockings is always a fun thing for families come Christmas morning, that’s for sure. Parents are either finding cheap and creative ways to fill xmas stockings during this Christmas recession we’re in, including sticking to traditional ideas of filling stockings with fruits and nuts, while other parents have decided not to fill stockings at all or at least use very small Christmas stockings this year.

If you are looking for some new stocking stuffer ideas that won’t break the bank, here is a list of 103 stocking stuffers for kids and teens that are inexpensive, but will also light up those cute little faces Christmas morning.
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Best Selling Children’s Books-New York Times Children’s Books Best Seller List

Best Selling Children's BooksThe New York Times has released a new list of the best selling children’s books which includes picture books and chapter books that children of all ages love to read. Reading over the list of the best selling children’s books, and how some books remain on the top sellers list for several weeks, you can clearly see that kids books are still a favorite pastime.

These books may or may not make it on the list of best selling children’s books of all time, but if nothing else, some of these books at least deserve to be on the top of the list of most popular children’s books and added to your Christmas gift list for kids that like to read.

Here is the Top 10 list of best selling children’s picture books and chapter books, according to the NY Times, for a total of 20 children’s books.

Best Selling Children Picture Books

1. Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth. (Ages 4-8) 32 weeks on the best seller list!

2. Gallop!: A Scanimation Picture Book by Rufus Butler Seder. (Ages 4-8) 95 weeks on the best seller list!

3. Marley Goes to School by John Grogan. (Ages 3-8) 6 weeks on the best seller list!

4. Goldilicious by Victoria Kann. (Ages 5-8) 15 weeks on the best seller list!

5. Oceanology: The True Account of the Voyage of the Nautilus by Ferdinand Zoticus deLessups. (Ages 9-12) 1 week on the best seller list!

6. Swing! by Rufus Butler Seder (Ages 4-8) 47 weeks on the best seller list!
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Christmas 2009 Most Popular Best Christmas Gifts Ideas For Kids

Christmas Gift Ideas The Christmas 2009 top 10 Christmas gifts for kids projection by Hamleys has been released. If Christmas this year is anything like the Christmas list of hot toys and gifts for children in 2008, the best Christmas gifts, toys and games for 2009 will be a sure hit with kids. This is Hamleys list of the “hot toys” for Christmas this year:

1.   Battle Strikers Tournament Set by Mega Brands
2.   Transformers Bumblebee Helmet by Hasbro
3.   Transformers Movie Leaders by Hasbro
4.   V Motion by VTech
5.   Kidizoom Camera by VTech
6.   Barbie and the Three Musketeers Doll by Mattel
7.   Barbie & the Three Musketeers Kitten Miette by Mattel
8.   Rubik’s 360 by Drumond Park
9.   Bop It by Hasbro
10. Lego Minotaurus Board Game by Lego

The Top Christmas gift that nearly everyone wants for Christmas is the Nintendo Wii, a physically interactive gaming system where kids and families have a blast with the Wii Sports Resort, play tennis, bowling, get physically fit with the bestselling Wii Fit and the very popular Wii Fit with Balance Board, just to name a few.

Amazon usually has the best prices for Christmas gifts or gifts for anytime of year, often with FREE shipping. For the best low prices on Christmas gifts and shipping deals before items are sold out, and to keep up with the best Christmas gift ideas for 2009, bookmark (save to your favorites) these Amazon pages:

Top Christmas Gift Ideas for Boys, Girls, Teens and Tweens
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Recession Christmas – 12 Frugal Christmas Present Gift Ideas

Frugal ChristmasReady or not, the Christmas season is upon us. Stores are stocking up on anything and everything related to Christmas gift-giving, while many families are trying to find ways to survive Christmas during a recession. Christmas may not seem so “Merry” for those affected by job layoffs, home foreclosures and in some cases, outright poverty. Many families are in need of life’s basic necessities, due in part to the economic downturn, and will be in need of Christmas donations from those more fortunate.

According to a survey by Ing Direct, only about half of American adults (54%) plan to spend $300.00 or more on holiday Christmas gifts this year, a 10% decrease from what Americans spent last year during the 2008 Christmas holiday season. The survey results show that only 11% plan to spend between $1 and $100 in 2009 on Xmas gifts, and 23% plan to spend $100-$299, compared to 21 percent last year.

11% of those surveyed don’t plan to spend any money at all on Christmas toys or gifts in 2009, compared to 7 percent in 2008, a 57 percent increase. 14% of parents are giving children smaller Christmas stockings this year, while others are choosing to not fill Xmas stockings at all, and some will just hang the stockings as a Christmas decoration. Older Americans (55 years old and up) show the most dramatic change, with 61% planning to spend $300 or more dollars on gifts this year, compared to 71% from last year.

