Four tips for managing your kids’ screen time
Minimize screen use, especially for the youngest children:
Family TV Time
Sometimes I wonder if watching TV is going the way of the dodo. Remember when we were kids, and there was concern about how watching TV was going to turn all of us into mindless zombies?
The Medium is the Message
As a family, we’re watching a lot less advertising these days – at least, I thought we were. That’s because most of our family watching is on Netflix, which has no commercials, and the few shows we watch on regular TV are recorded in advance and ads are skipped over. I can easily go months without being aware of what new movies are coming up, which new developments have occurred in the world of toothpaste, and what new packaging strides Coke and Pepsi have made.
News you can use
Online news is one of the hardest things to verify. Sometimes early reports that turn out not to be true still circulate on the Internet, and people may spread false reports for commercial or malicious reasons, or even just for “fun.”
Teen Focus in a Many Media World
My middle daughter, age 13, read the novel The Outsiders last year. She loved it, and like any good mom who was raised in the 1980s, I bought her a DVD copy of the classic movie. She loved the film version, too.
To Binge or Not To Binge
We are Netflix subscribers, and that means we’re no strangers to the Binge Watch. It’s just so easy to curl up on the couch, especially on a rainy day or a sick day, and plug into a show. Each episode plays automatically, one after the other; you don’t even have to move, except to occasionally confirm that you’re still watching when Netflix prompts you, every three episodes or so.
Sick Days
I work from home, and I think that means my kids get more sick days than the average student. It’s pretty easy for them to convince me that they need a day of rest if they have a bit of a cough or a slight fever. I admit I’m probably too easily swayed and I do tend to cave in when they look up at me with big sad eyes from where they have swooned onto the couch.
Resources for families and educators staying home during COVID-19
We’ve put together some of our best resources to help you and your family manage during these uncertain times.
Digital Media Literacy 101 Educator Workshop
The Digital Media Literacy 101 educator workshop provides an overview of the key concepts, essential knowledge and core competencies of digital media literacy, as well as concrete steps for bringing lessons and activities into the classroom and tips for integrating it across the curriculum.
Media Safety Tips: Early childhood (birth to 5 years old)
Media risks
The risks that kids encounter in media fall into four categories:
Content risks, where kids are exposed to or engage with harmful content such as violence, hate, or sexualized media
Conduct risks that come from what kids do or how they interact with other users
Consumer risks related to money, advertising, and data collection