Melissa Atkins Wardy addresses a pressing issue that I, as a mother of a 2 year old daughter, am ever more aware of. How, as parents and more importantly as a society can we help girls have true childhoods and let them decide what "girly" really is? Babies dolls, Disney princesses, and pink can't be all there is.

Wardy also spends a lot of time addressing the marketization of gender. Why not make more money off of the consumer if we are willing to buy twice the amount of goods so we have the proper gendered item for our children? Lord forbid we use a pink sippy cup for our sons, or a blue one with a truck on it for our daughters. Wardy's section on how to address this in an appropriate manner with your local vendors and on social media was a nice section.

Wardy does get preachy; she herself admits her "hot button" issue is sexualized dolls (i.e. Barbies, Bratz, Monster High), but her willingness to address this openly is laudable. Also helpful is the section that provides ways to address the differences we all have in raising our children and how to be diplomatic in providing your own views. No one likes a know it all or parents who are so rigid they forbid their children to even attend parties or visit a friend because they don't "approve" of the toys/media/consumerism in the household. As long as your child is safe and taken care of, simply have a conversation about why these same items or ideas aren't allowed in your own home.

The best advice she provides is to teach your children to constantly question why things are the way they are. Let's all have a conversation, no judgment needed.