In 1994, when my younger daughter was six years old, I saw firsthand that the commercialized media was impacting the environments of and affecting the attention of children her age. One example was when, at a Power Rangers birthday party for a classmate, the favors were only given if a child could answer questions about … Continue reading
When I was a kid, my father would retell familiar stories every Thanksgiving. We loved them. As I got older, there was some rolling of eyes. Now, I regret that we didn’t record that precious voice, those old stories, for my children and grandchild. Psychologists say that one of the gifts we can give our … Continue reading
This was originally posted on February 28. I’m updating because I want to add JeongMee Yoon’s work: “Pink is For Girls….” from Slate.com “The consumer embryo begins to develop in the first year of existence…Children begin their consumer journey in infancy…and they certainly deserve consideration as consumers at that time.” James U. McNeal, Pioneering Youth … Continue reading
Listen to Mary Catherine Bateson speak about her latest book: Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom It may seem counter-intuitive to speak about the later stages of life on a site dedicated to addressing the need for intentionality about media and young children. Mary Catherine Bateson, however, sheds light … Continue reading
One of my regrets is that I never met or worked with Neil Postman, who died in 2003. Today would have been his 80th birthday. To me, he kept his eye on the ball – what was important in the whole conversation about media, messages, and culture. When I read one of his most famous … Continue reading
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
Healthy Media Choices™ 
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