[Surviving Seven Children . . . Finding Peace Amidst Chaos] Teach Media Liter...

[Erika]

I saw a clip on UEN (Utah's Education Network) that spoke of "training" your children to have better media-viewing skills. It focused on teaching them how to realize how advertisers work, and teaching them to be more educated in the way they perceive & evaluate commercials. I thought it sounded like a great idea, and an excellent follow-up to my article on T.V. watching for kids.

So I did some Google searching and came up with some excellent sites on teaching children media literacy, as well as pulled together sites I have used that give parents options for controlling & editing what children are exposed to on television & the movies. I hope these are useful resources that will help you in your quest to find good & uplifting uses of the media! All of the titles below are links to the website described. ENJOY!

PBS Site: Children & Media
Discover how TV, movies, advertising, computers and video games can shape your child's development and what you can do to create a media-literate household. Get age-by-age tips on what you can do to make your child more media savvy. This is a GREAT site that I just found today! I love the age-by-age tips. Check it out today!

Coalition for Quality Children's Media
The Coalition for Quality Children's Media is a national, nonprofit organization founded in 1991 whose mission is to teach children critical viewing skills and to increase the visibility and availability of quality children's media. The Coalition is a voluntary collaboration comprising more than 10,000 media professionals, lobbyists, policymakers, child advocates, educators, parents and families nationwide. Their goals are: A. To teach children to become critical media users; B. To help adults recognize the importance of teaching critical viewing skills to children; C. To help children identify and be aware of outstanding media programming; D. To develop programs for children with special needs such as low-income, hospitalized or at-risk children.

Screen-It.com
Posts movie, music & DVD reviews that evaluate content, themes, language, etc. Gives grades on all of these media sources as well as their opinion on whether it is appropriate for children or not. I have used this many times over the years to help me decide whether or not to take my children to a certain movie or rent a DVD. You can sign up to view the no-ads site, or you can just skip that page and view for free. Signing up supports their cause, and could be a good option if you like to donate to worthy causes. I have loved & trusted this site for many years.

TV Guardian
TVGuardian® is a patented, award winning technology that automatically mutes out offensive language... while you're watching your favorite TV shows or DVDs. "TVGuardian technology actually detects and filters profanity and other offensive phrases chosen by the parent--including "hate words" and racial slurs--while you watch movies or TV shows." --FCC Commissioner Deborah Tate, Report on Violent TV. We purchased one of these about 10 years ago and have used it with great success. I highly recommend it. You can also purchase new DVD systems with this technology already installed. The next time you purchase a DVD player, ask about it.

Family Safe Media
Family Safe Media is dedicated to providing the latest products and services that can help parents bring safe media into their homes. This is a great website that offers many different tools for controlling media usage in your home. This includes time management tools, TV timers, wee-mote, TV Guardian, edited movies & DVD's for sale, etc. It's a wonderful resource.

National Institute on Media & the Family
Since 1996, the National Institute on Media and the Family has worked tirelessly to help parents and communities “watch what our kids watch.” The National Institute on Media and the Family is the world's leading and most respected research-based organization on the positive and harmful effects of media on children and youth. The National Institute on Media and the Family is an independent, nonpartisan, nonsectarian, and nonprofit organization that is based on research, education, and advocacy. Its MediaWise® movement is being adopted in communities throughout the country to help families make wiser media choices and encourage parents to “Watch What their Kids Watch.” This website looks like a good place to see what is going on in this country to encourage those who produce media to focus on those things that are more positive & useful for society instead of damaging & degrading.










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Posted By Erika to Surviving Seven Children . . . Finding Peace Amidst Chaos at 2/20/2008 02:40:00 PM