This Christmas we are getting an XBox 360 Kinect video game player for the kids. With two kids, 9 and 11.5 years old, we are late jumping on the game console bandwagon. My husband and I have limited the variety of electronics that the kids have access to, for a variety of reasons. Our biggest is that with an iMac they could play video games just fine. We didn’t want to get sucked into the world of gaming too soon. They would come back from friend’s houses touting the awesomeness of the Wii, PlayStation or XBox. The stories, pleading and downright begging fell on deaf ears, for years.

That was until last summer when, while visiting some friends, the kids tried Just Dance, on the Wii. They danced for hours, taking turns, kids and teens alike. I was even convinced to try it out. Lets just say that my score ended my daughters reign, much to her chagrin. After that night I looked at the consoles in a different light. I thought about how it could impact our lives and our bodies.

We live in the Northeast and with six months (slight exaggeration) of winter, the kids get cabin fever quickly. This could be the answer to our prayers. So we had the kids give us a keynote presentation covering all three options. They had to rate price, game choices, game options and reviews. In the end XBox Kinect won, mainly due to the handsfree technology. I have been researching games, to make it worth the expense and keep us entertained and moving. I let you know how it works out, here are some links to Kids Games and Adult Fitness Games

The American Psychological Association discussed the trend of media bombarding or children with inappropriate and harmful images, at their Annual Convention. Tomi-Ann Roberts, PhD, a member of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls defines sexualization as a process that encourages girls and young women in an imposed way to be valued by themselves, and others, only for their sexual appeal, above any other characteristic. Ultimately, the emphasis on an unattainable body image damages the health and self-image of girls and young women, and can lead to eating disorders, anxiety and depression.

The stereotyping of girls is at the heart of this problem. From the beginning, girls are coached by advertisers and the media to be sweet, feminine and nurturing, and—as they get slightly older—sexy, said Sharon Lamb, EdD, co-author of “Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Marketers’ Schemes” (St. Martin’s Press, 2006) Lamb emphasized that psychologists can help combat these messages by teaching parents and their children to understand media manipulation. Parents have the power to teach kids values that they—not advertising or the culture—define, said Lamb. They can show their children how to examine why they like the things they like, and to realize when they’re being duped. And everyone needs to learn to ask questions such as: “Why must female volleyball players always wear bikinis?” and “Why would a 6-year-old need a push-up bra?” said Lamb.

According to Brian Wilcox, PhD, selling sex is not the only problem. Marketers are also selling unhealthy eating habits and behaviors. In the past few decades, children have become increasingly targeted by marketers, such that an estimated $15 billion was spent by various companies pitching fast food, sugary cereals and junk food to kids, said Wilcox, with much of the advertising appearing on cable channels aimed at children, such as Nickelodeon.

All that advertising has an effect, both on families’ purchasing patterns and children’s health, with studies showing that children’s product preferences drive almost $500 million in annual household purchases. Meanwhile, 16 percent of U.S. children are obese, and government surveys show that the percentage of children classified as overweight rose from 5 percent to almost 14 percent from 1976 to 2000, Wilcox said.

Link to article US children.html

This morning I saw an interesting video report on MSNBC about girls and blogging. It featured agirlsworld.com which is a website run solely by two girls. Statistics show that 20% of boys blog vs 35% of girls. Girls tend to out perform boys in English and writing and are better able to express themselves which makes them natural born bloggers. Experts hope that this will translate into adulthood. Women occupy only 27% of math and computer related jobs and there has been a 70% decline in female computer science majors. This early experience gives girls hands on experience and provides a comfort level with technology.

This is a great use of technology and it offers up good peer role models. As a mother of a daughter, it is encouraging to see stories like this. From an early age we have encouraged familiarity with technology, esp. computers for both of our kids. My daughter loves programs like Scratch www.scratch.com and Crazy Machines crazy machines. No one has told her that she can’t program or solve engineering problems, sometimes faster than her Aerospace engineering father. Whether or not she pursues a high tech career, these skills will help her think critically and problem solve with the best of them.

