Ty, the company who make Beanie Babies, is selling a pair of dolls called Marvelous Malia and Sweet Sasha, modeled after Barack and Michelle Obama’s daughters.

Confusing reports suggest that Ty initially said that the dolls were inspired by the Obama sisters.

But now the company says that the names were chosen because they were beautiful, and that the dolls are not modeled after the first daughters. Really? With the same names, and the dolls launched right before the inauguration of their father, and with Obama merchandise selling like hot cakes?

Americans spent $200 million dollars on Barack Obama merchandise in November alone, and sales of memorabilia are still going strong in January. Everyone wants a souvenir of the new president, from official merchandise to bizarre and sometimes disturbing objects like Barack Obama glow-in-the-dark wine bottle stoppers and Obama soap-on-a-rope.

Barack Obama is a politician and chose to be a public figure so I guess while often tasteless, Barack Obama merchandise is a reasonable consequence of being just about the most prominent public figure in the world.

But cashing in on his daughters? Michelle Obama issued a statement last week, saying it was “inappropriate to use young, private citizens for marketing.”  I agree that they are in poor taste and it’s even worse of Ty to deny that the dolls are inspired by the sisters.

Is it right for Ty to sell Sasha and Malia dolls?

Perhaps it’s never too early to introduce your children to politics? Children’s television network Nickelodeon will be showing highlights of President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration all day on Tuesday.

While the major networks plan to show the whole event live, Nickelodeon is tailoring its coverage for their audience. Snippets of the parade, the speech, and Obama’s oath of office will be televised and Nickelodeon’s own reporters will be broadcasting from Washington DC. Short segments of Inauguration coverage will be mixed in with their regular programs.

Nickelodeon has discovered that children are surprisingly interested in the political process. Nick networks covered the election and ran their own kiddie election, with much closer margin than the real one. Nick’s viewers also voted for Obama who won their election with 51% of the vote, John McCain receiving 49%. 2.2 million children cast their votes. And they say the youth are apathetic about politics!

Another reason that Nickelodeon is paying such close attention to politics is Barack Obama’s daughters, 10 year old Malia and 7 year old Sasha, are part of their target audience, and they are already influential celebrities themselves. Maybe Nickelodeon are hoping to get the First Family’s official approval?

Whatever your political position, most people agree that it’s important for children to understand the political process and want to get involved, understand the issues, and want to vote. I think this is a great thing for Nickelodeon to be doing. If I had cable I’d let my toddler son watch. We’ll have to follow it online if Nickelodeon carries their coverage on their website.

Another way for children to get involved with politics: Legoland has inaugurated President Obama already. An incredible lego model of the Inauguration with thousands of lego people is on display in Legoland in California.

On Wednesday, Barack Obama told his young daughters (Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7) that he wanted to be president so they could “grow up in a world with no limits on [their] dreams and no achievements beyond [their] reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world.” He wrote them an “open letter” to express his desires for the next four years and beyond.

As many parents have discovered, kids change everything in life. Obama said that his goals used to be all about how he could succeed. But once the girls entered the picture, his goals changed. “I realized that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours.”

The president-elect published this letter in Parade Magazine so that not only his girls would read it, but the whole world could see his intentions for his term as president. He addressed the letter to them, but also acknowledges that running for president was for ALL American kids.

Topping the political/personal wish list for every child are educational aspirations and job opportunities, as well as developments in science and technology, and an end to prejudice. He also expressed gratitude towards his grandmother for showing him that our country’s greatest strength may be that despite its imperfections, it can always be made better.

I have never written so eloquently to my children, and I would never let anyone outside my family see the letters, but I do write to them. One letter that stands out as particularly memorable was the one I wrote to my son the day before he entered Kindergarten. I was sobbing as a I wrote, noting that it was the last day when his father and I had sole influence over his life, and praying the best for his first step into the world on his own. Of course, I have written far less dramatic things, as well, to both of them. I tell my daughter what she is able to do, and how I am feeling, and if we’ve had a bad day. I suppose it’s like a journal. But even now, when I read what I wrote just a few months ago, I realize I’ve already forgotten things. So it’s for me and for them.

My son has never read any of these letters, and my daughter is only 9 months old. But someday they will both be able to read my thoughts and know my heart. They’ll know how old they were when they rolled over, and they’ll know I cried the first time they smiled at me. I have recently felt “too busy” to write to them, but the president-elect has re-motivated me. I am going to write to them both this week. And I encourage you to do the same thing.