Update on my daughter, American Girl, and abortions

[moc]

Here's my post from yesterday in case anyone is interested:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5084267&mesg_id=5084267

First, thanks to you all for your thoughtful and supportive posts. Thanks especially to OldLeftieLawyer, Maddy McCall, and Citizen Jane for your suggestions on how to talk to my daughter about this issue. (I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting, but please forgive me!)

My daughter and I had a chance to talk about the situation further last night during our nightly reading time. I had brought my laptop in, and I showed M the page on the AG website describing the "I Can" initiative. I read her the "I Can" pledge:

“I can be myself, follow my dreams, and always do my best. I can reach for the stars, lend a hand to others, and be a good friend. I can make a difference! I promise to try.”

http://store.americangirl.com/shop/ican.php

I showed her where it said that 70 cents out of every dollar went to support programs at Girls Inc. There's a pop up window that says:

Donations raised through “I CAN” are earmarked to support programs in three important areas: Intellectual Development, Leadership, and Sports, including:

Girls Inc. Operation SMART®, which helps girls build skills in science, math, and technology;
Girls Inc. Discovery Leadership®, which helps girls develop leadership skills and community awareness; and
Girls Inc. Sporting Chance®, which encourages athletic skills, cooperative and competitive spirit, and an interest in sports participation.

I then asked M if that sounded like AG was "paying for abortions". She said no and looked really confused and asked why someone would say that. I told her that some people try to make other people believe things by telling them things that are scary, things that are lies. I told her that I preferred to show her the facts, all the facts, and let her make up her mind on her own. I then took her to the Girls Inc website and showed her what that was about. I showed her the summary of the Girls Inc program on preventing teen pregnancy, and I told her that's probably what those people didn't like about Girls Inc. I then told her why I thought what they were doing in teen pregnancy prevention was a good thing.

I also told M that it was important to consider the source, that this was the same group that tried to boycott Spongebob because they thought his sidekick Patrick was gay. She thought that was pretty funny, and it helped her to see the absurdity of it all. I also told her that I was very proud of her because she had known right off the bat that there was something "not right" about what her friend was saying. I told her to never believe everything she hears, even if someone says it was "on the news"; that she should always come ask me and I would always tell her the truth.

Thanks again to all of you for your support yesterday. It made me feel better knowing I was not alone in my outrage. Since yesterday, I have found out that several other mothers of girls in M's circle of friends are outraged as well.

:grouphug:

[400Years]

1. You sound like a great mom

good job!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. great job

by your example, you are teaching your daughter critical thinking skills

[gratuitous]

3. Killer!

Education kills bigotry, you know . . .

Excellent job. Imagine! Talking about the issue with your daughter, providing her information, and letting her make up her own mind just like she was a real person.

[tk2kewl]

4. good job moc-mom!

:yourock:

[texastoast]

5. Big pat on the back for yourself, MOC!

Excellent job. Be warned however--raising your daughter this way will likely prevent her from being a sheeple and cause her to think rationally and for herself.

VERY well done.

:thumbsup:

[madrchsod]

6. nice way to handle the situation

i don`t remember ever having to do what you did when i was raising little kids..i guess that was back when people were a tad more civil.
so here`s a big thumbs up from a dad who went thru the "american dream experience" several years ago.

[sui generis]

7. Also same group that thought banning birth control

from married people should have been enshrined in the constitution.

Good job with the kiddo.

-sui

[swimboy]

8. Handled with aplomb.

Great lesson you gave your daughter.

[knitter4democracy]

9. Another strong woman in the making.

Yay! That was the perfect way to handle it, I think. I know that would work better on my five year old than pretty much anything else.

Congrats!

[Beaverhausen]

10. Great job

your daughter will surely grow to become a wonderful woman.

:woohoo:

[Sequoia]

11. I printed the article about it on Friday and

took it home to show my daughter and her friend across the road who has an American Girl doll. These groups are just wretched telling these lies.

[Citizen Jane]

12. Wow, I hope that when my daughter gets to be that age

I can handle a similar situation with such grace and intelligence.

Way to GO!!!