Here are five questions to ask when assessing on-line resources for parents and teachers of young children:
Does the site:
- assume that recreation and family time equals screen-time? Or, does it question that assumption and provide suggestions for other forms of family time?
- look like an advertisement for movies and video games?
- put the recommendations of pediatricians and psychologists front and center and help us work with them?
- give tools that can be adapted to your parent/teacher population or, does it have a one-size-fits-all approach?
- Represent an independent organization or clearly show a connection to the entertainment industry?
3 Recommendations:
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood www.commercialfreechildhood.org
CCFC is the premier national advocacy organization around the commercialization of childhood. The opening page lets you know what the latest action is and makes it easy to join that effort. Headed by Dr. Susan Linn its chief contributors include some of the most prominent experts in the field: Diane Levin, NancyCarlsson-Paige, Jean Kilbourne and many more. Lots of articles by contributors and other resources
National Institute for Media and the Family: www.mediawise.org
Headed by Dr. David Walsh, great user-friendly resources for download that address a broad range of questions. Great for finding something for that “Media corner” of the bulletin board.
Center for Media and Child Health www.cmch.tv
Headed by Dr. Michael Rich, a pediatrician who also worked in media, the site is accessible and addresses questions realistically in a thoughtful way. It is also a treasure-trove for those doing research. Check out the new innovation: “Ask the Mediatrician”
All three are dense with information and have unique angles on the questions. Check out their links to many other important organizations. Enjoy exploring!
Be well. Let’s take a break and take a walk.
The Center on Media and Child Health thanks you for the shout-out! All three of these organizations are similar in that we aim to have kids use media in health ways. But as you mentioned, we all take different approaches. CCFC is very active in influencing policy and practices surrounding advertising; NIMF partners with parents, teachers and caregivers to offer media literacy training; and CMCH examines and presents the scientific evidence about how media can affect kids’ health.
If you have questions about media and kids, visit Ask the Mediatrician at http://www.askaboutmedia.org and our Director, Dr. Michael Rich, will give you an answer!
Thanks for all the great work, Healthy Media Choices!