Kids & Media
Our children live in mediated
world, and most American children spend more time with electronic screens
than they do in conversation with their parents. How do we ensure that
our kids feel more connected to us than to their screens?
Check out these resource organizations, advocacy groups, and speakers to help parents, childcare providers and others make
better decisions about guiding children's use of media.
Organizations
with books, videos or other resources
Center for Media Literacy CML’s Reading Room has excellent articles on family media issues. Also, utilizing its MediaLit Kit framework, the Center for Media Literacy "provides curricula, professional development, implementation and research to prepare educators, parents and children with the media literacy skills necessary to be enlightened, engaged citizens of a global media culture."
Common
Sense Media . One of the most comprehensive websites for everyone who cares about children's media issues. Their mission is "to give parents, educators, and kids a choice and a voice about the media they consume." Sign up for their excellent email newsletter.
National
Institute on Media and the Family Excellent parent- and family-oriented books, tapes, fact sheets, curriculum
kits and the MediaWise Certification Program for parents and schools.
This group does ground-breaking research on children's and teen's use of video games, Internet addiction, and more.
The
Coalition for Quality Children's Media CQCM, a national
not-for-profit organization, is a voluntary collaboration between
the media industry,
educators and child advocacy organizations. Their Kids
First! site
has thousands of reviews
of films, videos, DVDs, audio recordings, TV shows and CD-ROMs. Sign
up for their monthly email.
GetNetWise is a great site, a "public service brought to you by Internet industry
corporations and public interest organizations to help ensure that families
have safe, constructive, and educational or entertaining online experiences." Features
include an Online Safety Guide with tips (grouped by age) for kids
and teens, how to identify and report trouble to law enforcement
or child advocacy organizations, and links to excellent sites for
kids.
Kaiser Family Foundation This non-profit research foundation is an excellent source of data and ready-to-print Fact Sheets related to children's and teen's health and media. Their data and materials are constantly updated and highly recommended. Recent titles include The Effects of Electronic Media on Children Ages Zero to Six: A History of Research -- Issue Brief -- January 2005 and Sex on TV -- November 2005. KFF's 1999 Kids & Media @ The New Millennium report was "one of the most comprehensive national public studies ever conducted of young people's media use," and has been followed by more great stuff.
MAGIC:
Media Activities and Good
Ideas by, with and for Children. This
extraordinary international website, part of UNICEF (United Nations
Children's Fund), shows how far America has to go in understanding
and
dealing with media issues around children. Click on material for children,
parents, teachers, governments, media, the private sector; a database
of media projects by, with and for children; a discussion group,
and much more.
The
Parent Coaching Institute . For parents who want a better
relationship with their kids and know that media use heavily
influences the
quality of family communication, the PCI's "Parent Express" ezine regularly has information and tips on the importance of managing screen time for your children's optimal development.
Parent Previews Is that new movie OK for your kids to see? This site helps take the guesswork out of finding appropriate family entertainment, with clear descriptions of the amount of language, violence, drugs, alcohol, or sex in it. I've always found these reviews to be fair and objective.
Advocacy Organizations
for Children's Media Issues
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is a "national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups and concerned parents who counter the harmful effects of marketing to children through action, advocacy, education, research, and collaboration."
Center for Screen-Time Awareness (formerly TV Turn-Off Network). Provides "information so people can live healthier lives in functional families in vibrant communities by taking control of the electronic media in their lives, not allowing it to control them."
Commercial
Alert . Founded by Ralph Nader and Gary Ruskin, Commercial Alert's
mission is " to keep the commercial culture within its proper sphere,
and to prevent it from exploiting children and subverting the higher
values of family, community, environmental integrity and democracy." This
group does a great job shining the spotlight on egregious corporate
attempts to market to children and to commercialize our schools and
other public institutions. Sign
up for their email alerts.
Free Press. An outstanding advocacy group for media system reform in the U.S., Free Press asks citizens to recognize that carpetbombing our children with advertising for junk foods, inappropriate toys and the values of consumerism over citizenship is not the way to bring up the next generation.
The
Lion & Lamb Project. [Archival website. The organization is no longer active.] The mission of The Lion & Lamb Project
was to stop the marketing of violence to children. "We do this by
helping parents, industry and government officials recognize that violence
is not child's play – and by galvanizing concerned adults to take
action."
TV Turn-Off Network (see Center for Screen-Time Awareness)
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