41% of Americans say saving more and spending less is a top priority for the remainder of the year and beyond. According to Forbes.com, 67% of Americans say they will continue their frugal ways by saving more money and spending less even after the economy recovers. The recession creates a great opportunity to rethink priorities in life, with less focus on luxuries and frivolous spending, and greater importance being placed on real “needs” vs. “wants”.

If you are being frugal by choice or by sheer necessity, Christmas presents a financial challenge for those who are needing a less expensive, affordable Christmas holiday. Here are twelve inexpensive, frugal Christmas gift ideas that won’t break the bank.
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Caution: Children Should Come With Warning Labels

Caution Children Should Come With Warning LabelsChildren should come with warning labels, am I right mom and dad readers? As a parent, do you have times where you could use a good laugh about raising children? Have you ever wished that your children came with warning labels when they were born?

Do you remember those crazy and frustrating times that didn’t seem very funny at the time, but later on you discovered you could laugh about them?

Although children don’t come with an instruction manual for parents, kids should definitely come with warning labels, such as:

  • Caution: Children Have No Warranty or Guarantee
  • Caution: Motherhood Causes Identity Theft
  • Caution: Teaching Children to Talk Will Backfire
  • Caution: Children Cause Hearing Loss
  • Caution: You are Not Smarter than a Fifth Grader
  • Caution: Peace and Quiet Come with a Price
  • Caution: Children are Not Cheaper by the Dozen
  • Caution: GPS Locator Recommended

Patti McKenna’s new book, appropriately titled Caution: Children Should Come With Warning Labels, is a true and humorous personal story of raising children from birth through young adulthood.
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Blurt! The Uproarious Word Race Game Review and Giveaway

Blurt! The Uproarious Word Race GameDo you and your family enjoy playing fun board games? If so, the new Blurt! game is a must-have for family game night and parties with friends. Blurt! The Uproarious Word Race Game is back with a brand new 2009 edition, after having been sold by the original publisher and taken off of the market for several years.

The first and original Blurt! game was the brain-child of Tim Walsh in 1990, as he was trying to help keep 3rd grade students quiet in their classroom, and failing miserably. Tim was dating a teacher at the time (who he later married) and says, “My job was to quietly entertain a few kids in the corner of her classroom while she worked with the rest of her students on year-end projects.”

Browsing through some books with the students, Tim opened a dictionary and began to read aloud to himself, “The nut of an oak tree.” The 8-year-old students didn’t stay quiet for long. One child mumbled, “Oaknut”, but Tim smiled and said “No, it’s an acorn”. Continuing on with more word clues and seeing the children get more excited as they guessed at the answer, a light bulb went off in Tim’s mind and he knew he had discovered a great new game.

Blurt! was originally released as “Blurt! The Webster’s Game of Word Racing” in 1994 by a small puzzle company in Wisconsin, going on to win numerous awards and entertain families, selling its 1,000,000th copy in 2000.

“Blurt! was invented for kids, obviously, it came out of a classroom”, says Walsh. “Families and kids love it because it’s fast and fun, but go on YouTube and you’ll find more than a few school and college-age kids playing it and having a blast too. It’s not intimidating like trivia and it’s hilarious what people Blurt on in the heat of play.”

The newly updated Blurt! game is better than ever, with new words and clues that make game night fun for all, which now includes a Junior version of the Blurt game for children ages 7-9. Here’s a test of your “blurting” abilities: Think fast. What word means “a partially dried grape”? Hurry! If you are the first player to blurt out “raisin”, you’re well on your way to winning this uproariously funny board game of rapid word recall called Blurt!
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Violence Unsilenced – True Life Personal Survivor Stories of Abuse, Domestic Violence, Rape

Personal Stories of AbuseIf you or someone you know is being abused or has been a victim of abuse, domestic violence, rape or molestation, it’s vital that you do something right now. Tell someone.

The culture of silence, fear and shame for survivors of abuse must end. Children who have been sexually abused don’t tell because they’re afraid, and that fear of telling is what the abuser is counting on to keep you silent for the rest of your life. If you don’t speak up and tell someone you are being abused now, or were physically or sexually assaulted at some point in the past, your abuser maintains control over you and your life.

You may have been threatened with further violence if you dare tell anyone that you were sexually assaulted, raped or beaten. You may feel you are all alone with the secret you have been keeping, or that no one would understand or believe you.

You are not alone. Abuse survivors and advocates do understand, will believe you and can provide needed encouragement and support to help you find your voice and end the cycle of abuse. How do I know? Because I’ve been there myself. I was afraid to tell anyone I was sexually abused as a child, fearing no one would believe me or do anything about it, but I found my voice and told my story anyway.

Years later I got married and became a victim of domestic violence by the man who vowed to love and cherish me “till death do us part”, but I found the courage and strength to leave and got a divorce. I took my power back, and because of that I don’t see myself as a victim. No, I am a survivor.
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