A Mighty Girl's top picks of books for kids about voting and the political process.

With an election upcoming this November, there's no better time to teach kids about how elections work and the importance of voting! Kids are often fascinated by the steps of a democratic election — from naming candidates to running a campaign to casting a vote — and it's even more exciting for them to know that they could be part of the process someday, helping to write laws and change their city, state, or country for the better. Continue reading → Continue reading

"I Love My Body Because" is a new picture book by Shelly Anand and Nomi Ellenson that shows what makes every body special.

When Shelly Anand and Nomi Ellenson were girls, both remember feeling insecure and self-conscious about their bodies. Their experience is not unique according to a study by the Girl Scouts which found 80% of 10-year-old girls are already afraid of getting fat and other studies which found that 79% of girls have opted out of activities due to a lack of body confidence. As adults, Shelly and Nomi say that they have been on a journey to learn to love themselves just as they are, and they wanted to help girls learn to do the same. That desire was the spark that led to creation of their new book, I Love My Body Because — a book they wish they'd had as kids, "one that opened up a world where we recognize all the amazing things our bodies can do." Continue reading → Continue reading

Five Recommended Non-Profit Organizations Helping Ukrainian Refugees

Europe is in the midst of its biggest refugee crisis since World War II with over 1.5 million Ukrainians fleeing their country in the ten days since the Russian invasion. People around the world have looked on in horror as mothers and children have flooded out of the country with only what they can carry in their arms. In the face of the shocking stories and images being broadcast worldwide, many people are eager to help the innocent people whose lives have been devastated by the invasion and destruction of their country. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top books for children and teens about the refugee experience.

With heart-wrenching photos and videos of mothers and children fleeing Ukraine filling television and computer screens, many children will be understandably curious and concerned about what is happening and what it means to be a refugee. As millions of people have been forced to leave Ukraine following the Russian invasion — sparking the fastest and largest displacement of people in Europe since World War II — it's more important than ever to talk to kids about refugees and the importance of the world opening its arms to help those in need. Continue reading → Continue reading

56% of girls say they have been sexually harassed at school, but little is being done to help them and 79% of schools claim there were zero incidents of sexual harassment during the entire school year.

For many women, their first experience with sexual harassment doesn't happen in college or at a job: it happens when they are schoolgirls. Among girls in grades 7 to 12, one national study found that 56% of experienced sexual harassment at school, and the impact of this harassment on girls' well-being was often substantial with 22% reporting trouble sleeping and 37% not wanting to go to school as a result. Adults are sometimes hesitant to talk about this topic in middle school, but there's increasing evidence that these discussions about boundaries, respect, and consent can pay off in unexpected ways. "Sexual and gender-based harassment can be difficult subjects to broach, but abuse thrives on silence," writes Dr. Jasmine D. Williams, a research scientist at the Committee for Children. "By taking harassment seriously, educators and families help empower students to address [these] issues." Continue reading → Continue reading

Sex-abuse prevention educators say teaching kids accurate terms for their private parts is an important part of protecting them from abuse.

Most kids probably know words like knee, stomach, and eye, or even more specialized terms like muscle, intestines, or brain. So why it is often surprising to hear a young child use a term such as vulva rather than a cutesy euphemism? Many experts — including sex abuse prevention educators — argue that there are plenty of good reasons to teach young children accurate terminology for their genitals rather than colloquialisms.

As Laura Palumbo, a prevention specialist with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, points out, “teaching children anatomically correct terms, age-appropriately, promotes positive body image, self confidence, and parent-child communication; discourages perpetrators; and, in the event of abuse, helps children and adults navigate the disclosure and forensic interview process." However, people who use these terms often get pushback: everything from parents filing complaints against teachers to politicians getting banned from their state house floor. In The Atlantic, writer Catherine Buni talked to front-line educators as well as psychology researchers to hear why anatomical terminology is important for kids to learn from a young age. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of deals on girl-empowering toys and book box sets!

In our final gift round-up of the holiday season, we're helping out the last-minute shoppers: all of the girl-empowering toys and book box sets featured in this blog post are currently on sale and still available in time for Christmas. From science sets and craft kits to book series starring Mighty Girl characters, we've included a range of options to appeal to Mighty Girls' diverse interests. And, best of all, with free two-day shipping for Prime members, you still have time to have it under the tree on Christmas morning! Continue reading → Continue reading

Twenty books that explore poverty and hardship in local communities -- and cultivate kids' desire to lend a helping hand to those in need.

For many kids, poverty and hunger are things from long ago or far away, but the truth is that financial hardship exists in our own communities as well: behind closed doors, many families struggle to provide the necessities. Divisions due to class differences can appear any time — after all, when a new “must-have” toy or clothing brand becomes popular, there are always classmates at school who can’t have it. And yet, talking to kids about poverty and class is difficult for many adults because the issues behind these problems seem too complicated or uncomfortable to explain. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's 2021 Halloween Gallery is now live! A small sample of the many hundreds of photos submitted can be viewed in our Halloween Highlights blog post.

Thank you to everyone who submitted photos of their Mighty Girls in costume to our 2021 Halloween Gallery! We were awed by the creativity and variety of the Mighty Girl costumes submitted to the gallery. As we've always said, Mighty Girls know that their costume possibilities are limited only by their imaginations and with costumes ranging from ones based on favorite superheroes to ones inspired by historic role models, these Mighty Girls clearly know no bounds! Continue reading → Continue reading

Three actions you can take today to help the women leaders of Afghanistan threatened by the Taliban.

A bipartisan group of 46 senators is calling on the Biden Administration to take swift and robust action to protect Afghan women leaders who are at "unparalleled danger following the Taliban’s violent sweep across Afghanistan and seizure of Kabul." In a sign-on letter organized by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez of New Jersey and member Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the senators wrote: "We and our staff are receiving regular reports regarding the targeting, threatening, kidnapping, torturing, and assassinations of women for their work defending and promoting democracy, equality, higher education, and human rights." They added that many of these high-profile Afghan women are now being "hunted by Taliban fighters who are going house-to-house with their names." The letter further observes that "in areas captured by the Taliban, there are reports of war crimes including summary executions, public beatings and flogging of women, sexual violence and forced marriage, as well as clampdowns on media and other forms of communication." Continue reading → Continue reading