LosTween.com launches.

To aid parents of diverse backgrounds navigate the fun, yet challenging responsibility of raising multicultural children ages 7-12, Latino marketing and PR expert Cristy Clavijo-Kish has joined forces with business partners to launch a new resource blog and media company, Los Tweens & Teens http://www.LosTweens.com.

Together with Katherine Doble-Cannata, a non-profit and immigration communications pro and Adrian Acosta a technology manager, Los Tweens was created to fill a void online– culturally relevant parenting advice focused on the developmentally important “Tween” years. The owner/publishing team at Los Tweens is creating an environment encouraging parents to hone their parenting skills by sharing the joys, tips, questions and headaches of raising children during these key years, while fostering opportunities for parents and tweens to interact online in a safe environment. 6

“My daughter inspired me with an essay test answer that specifically called out the importance of understanding other cultures,” recalls Clavijo-Kish. “As a Latina mom I always strive to retain our cultural roots while raising confident, proud, patriotic kids in the US. I became aware that if I didn’t focus on culture now as part of their development, I will have missed my opportunity as the teen years would be a late start,” she adds.

In addition to featuring content from parents, upcoming plans for the bilingual family community blog include:

o Expert content – Contributions from pediatricians, mental health experts, counselors, teachers, chefs, fitness coaches and other experts, like this post by Dr. Lydia Kalsner-Silver, a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment of children and families, discussing the warning signs of bullying in the tween years.
o Tweenversations – Hosted online chats with parents and kids that directly relate to their current issues and situations.
o Officially launching MyLosTweens.com where kids will be able to share ideas, photos, book reviews and more content alongside their parents.
o Local live events, including support for initiatives that provide opportunities for pre-teens to volunteer and pay-it-forward.
o Additional content partnerships that link specialized posts like Building a Tween’s Cuisine from Latino Foodie and news/data from non-profit organizations helping parents and kids develop skills and services.

A full Editorial calendar is available with posts ranging from developmental changes to driving volunteerism and reviewing age-appropriate books, music, movies and more. Readers soon will start to see content in Spanish and other languages. Important issues as immigration and education readiness that impact preteens in Latino and recently arrived immigrant families also will be a focus and special series. While the term “los” drives a fun, Latino flavor- the site openly welcomes contributions from varying cultures and will soon feature posts from Japanese, Haitian and parents of varying cultural backgrounds and beliefs.