Link to video Girls Rule the Web

Our daughter learned to read at 5 and by 5.5 was reading at a second grade level. Now at 8, she reads on a fifth to sixth grade level. While this is great for two bibliophiles, there are some downsides. One of our biggest problems, early on was emotional level vs comprehension. Sure she could read Captain Underpants, one of her all time favorite series but did I want her to. If we gave her age appropriate books she was bored and with level appropriate books, she was confused, scared and sometimes still bored. One thing we did was to take turns reading chapters with her and explaining when needed. Our local children’s librarian introduced us to The Magic Treehouse Series and Amelia Bedelia. But our best find was a former school librarian turned bookseller. She helped us with great suggestions of old and new favorites, like Captain Underpants, Ramona, The Indian in the Cupboard and The Girls to the Rescue series. Little by little we have introduced new titles and genres with more success than failure. Because of Winn Dixie, was boring but Ann McCaffrey’s If Wishes Were Horses and Charlotte’s Web were great.

In today’s society kids are much more worldly than a generation ago but they still posses an innocence that shapes their thinking. Some of the hardest choices are when to introduce books with topics like death, poverty, racism and the like. Even though we discuss these topics, books have a way of making it real. I ask myself and my daughter the critical questions (Critical Questions) in order to help us understand what she is reading. Knowing what the author’s perspective and their agenda might be, is important. What underling themes and messages is she being exposed to? Who is the intended audience for this book? One great thing about the Web is that you can look up the author’s website and check them out.

We will continue to struggle with a balance but some of my greatest memories were of reading books that I wasn’t suppose to. I also have to encourage her exploration of various topics and remember that this is a kid who loves reading Calvin and Hobbes.

Link to tips for picking books Books

A recent press release in Medical News Today discusses a new book about technology and how it is affecting our ability to focus. It talks about how connected we are with friends, family, work, current events and the world. But how all of this “connection” is decreasing our ability for critical thinking, we are ignorant about many issues and we are fragmented as a community. The cause for all of this is due to our erosion of attention, according to Maggie Jackson. She has complied her research, conclusions and remedies in a book, DISTRACTED: THE EROSION OF ATTENTION AND THE COMING DARK AGE (Prometheus Books).

Jackson notes that the average worker switches tasks every three minutes and once interrupted takes nearly half an hour to go back to the original task. Families and friends find it increasingly difficult to meet face-to-face and even more difficult to do so without interruption or willful multitasking. News segments bombard us with superficially simple pieces of information. We have essentially been ushered into a world of constant distraction in which reflective thinking and undivided attention (single-tasking) has become exceedingly rare. Analytical reasoning exams show that children and college graduates have a decreased capacity for rigorous thought and analysis. These are important skills for running businesses, making informed political decisions, and innovating new ideas – all of which are necessary components of an advanced democratic society.

This is a non-fiction book that researches the subject of attention and focus throughout history. The causes are deep but we can change our course. Warning, this is not a self-help book and problems are all not solved by the end of the book. But it is a well research book which calls our attention to the subject of paying attention.

Link to press release Distracted

Link to Amazon Distracted by Maggie Jackson

The other day my husband came home from the Apple store with something new, as he is wont to do. This time he picked up Spongebob Teaches Typing, for our kids. As Mac users know software choices are limited and this was the only choice, of two, available in the store. Spongebob got me to thinking about character tie-ins and how prevalent they are in our kids lives. In our house Spongebob not only teaches typing but also level 2 reading and endorses Cheez-its, where does he find the time? My kids don’t watch much Spongebob but they don’t need to in order to recognize him and his motley crew of undersea friends. Tie-ins are something that Disney has elevated to high art and Nickelodeon, Spongebob’s home network, is not far behind. The problem for me is that they are developing brand loyalty in our kids from their earliest moments in life. This helps to feed the beast that is consumerism and the “I want that” mentality of kids. Even though we have avoided most of the obvious character riddled products, some do sneak in. Take a look around and see what characters have taken up residence in your home.

Here is an article about marketing tie-ins for the new Indiana Jones movie, it is quite a diverse lot. 2008-04-20-indiana-jones-skull-marketing_N.htm

If you are looking for typing programs here are two review sites Software for kids 2008 review and Superkids software reviews

Last weekend we took the kids to see Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. This movie is from Disney and rated PG, like the original. It was not as good and had much more gratuitous violence. My kids loved the first one, we saw it on DVD, and were looking forward to this installment. Both of them enjoyed the movie, in general but both voiced concern about the violence. My daughter felt that there was more killing of good and bad guys, than the first one and my son said, “Too Much Killing!!” He did hide his face during the movie and when I asked if he wanted to leave, several times, he refused.

