links for thought, February 2012 (1 of 2)

from Balancing Jane, “Just Toys?”

I write a lot about toys as constructed texts that children often consume and use that to justify us being critical about what toys we share with our children and what messages we send. Sometimes people tell me I’m over thinking things. After all, they say, they’re “just toys.” This info graphic from Frugal Dad shines some light on what an impact “just toys” can have.

from KJ Dell’Antonia at Motherlode, “The Census Bureau Counts Fathers as ‘Child Care’” and, from Jonathan Liu at GeekDad, “Who’s Minding the Kids? Not Dads“–If you didn’t hear/read about this amazing bit of wonkiness, definitely check these out!

from Avital Norman at The Mamafesto, “Guess Who (Isn’t Really Getting a Fair Deal)”

Then there’s Guess Who. I loved that game as a kid, and was super excited to play with EZ. But I have to say, once we set it up and got started I was shocked. Out of 25 characters to choose from, only 5 are women. That couldn’t be right, I thought, and rushed to see what the original game had…