Taking Back Formspring

After doing some research and writing on one of the most popular social networking sites for tween girls, Formspring, it occured to us: could we mount a campaign to "take back Formspring" from the girl-on-girl aggression it enables?

Instead of girls being anonymously and mercilessly bullied on it, couldn't we just as easily mount an anonymous self-esteem building campaign on Formspring? What if people (perhaps initially parents but then tween girls) posted questions that built-up users instead of tearing them down? What if our daughter's got questions like "What volunteer work are you most proud of?" and "What random act of kindness did you do last week?" instead of "I heard you cheated on the last algebra test and always do - what's your secret?"?

Wouldn't it be great if the Formspring tag line of  "Ask me, Like me, Love me, Know me" was put into action in a positive way? Wouldn't your daughter embrace such a platform?

Isn't it possible that kindness can spread just as quickly as cruelty? We think it can - will you join us? Open an account and start posting positive questions to the girls you know. It's time to stop the madness and take back a social network.

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here. Please also follow our updates or Re-Tweet our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MsTwixt and join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MsTwixt

Best Tween Movie Heroines of 2010

We loved this article by former Ms. staffer Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post about the best tween and teen movie heroines of 2010. She writes about the breakout acting performances of several actresses and their roles as positive tween girl influences. We agree with many of her picks including Emma Watson as Hermione in "Harry Potter 7: The Deathly Hallows",  Chloe Grace Moretz in "Kick Ass", and Mia Wasikowska in "Alice in Wonderland".

One might also add to this list: Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth in "The Percy Jackson movie" for playing a tough as nails demi-goddess who can hold her own against some might Greeks, and America Ferrera as the voice of Astrid in "How to Train Your Dragon" for a strong female lead who doesn't back down from her own strengths.

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here. Please also follow our updates or Re-Tweet our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MsTwixt and join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MsTwixt

Online Threat or Fun? Formspring and Tweens

Your tween may or may not be aware of a social networking site called Formspring. It's a website that enables users to ask each other questions, but it allows for users to be anonymous. Answers are posted in each user's profile as a timeline, a lot like a Twitter feed. Formspring just celebrated it's first birthday, and it has about 20 million users. (Full disclosure: MsTwixt has a Formspring account and has for about a year now.)

Whether or not your tween participates, with 20 million users, chances are awfully high that she knows someone who does. Formspring is not the only site of its kind, but it does seem to be most popular with tween and teen girls. Said one 15-year old Formspring user from Massachusettes: "I feel like it's definitely a site geared towards girls," admits Christy. "They're looking to have things said about them. I mean, it's why most girls do most things."

CNN Money had a nice write-up on the site and some negative experiences folks have had on it - because users can ask each other questions anonymously, Formspring is often used a tool in cyberbullying. Often times girls will ask other girls prying questions, and questions are often framed in an accusatory manner (e.g. "I hear your mean to other girls - so are you?" - and far worse).

It's too bad that a forum that really could be used to help bridge gaps and open doors is used in such a hurtful way. Our friend Rachel Simmons has done some good research on this topic, and she writes strongly about Formspring as the latest "cyberscourge". We really LOVE Rachel's video chat on Formspring in which she gives tweens options for opting out.

What's been your experience with Formspring? Has it been positive or negative? Should schools actively montior it as part of anti-bullying policies? How have you coached your tween about Formspring?

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here. Please also follow our updates or Re-Tweet our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MsTwixt and join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MsTwixt

Sweet! Candy Scented Nail Polish

Perfect for tweens: Bubble Yum, Jolly Rancher, and Laffy Taffy nail polish. Bubble Yum is bubble gum scented and an opaque pink. Jolly Rancher is apple green scented and comes in a metallic green shade, and Laffy Taffy is a strawberry-scented opaque pink.

From FredFlare.com, $5/apiece.

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here. Please also follow our updates or Re-Tweet our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MsTwixt and join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MsTwixt

Latest Stats on Tweens and Social Networks

The latest study on tweens and how they use social networks (like Facebook and MySpace) came out today, and there are some surprising figures about how tweens spend their time online:

• 28% of tweens use Facebook (be sure to check out our tips on protecting them against unwanted photo tagging)
• On average, tweens spend 1.9 hours online a day
• More than half of tweens watch videos online (you have to screen YouTube as carefully as t.v. - check out our channel on YouTube for fun, age-appropriate videos)
• 78% of tweens play online games, and this ranks as their number one activity online

On cell phones:

• 34% of tweens have a mobile phone, and 18% of these own a smartphone (this is up from 26% three years ago)

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here. Please also follow our updates or Re-Tweet our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MsTwixt and join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MsTwixt

Tween New Year's Eve Countdown: PEEPS Fest!!

OMG! The 2nd Annual PEEPS Fest is happening on New Year's Eve in Bethlehem, PA! (Makes sense, given that the company that makes PEEPS is headquartered there.) We may need to make a New Year's Eve roadtrip with the tweens.

PEEPS Fest begins December 29, goes through New Year's Eve, and culminates in a PEEPS Chick Drop at midnight. The 3-day extravaganza includes a Peeps diorama contest, Peeps crafts, Peeps s'mores making, a local dessert contest, and a 5-K run (to burn off all that sugar!). Sounds like heaven for us marshmallow fans!

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here. Please also follow our updates or Re-Tweet our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MsTwixt and join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MsTwixt

Tween New Year's Eve Countdown: Making Fuzzy Flower Rings

As our tweens plan their New Year's Eve sleepover party, we are stocking up on crafts for the girls to do while waiting for midnight. Crafting fuzzy flower rings out of pipe cleaners fits the bill perfectly: these are inexpensive, independent, and fun!

'Turns out there's a Pipe Cleaner Lady who was on the Martha Stewart show showing folks how to make them. We put a copy of her how-to video on our YouTube channel - click here to see it.

Our tweens are heading to the craft store to pick out all manner of sparkly pipe cleaners for this project. Let us know if you try it and send us photos - we'll post them (removing, of course, all tweens' personally identifiable information)!

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here. Please also follow our updates or Re-Tweet our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MsTwixt and join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MsTwixt

Adorable Hello Kitty Hat and Gloves

We just saw this super cute set of Hello Kitty hat and gloves for tweens on FredFlare.com. $36 for the set. How cute is that?

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here. Please also follow our updates or Re-Tweet our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MsTwixt and join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MsTwixt

Designing a Bright, Beautiful Bedroom for a Tween

We just stumbled across an article about interior designer Eileen Kathryn Boyd's own home and were struck by how she had done her tween daughter, Emma's, room - it was bright and colorful and featured Marimekko designs. We thought her approach is a great model for ever-changing tween whims: a bright white interior marked with accent colors with pillows, lamps, and one accent wall.

One idea we particularly loved was using bright grosgrain ribbon along the wall as trim in a tween's room. Take a look here.

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here. Please also follow our updates or Re-Tweet our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MsTwixt and join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MsTwixt

Happy National Candy Cane Day! A Candy Cane Manicure

Today is National Candy Cane Day! Our tweens are are inside during today's snow storm in Washington and celebrating by doing candy cane manicures. We found this cool post by a French blogger with instructions (if you liked this, check out our candy corn manicure post from Halloween).

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here. Please also follow our updates or Re-Tweet our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MsTwixt and join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MsTwixt