Now that my first – month -of – the – year cold has passed and my head is clear, I look back at 2010 and realize how much I learned about engaging progressive communities in relation to the pros and cons of media and technology in young children’s lives and the implications of that involvement … Continue reading
Author Archives: Mary Rothschild
Play – and Doing Nothing
When we talk about play in my workshops, it’s usually in relation to the importance of play for young children. What about play for adults: play, relaxation-and, doing nothing? In a synchronistic Christmas moment, everyone in my family gave everyone else art supplies: paints, little canvases, clay. We painted and sculpted for hours, like kids … Continue reading
Rachel Prabhakar: Perpective from a Jewish-Hindu household
Here’s another story of a family where there are intentional alternatives to the popular culture. The world is not “media-saturated” for these children. In fact, Rachel Prabhakar , who lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two daughters, ages 10 and 7, says she hasn’t had a conversation with a parent about television in … Continue reading
Ozlem Parlak, Muslim parent
This interview is among those I’ve recorded that are categorized as “alternative stories,” meaning stories of families who have found ways to side-step popular culture, at least in their homes. We need these stories to offset the narrative of the “media-saturated world” and remind us that we do have some leverage. Ozlem Parlak, who is … Continue reading
Lance Strate, Executive Director of Institute of General Semantics
The appreciation and sharing of the stories of the community gives a powerful alternative to a forceful popular culture. Continue reading
Alan Berger, Owner and Director, Peace Through Play Nursery School
Where do we begin as humans? Right here in early childhood – giving children the beauty that is their birthright. Continue reading
New Teachers: An opportunity lost – and found?
I facilitated screenings of Consuming Kids and Where Do the Children Play? at a conference In Defense of Childhood at City College of New York on March 13. Afterwards, mixed with notes to myself about how to follow up with participants, there was a sense of unease. Later, preparing for the trip to the subway … Continue reading
Resolved: To Listen
I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. Those of us who feel each new day is a beginning don’t generally get the importance of the turning of the year, or birthdays, for that matter. But, reading Darren Rowse’s Blog on Keeping content flowing (from 2/2009) on Problogger at http://www.problogger.net , I decided to get organized … Continue reading
Serious About Play
Let’s talk about free play: problem solving and imaginative experimentation. Did you notice the words after the colon in the preceding sentence? That explanatory phrase is one way of addressing a difficulty we face in approaching the subject of play: language. The word “play” often implies, as http://www.dictionary.com says: “the opposite of work”. Can’t be … Continue reading
New Parents
The window of opportunity is wide open for new parents to form healthy family habits about media. Continue reading
Healthy Media Choices™ 
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