Junk Food, Junk Media

6.10.10

This type of “when” question appears regularly in media. However, according to Dr. S, a veteran Chicago child psychiatrist ,”Parents are still feeling frustrated and helpless about managing kids’ junk media consumption because such piecemeal soundbytes miss the larger and important question of ‘how do we think comprehensively about technology and fit it into home life?’ It is only within this context that any approach can make sense. We must ask, ‘How are our kids consuming media and how can their development and family lives benefit from technology?'”

Dr. S states that “a digital device does not belong in your home unless it clearly improves family life and child development and is used as part of an overall media plan,” in KIDS, PARENTS & TECHNOLOGY: A GUIDE FOR YOUNG FAMILIES (ISBN 97805571048327  www.mydigitalfamily.org) .

Dr. S goes on to state that “rather than piecemeal solutions or merely restricting access, parents must immediately urgently commit to thoughtfully organize the media lives of kids on a daily basis, just as they do nutrition and education. Parents must harvest the good in the digital world for kids in daily menus. Parents must review their own use of technology to be fully present and refrain themselves from texting while parenting.”

 


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