The media: It’s been around for ages, but now, it is here more than ever. What you experienced growing up is worlds away from what your children are growing up with today. Some kids’ lives are consumed by the media, and there can be very negative effects. Read on to find out how the media can affect your child and what you can do to make sure that you set healthy media guidelines for your children and your household.

Media Influence

Most people know that obesity is an increasing problem in America. There are many different factors that are increasing this statistic, and one of them is the media. If your children are watching TV, reading a magazine, listening to their MP3 players, or on the computer, they are probably not doing anything physically active. It is important that kids get enough physical activity everyday, so help your child think of physical alternatives to sitting in front of the TV all day. If your children watch more than two hours of TV every day, they have a higher chance of becoming obese than children who watch less TV.

A study that took 40 hours of popular shows for kids ages 6 to 11 found that almost 30 percent of the commercials shown were for food. Most of these ads are for fast food, sugar cereals, candy, sodas and other foods that kids love but parents don’t want their kids to have. But kids cannot directly see an alluring advertisement for the newest toy that comes with a children’s fast food meal and go out and buy it by themselves. They have to go through their parents, and they have to be convincing. If parents say no, then marketers are not successful. Marketers have to appeal to both kids and their parents, and parents are the ones that spend the money on junk food. Therefore, parents need to be the ones who say no and tell their kids why the answer is no.

Kids influence the spending of over $500 billion a year. When your kids ask for the new "coolest" thing, ask if they saw it in an advertisement, such as a commercial on TV, or in a magazine, newspaper or on the computer. Then ask if it is something they want or if it is something they need. Accentuate the difference. The media had the effect of taking away your children’s ability to control their impulses. Just like the magazines and cool gadgets at the checkout line at the store, the media makes everything seem so enticing.

Links:

• Children’s TV habits linked to adult obesity, Common Sense Media, Accessed July 2007.


• TV ads market junk food to kids, Common Sense Media, Accessed July 2007.


• Commercialism, Common Sense Media, Accessed July 2007.

School Performance

Overexposure to the media is also linked to poorer academic skills. It is not uncommon for kids to go on the computer or watch the TV before doing their homework, or even while doing their homework. A study reported on by Common Sense Media shows that the more media kids are exposed to above a healthy limit, the worse they perform in school. They have smaller vocabularies, lack skills in reading and score worse on tests. Another study shows that kids who have TVs in their bedrooms score worse on tests than their peers who do not have TVs in their bedrooms, while kids who have computers in their bedrooms score higher on tests than their peers who do not.

An interesting statistic from Common Sense Media shows that the less TV people watch as kids, the more likely they are to be successful in school. So if kids are taught when they are young that homework and academics need to be separate from the media and do not watch much TV, they will be able to continue this work ethic into adulthood.

Links:

• Academic Performance, Common Sense Media, Accessed July 2007


• Association of Television Viewing during Childhood with Poor Educational Achievement, Common Sense Media, Accessed July 2007


• TV in Bedroom Affects Test Scores, Common Sense Media, Accessed July 2007

Watching What Your Kids Watch

Pay attention to the TV shows or video games your child is watching or playing, and you might be surprised. Most characters – 74 percent – on TV shows are Caucasian while 64 percent of the characters in video games are males. In addition to this blurred reality, the women are portrayed with ultra-thin, "deal" bodies and men with over-the-top defined muscles. These stereotypes can give your child the wrong message about what he or she should look like or what the rest of the world should be like. Diversity is what makes our society unique, and no one should feel pressured by the media to look or act a certain way. Point out these stereotypes when your child is watching TV or playing a video game, and emphasize this imbalance to your kids.

Link:

• Body Image/Gender and Racial Stereotypes, Common Sense Media, Accessed July 2007

Sex in the Media

The RAND Corporation recently did a study with a surprising outcome: Teens that see sex in the media are twice as likely to have sex or engage in sexual acts themselves. Your preteen is probably not watching mature TV or things in the media, but this is something to keep in mind as your preteen becomes a teenager. This statistic does not have to apply to your child. If your child does start to watch TV shows in which characters have sex, your job is to make sure that your child understands that the show is meant for entertainment and is not what should happen in real life. You may choose to not allow them to watch the show, but another solution is to use the show as a learning experience for your child to teach them what should not happen in reality.

Links:

• Teens Who Watch Sex on TV Are Twice as Likely to Have Sex Themselves, Common Sense Media, Accessed July 2007


• Sex and Dating, Common Sense Media, Accessed July 2007

Violence in the Media

You do not have to look very closely at the media in your child’s life to see the presence of violence. Even when the good guy wins, it is usually because he killed or used violence to defeat the enemy. Many arcade games and video games involve animated characters punching, kicking and knocking each other out. Most kids know that violence is not the answer, but the media contradicts this message by showing violence. It is not possible to completely block these images of violence from your child, but you can explain to your child that what works in the media will not work in real life. Explain to them that the violence in the media is for entertainment and not realistic problem solving. It is also a good idea to check the ratings on video games to see what is appropriate for your child.

A study among 4-year olds shows that if they are exposed to violence through the media, they are more likely to be violent in their own lives and have bully behaviors. Kids may think that violence, aggression and bullying are OK because they see these behaviors portrayed as acceptable in the media.

Links:

• Media Violence and Kids, Common Sense Media, Accessed July 2007


• Study: Kids Who Watch TV More Likely to Bully, Common Sense Media. Accessed July 2007

Resources

Listed below are some tips for you and your family regarding media safety and health.

• Don’t have any media present during dinner time or other meal times. Don’t eat in front of the TV, and don’t have the TV on in the background. Focus on the people around you.



• Get rid of all media while your children are doing homework.



• Set aside a part of your children’s day for media, and keep the rest of your day separate. Do not let them go over their limit. Common Sense Media suggests that children do not have more than one or two hours in front of a screen—that means TV, computer, movies, etc.—each day.



• Do not put media in your children’s bedrooms. Keep it in the kitchen, family room or living room?not in their bedrooms where you cannot monitor it.



• Even if your children will be home without you, make sure that they obey the media rules in your house. This means telling a babysitter about the rules your children must follow or letting your older child be in charge of his or her younger siblings.



• Once your kids’ media limit is up, have them find something to do that is active or uses their brain. One suggestion is for each minute your kid is exposed to the media, they have to spend one minute doing something active either mentally or physically. Encourage them to read or play outside.



• When you see a commercial or advertisement, think about who it is targeting, if it is successful, what makes it appealing or not, and if it is realistic. Talk to your kids about the marketing strategies so that they are aware.



• When you see something through the media, think if it is logically something that could exist in real life, such as the appearance of a character, the way a product is being used in an advertisement or the actions of a character. Talk about it with your kids.



• Be able to separate fiction and fantasy from reality in the media, and use your judgment as to how things are being marketed to your children.



• There are parental controls you can use. Some of these include blocking certain channels or shows with certain ratings, or taping a show and previewing it yourself before allowing your child to watch it.



• Set a good example for your children. It is not OK for you to watch TV for hours if your child is only allowed to watch TV for a half hour each day.

After reading this article, you might want to protect your children from the media. Remember that the media can have a negative impact on your children, but it does not have to. Your kids are fed continuous messages through the media, and it is important that parents are able to help their kids sort these messages and determine what is healthy. The media can be beneficial for your children. It can help them learn independently, communicate, have fun, relax and grow up. You just have to make sure that it does this and nothing else.