I tend to research my kids movies much more than my own. For this one however, I only read reviews and based my decision on past experience. So I take the blame but I want to know why the reviewers did not mention the violence. They went on and on about bad acting, Christianity and faith, or lack there of, but nothing about excessive killing. Also the movie felt more PG-13 than PG and what is the threshold that needs to be crossed to get the 13 added? I am wondering if the PG envelope is being pushed with this and other movies. Is this because of children’s exposure to more violence today, than in the past? Or are the powers that be focused on the bottom line and want more of our dollars, as well as a new group of movie goers in the process? What do you think about this subject and have you experienced this before.

Definition of Ratings-MPAA Ratings

Boston Globe article-Ratings game

Three Questions is an idea that I stole from the author of one of my favorite blogs, Faster Than Kudzu FTK

Today’s Questions will be answered by Felicia M. Sullivan she is a community media advocate and educator. With an MA in Media Studies and 15 years of community-based practice, she works with community media & technology centers as well as social justice and arts organizations to bring the power of communication, media and information technologies to communities. She does this work through her consultancy at Forge Consulting. www.forge-consulting.com She is also currently affiliated with the University of Massachusetts (Boston and Lowell campuses).

Q. Why is Media Literacy Important?

A. Given that so much our our knowledge about the world around us is mediated by some form or another, it is critical that individuals understand the ways in which media communicate their messages. And given that media come in multiple forms, it is important that we are able to understand communication that comes in visual, audio and video formats. Just like traditional literacy, media literacy is a critical tool in understanding our contemporary world. It is essential that all of us are fluent in these forms.

Q. What would be the most important thing that parents should teach their children about media literacy?

A. The most important skill that a parent can instill in their children is to question the media. To question what they see and hear. Question how the media is made and by whom. Question how the media comes to us and who controls the message. A questioning and critical mind is the best tool a parent can give to their children.

Q. How can being more literate about media help kids in their daily lives?

A. Kids who are media literate are less likely to be easily influenced by peers, marketers, or those in authority. They are more likely to seek out a balanced and informed approach to issues and ideas. They are more likely to be prepared to tackle other critical and analytical challenges such as those required by advanced education.

Thanks Felicia, your comments clearly show the impact of Media and how we as parents need to be well educated about the subject, in order to competently guide our kids.

In 1966 Joan Ganz Cooney and her colleagues proposed the idea of using television to educate underserved preschoolers. They would later found the Children’s Television Workshop and of course the legendary program Sesame Street. Their Workshop model paved the way for all of the educational children’s program that we have today. Forty years later they have established the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, a great website with a positive and timely focus. Here is their mission:

The mission of The Joan Ganz Cooney Center is to catalyze and support research, innovation and investment in digital media technologies to advance children’s learning. Nurturing foundational and “21st century” literacies. The inaugural focus of the Center—given the national need—will be on determining how technology can help elementary-aged children develop the fundamental building blocks of literacy. These include the vital reading, writing, speaking and listening capabilities that all children must develop during the primary grades. A special emphasis of the Center will be on struggling readers who risk educational failure if they do not catch up to their peers by grade four.
Another important focus of the Center is to leverage the potential of interactive media to promote “21st century” literacies that students will need to compete and cooperate in our connected world—competencies such as critical thinking and problem solving, second language competency, inter-cultural understanding and media literacy. www.joanganzcooneycenter.org

Link to Sesame Workshop: www.sesameworkshop.org

My nephew, who is 14, has been visiting for the summer. As a parent of younger kids, I am not well versed in the world of teenagers. He is constantly talking and texting on his cell phone, surfing the web, has a MySpace page, set to private and is into Japanese anime. All of these tech/internet related activities got me to thinking about the safety of our kids online.

In 1998, Congress enacted the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA” or “the Act”) to address privacy and safety risks created when children under 13 years of age (“children”) use the Internet. To protect children, the Act imposes requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children, and other operators with actual knowledge that they have collected personal information from children. The Act generally mandates that such operators must provide notice of their privacy policies; obtain verifiable parental consent prior to collecting personal information from children; allow parents to review and delete personal information that their children have provided; and establish and maintain reasonable procedures to protect the security of personal information collected from children. (source www.privo.com)

We have all heard the horror stories about online predators and kids lying to get access to sites. So it is never too early or too late to educated ourselves and our kids about the dangers that can befall them online.

Here are some good sites for education and help related to this topic: socialnetworking.html, www.wiredkids.org, journal