Media Guides

Organizations like ours aren’t the only ones who can promote media literacy. There are lots of easy things that you can do in your own home. We combed through various publications such as Telemedium, The State of Media Education, and Better Viewing and came up with this collection of strategies you can use with your kids.

• Turn off the television during dinner. This will create an opportunity for family discussion during which you can take time to talk with your kids about what’s important to you and why you value certain ideals.
• Have your children read a book, then watch a movie or television adaptation and discuss how they are different. This not only gets kids thinking about media, but can also provide some insight as to the implications of different media. Why is it that a car chase taking up only one page of a book is extended and played up in a screen adaptation? Why is a character not present in a book created for its screen version or viceversa?
• Keep a viewing diary. Evaluate your family’s television viewing time and see where you can balance and/or cut back on viewing. Aim to keep a balanced diet. What’s the ratio of entertainment programs to educational programs? Are you being selective about what you and your kids watch and how often you watch it?
• Use kids’ interest in televised sports to teach lessons about science and math. How does a pitcher make a ball curve? Why do quarterbacks spin the football when they throw it?
• Avoid putting a television and computer in your child’s room. A child with his or her own television gets the message that it’s okay to view excessively and indiscriminately.
• Encourage your children to think about their favorite shows. Why do they like them? Do they relate to the characters? Does the program represent real-life situations? Ask them to come up with alternate solutions to the conflicts presented in the program.
• Point out how media are constructed. Do your kids pay attention to commercials? Do they often remember them more than the programs? What kids usually don’t realize is that media exist to attract audiences for advertisers and programming is designed to attract specific markets. The easiest way for children to begin understanding this is to have them pay attention to the types of commercials played during different programs. Why aren’t there toy commercials during the evening news? Why are there so many ads for beer during sporting events?
• Recognize media stereotypes. Are they true? Are they false? Why? Have your kids compare the people you see in the media with in real-life people. Can they think of exceptions to the characterizations or portrayals they see?
• When watching television, make it a primary activity. When you watch television, really watch it. Avoid making television the backdrop for other activities.
• Don’t channel surf. This leads to unnecessary viewing. If you’re having trouble finding something to watch, instead of watching, engage in alternative activities with your kids.
• Keep up your familiarity with the programs, music, and video games your kids are consuming. Chances are you won’t find them as entertaining as your children do, but you’ll have a much better understanding of how your children think, what they’re into and the values they might be developing.
• Remember that you, not the television, are the master. The standard retort broadcasters use for programming with questionable content is “If you don’t like what’s on, then just don’t watch it.” It’s not a bad idea.

You can begin these exercises as soon as your child becomes a media consumer (as early as 2 or 3). The strategies we’ve suggested are great for guidance, but it’s important to recognize your children’s independence in making media decisions as they grow older. Remember, it’s not about your controlling their choices, it’s about teaching them to make more informed choices. Finally, try to respect your kid’s culture. Just because you don’t like your child’s media choices doesn’t mean they’re bad ones.

Most parents spend 1,000 minutes/week watching tv and only 38 minutes/week talking to their kids.

-The State of Media Education. A Publication of the New Mexico Media Literacy Project.

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