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Parents can play significant role
By Elizabeth Noske |
March 27, 2013, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IN a recent CNN feature, Chelsea Clinton and James Steyer reported that by the age of two, more than 90 percent of all American children have had experience online; at five years, more than 50 percent regularly interact with a computer or tablet device; and by age seven, many children regularly play video games. On average, children between two and five years old spend 32 hours a week in front of multi-media screens. By middle school, kids today are spending more time with media than they are with their parents or teachers.
On a positive note, exposure to mass media can be entertaining and educational, opening up a new world, with exposure to culture, current events and ideas, which can complement the knowledge, values and lessons learned through personal interactions. Pro social messages can have a positive effect on children's behavior, as can the example of positive role models in the media. But researchers consistently warn parents about the importance of not allowing the mass media to usurp their role as the main socializing force in their children's lives. Parents should be the main purveyors of knowledge, attitudes, morality, ethics and values.
Given mass media is here to stay, how do we protect our children?
There is some consistency in the abundance of advice given to parents to protect their children. The American Academy of Pediatrics stipulates no television or screen time for children under two years of age - even programs specially designed for that age group. School age children should only be exposed to one-to-two hours of quality programming per day, to allow sufficient time for the important activities of childhood: active play, hobbies, reading, homework, participating in family meal times, sports, music and art.
When children are older and mature enough to engage in social media, parents can establish specific rules about when and what social media is used at home. Social network sites can be addictive, so parents should set time limitations and encourage face-to-face interaction through clubs, sporting events and interest groups.
A parent's role is to ensure they are the main socializing influence in their children's lives; supplemented, but not replaced by social and mass media. Be a guide to balance their use of social media and technology, and you will be a hero in the success of their education.
On a positive note, exposure to mass media can be entertaining and educational, opening up a new world, with exposure to culture, current events and ideas, which can complement the knowledge, values and lessons learned through personal interactions. Pro social messages can have a positive effect on children's behavior, as can the example of positive role models in the media. But researchers consistently warn parents about the importance of not allowing the mass media to usurp their role as the main socializing force in their children's lives. Parents should be the main purveyors of knowledge, attitudes, morality, ethics and values.
Given mass media is here to stay, how do we protect our children?
There is some consistency in the abundance of advice given to parents to protect their children. The American Academy of Pediatrics stipulates no television or screen time for children under two years of age - even programs specially designed for that age group. School age children should only be exposed to one-to-two hours of quality programming per day, to allow sufficient time for the important activities of childhood: active play, hobbies, reading, homework, participating in family meal times, sports, music and art.
When children are older and mature enough to engage in social media, parents can establish specific rules about when and what social media is used at home. Social network sites can be addictive, so parents should set time limitations and encourage face-to-face interaction through clubs, sporting events and interest groups.
A parent's role is to ensure they are the main socializing influence in their children's lives; supplemented, but not replaced by social and mass media. Be a guide to balance their use of social media and technology, and you will be a hero in the success of their education.
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