Author name: shemford

Media and Our Children. It is believed that media literacy is very crucial for today’s children. It makes the difference between kids being a tool of media or the media being used as a tool by the children. These days young children demand technologically-controlled toys and being online is regarded as a normal part of growing up. Why Media-related Guidance? The media arts tools are easily accessible and having the entertainment world at their fingertips is an exciting prospect for every child. This is where adult guidance becomes very important. The parents have to make sure that the children use technology as it end-users and don’t become emotionally dependent on them. Media tools should be used to encourage a child’s creativity and not replace it. It is the responsibility of the parents and teachers to guide children through the use of various media tools. Preschoolers and Kindergartners Kids of this age are easy prey to accepting everything that is on the television as the reality. The parent’s role becomes critical here. For example, the parents have to explain that television commercials using extreme special effects aren’t the reality but just a fanciful creation. Elementary Students These children have some degree of developed analytical skills and are capable of grasping the basic concepts of the images seen on the television and computer. However, children this age might take a particular fancy to certain characters and start developing a virtual world of such friends. Again, the parents have to be careful that children don’t get obsessive about their favourite characters and don’t confuse reality with TV viewing. Engaging Students in Media The parents shouldn’t be afraid of encouraging a child to enjoy the media in its various forms. However, the parents have to ensure that these activities are suitable for the child’s age. Parents can do this by slowly exposing the children to the world of media. • Media in Everyday Life — using media is a part of our daily lives. Even a young child should be encouraged to see how technology has made his/her toys so amazing. • Active Involvement — preschoolers love to sing and dance with music from TV or a radio. Try and focus the child’s attention towards the number of channels a TV can play. Try and tell the child about the incredible use of a TV remote. • Voice Recording — a very comfortable activity to introduce children to the media is to tape record the child’s voice as he recites a poem or a song. Then replay the tape. Children are fascinated upon hearing their own voice and want to find out how it the recording process actually works. • Birthday Celebrations — parents could plan a special birthday party for their child and select the theme as ‘Be a Star’. A small gathering of the child’s friends can be invited. Ask the children to sing one-by-one. The children should be encouraged to sing independently. A small level of lighting controls and effects could be created on the podium where the children sing. The children would be curious about how a small theatre-like setting could be created in their own house. • Outside Influences — children could be taken to aquariums and zoos. This helps the children related with the images of animals seen on TV. • Photographing — a digital camera can be used to a great extent in making the children curious about how things work and how do natural settings look when they are clicked or presented as pictures.

Parents send their children off to school and expect the teachers and the school to take care of their child’s educational needs. However, parents themselves can play a vital role in ensuring that their children’s education is holistic and effective. Parent participation and involvement at home, and to a certain extent in school, has a major impact on the child’s focus and performance. Parent can be Effective at Home by: * Reading to the child – reading aloud is considered the most effective way to develop a child’s aptitude to read, write, think and be creative. * Discussing about the characters in the books and stories the child likes the most. * Helping the child in organizing his daily schedule. * Limiting the quality and quantity of television viewing, especially on school nights. * Talking to the child about the daily happenings in his school. * Making sure that the child completes his homework before going to bed. Parents can be Involved in the School by: * Meeting with a teacher at PTA and maintaining communication with the school staff members to determine the extent of the parent involvement needed. It is essential that parents do volunteer some time for the school activities. They could do so by: * Becoming a student helper and help in organising classroom activities. * Tutoring or reading out to or with the other children. * Assisting and helping the coaches at sporting events. * Helping out the school in holding arts and crafts workshops. * Assisting with a school club or a drama group. * Speaking to the students about professional subjects. * Helping the class in writing small news articles. * Working as a library assistant for a few hours, every month. * Assisting children with special needs. * Helping out in preparation of computer and science projects. * Planning out and helping in raising money for various school clubs. * Accompanying or helping to arrange various field trips for the children. Children of Involved Parents: * Are less frequently absent and don’t skip school. * Are better behaved and are socially more active. * Perform better academically. * Develop better levels of self-confidence. * Have lesser stress-related or anxiety issues.

Children are much vulnerable to fear as threats, risks and dangers are close at hand. Ask the mother of Taniya (24 months) and she would sadly announce that her child came to know about some ghost story and from that day sleeps with lights switched on. Small children are immature and their understanding of things is raw. They tend to believe whatever they are told and worse than that they add to their own worries by imagining a lot that is impractical. “Children live in an imaginary world, which over the time is replaced by the real world,” says Pooja, who works as a childcare specialist. “Coupled with this fact that the kids have a natural tendency to exaggerate things, it becomes a real problem sometimes to convince the child as what is possible and assure the safety.” Children also derive very simple meanings from their perceptions – whatever they see and whatever they hear. It is either fun or the thing to refrain from. Kids like cartoons because the characters are often funny, yet meaningful to them. After watching a Spiderman show on television, young Aryan actually believes that Spiderman exists and that he can cast a web or swings high on a rope. The toddlers are more scared when someone narrates a horrified version of a telltale or similar story. They may also see or experience a normal event as distorted and reatening. For example a ball hanging in the basket may appear in the poor light as an unusual figure or form. Children may also carry fears about other people, some objects or animals. How Can Mommy Help? Our experts are of the opinion that parents must try not to expose their children to material and content that involves violence, supernatural phenomena, etc. The parents must also refrain from narrating their children ghost stories or any such tales. The mind of a child is very sensitive and it can just hang on to any idea. The mother of the toddler, as the child trusts the mother most, has to assure and convince the child that its safety is taken care of and that the kid must not be afraid of telltales or carry fear of other children or people. Further, the parents must ensure that they get to the root of the problem. A lot of explaining needs to be done and the parents should ensure that they are available and know how to deal with it.

Pampered Child: When to Say “No” to your Child Even before a child is born, the parents are too eager to shower their love and care on the arriving guest. With the newborn in the family, a whole set of transitions takes place. It can be better described as one of the important phases in the lifecycle of a human being. The father and the mother, together they have to provide the child with all they can. As the baby grows, it starts demanding. Children are very intelligent and respond quickly. They learn easily and when it is time to twist then know which way to do it. A child hardly understands the difference between wants, desires and needs. He might ask for Santa Claus, the cycle the kid in the neighbourhood has, new toys and what not. Mrs. Priya says that her youngest kid wants all that the elder ones get and she has a hard time negotiating with the kid. That is one point where some children get spoilt as their parents fail to realize what is needed by the child. When To Say No? “Believe me, it is so awful and strange as my daughter begins to sob, when I say ‘No’ and she does not understand,” says Amrita. “I am myself confused at times as whether her demand is really needed or not.” A child enjoys pampering the most. The baby just feels like giving orders, which should be obeyed and fulfilled by the subjects. Parents also like to pamper their children, but limits have to be drawn. A pampered child might get used to wishes and whims that are easily fulfilled by the parents and other family members. ‘Negotiate and negotiate hard’, that is the best advice you can have on parenting. The child must, even if it appears unacceptable to the child, learn to ask only those things which parents do allow. If the parent says no, then no it means. After negotiations, if the child continues to insist then the parent has to say no and close the chapter as soon as possible. Even a little leniency can make the child feel that it is possible provided he or she keeps insisting. It becomes a habit and then starts affecting the behaviour. Other Methods One parent who has written to us from Pune says that she often negotiates by providing alternates. The child asks for a mobile phone and we settle on comic books. That way the child also gets something worth to have and the parent also manages to grant the wish of the child.