Selected Writings By Gloria DeGaetano

 

All the News That's Fit for Kids Helping children become "news-smart". News and news-related programs make up a bigger part of the TV landscape than ever before. For parents, this is literally a good news-bad news situation. On one hand, cable television offers an enormous diversity of current-events programs to helps us all be informed, responsible citizens. On the other hand, it is more important than ever to know what kind of news programming is appropriate for your children.

Make Cookies, Not War: TV-related toys and the "I want that" syndrome. Parents can help kids spot merchandising "tricks," steer children to toys based on educational or pro-social TV shows, and direct creative play away from Madison Avenue imitation. Here are a few simple strategies to help guide little ones from mindless consumerism to mindful ways to think for themselves.

Media Violence: Confronting the Issues and Taking Action. If we know that there is an indelible link between media violence and becoming more violent, then we, as responsible adults, must confront this sad issue and take action. Action in whatever way seems most appropriate. But ACTION, nevertheless.

Reading TV: Simple techniques parents can use to make TV time with kids almost as beneficial as story time. The benefits of reading to children are well established, but did you know that with a little guidance, children can get similar benefits from watching television? That may seem like a lot to ask from TV viewing, but when children are stimulated to think, as opposed to watching passively, their minds are very busy.

Visual Media and Young Children's Attention Spans. In countless homes and classrooms we see children: with more impulsive behaviors, less willing and able to persevere through challenging mental tasks, hyperactive, reactive, with little or no impulse control. Research confirms that children who watch TV or play video games for more than two hours daily will most likely exhibit one or more of these characteristics.