Phones and other media are a big part of kids’ lives, and they can be a healthy part too. Here are some ways that you can make sure your kids get the best possible start when using media and digital devices.
The holidays are a perfect time to cozy up as a family and watch festive movies and TV shows together. It’s also a time when kids are on the receiving end of a lot of marketing, and some kids will be given new tech devices as gifts.
We've compiled some of our best resources for managing tech at home during the holidays, from setting rules around digital devices, to teaching kids about consumerism, to engaging with your kids on the content you’re watching together.
That’s why it’s important to talk to kids about casual prejudice which is the use of words or phrases that are negative towards a particular group - and help them learn how to push back in situations where they’re not sure if the person meant to be hurtful.
People who share false or misleading information sometimes use the language of critical thinking and media literacy, telling followers to “do your research” and “think critically” in one breath and then to “trust the plan” in the next.
So how can we tell if we’re really thinking critically?
Along with images of natural disasters and violence, one all-too-common news item that can be distressing to kids is reports of hate crimes. Seeing or hearing about hate-motivated assaults and vandalism of homes, cemeteries and places of worship in media, can lead to fear and anxiety in young people, especially if they belong to a vulnerable group. In many cases, the effect will be worse because news isn't the only place Canadian kids see hate and racism: almost half see hateful content online at least once a month, and one in six sees it every day.
Did you know that almost a quarter of adults have shared a false news story, and that we’re least likely to fact-check news and other things that come to us through people we know and trust on social networks (even though for many people these are their most common sources of news)?
You can start by asking the person who shared it to take it down or stop sharing it. Kids report that this works more often than not!
Ask the service or platform where it was shared to take it down.