Many moms find some children’s movies too scary or too gloomy, for example on Mommyish Lindsay Cross writes “Call me overprotective if you must, but there are some Disney scenes that I just don’t think we’re ready for. I realize that Maleficent, as the fiery dragon, is a huge and important part of Sleeping Beauty. I’m not arguing that the movie should have been done differently. I just choose not to let me daughter see the more terrifying aspects of fire and brimstone. She’s four, after all. She’s just not ready for it.”

Or in this article from Babble Cole Gamble flatly states, “There are those who believe we must guard and protect children from the hurts and traumas of the big bad world for as long as possible. Then there are those people who believe we should toughen kids up by exposing them to and even pummeling them with terror and depravity. Those people become children’s filmmakers.”

Short-Term Effects of TV Violence

According to Media Awareness Network, children who watch violent, scary or high-action movies are likely to act more aggressively than normal shortly after seeing the film. Some children might like or find a certain character interesting and can imitate their behavior.

Some children (especially those with a great imagination!) are inspired to have nightmares from scary movies or frightening scenes.  To help your child relax Kid’s Health recommends, “having a bed that’s a cozy, peaceful place to quiet down. A favorite toy, stuffed animal, night-light, or dream catcher can help too.”

Some children will not realize that the characters or the situations they see in a movie are not real. As a parent, talking to your children about the characters that they see in the films is essential. They can feel anxious because they cannot distinguish fantasy from possible reality. Talking about the differences between cartoons and real life stories can help them understand that they aren’t real.

Do you have a favorite movie that you can’t wait to watch with your children when they are older? Which scenes do you fast-forward? What’s your child’s favorite classic?
Use the comments below.

Tech families

The Ogilvy/Communispace study defined 19 percent of US families as “Tech Fast Forward”, meaning that they use more sophisticated technology than the average person and are in the know and on the cutting edge of new tech. Another 42 percent are “Tech Forward” – they have integrated tech into their lives and would have a hard time without it. These families have tablets, subscribe too many different social networks, read blogs, and their kids probably play Angry Birds on their iPhones while at the grocery store.

Brighter minds, better future

Interestingly, this study suggests that Tech Fast Forward parents seem to hold a more positive outlook about their children’s futures than other parents. The study found that 62 percent of these parents think that their kids are smart enough to “save the world”, as opposed to 30 percent of Tech Neutral parents. More than two-thirds of Tech Fast Forward parents think that kids today are smarter than previous generations. These parents see that their kids are part of the “new smart” generation because their children are engaging with content and media in new ways such as through self-directed learning, interactivity and puzzle solving.

But are these new skills and “smarts” developed because of advances in how we consume media and use technology?

“Educational” value

As mentioned earlier, many parents are passing along their tablets, smart phones or iPods to their toddler and preschoolers – either using them as a babysitter or as an “edutainment” tool. The Cooney Center study found that among all Education apps, 58% percent were geared towards toddlers. But there are no firm or verified standards of the educational value of these apps. There has yet to be a study of the educational differences between kids who have used educational apps regularly and those who haven’t used them at all. In fact, the study recommends that standards need to be created for products that are marked as educational.

Are you part of a Tech Fast Forward family? Have your kids mastered the latest gadgets that you bring home? We want to hear what you think about how technology is changing education and the workforce of the future. Comment and let us know how your kids are going to change the world!

It takes a village to raise a child

There are many benefits when it comes to reading parenting blogs; mainly the sense of community they establish. Today, families move around a lot whether for new jobs, schools, or other opportunities. Women of all ages are becoming mothers for the first time too. Starting a family away from your close family and friends or without having a group of moms around you to turn to for advice can be hard.

Instead, most moms turn to bloggers for advice about parenting. As Heather Armstrong the author of dooce.com pointed out on the CBC radio program Day 6 “My generation of women has lost our village. We live far away from family and many of our closest friends are those we’ve met online … and we sort of recreated these villages with our blogs. These are the women we’ve turned to for suggestions about what stroller to buy, which school to go to and which clothes to buy.”

Reverse the feeling of isolation

Starting a blog can also have a positive effect on new moms. A study called New Mothers and Media Use: Associations Between Blogging, Social Networking, and Maternal Well-Being found that new mothers who blog and use social networking feel connected and have social support, which leads to increased well-being. The study points out that blogging can reverse the feeling of isolation that new mothers sometimes feel and it eases their transition into motherhood.

The downside

Although there are a lot of benefits from blogging and reading other blogs, it does come with some disadvantages. Sometimes when people blog, they post events, photos and advice that shows the “best version” of their lives. As a reader this can change your experience from a positive social one to a feeling of further isolation. Some moms can feel like they’re not doing as well as others, and they feel as if they should be doing something different. It’s easy for parents to compare themselves to others, without realizing that bloggers have bad days too.

Sponsors and advertisements

Parents have to be careful when they are seeking advice. They have to keep an eye out for sponsored messages and advertising. Although, most professional blogs will post a message stating that a company sponsored this post, some don’t and parents may be led to believe that the post is a genuine opinion versus a targeted advertisement.

Pick and Choose

There are millions of blogs out there, discussing various topics and issues from politics, fashion, art, and parenting. It can be overwhelming. Find one that suits you best and start participating! It takes one person’s story or comment to create a community and active social networking can rake in lots of benefits.

Which blogs do you follow? Do you rely on blogs more than other traditional media like news articles and magazines?

Recommendations or opinions?

The Canadian Paediatrics Committee recommends that the safest place for babies is to sleep in their own crib, preferably in the parents’ room. These recommendations exist because of the increased risk of SIDS associated with co-sleeping infants. There are many other factors that play a part in infant deaths associated with co-sleeping such as heavy blankets, pillows, parental smoking, and drug (including sleep aid medication) and alcohol use.

Some parenting experts argue that infants need physical contact for sensory stimulation, maturing of the brain, and it helps to regulate breathing and body temperature, and when proper precautions are taken the risks do not outweigh the benefits. Some families engage in co-sleeping with their child without sharing their sleeping space, but instead keep the child within arm’s reach. Bassinets and cribs can be purchased that attach to the side of the parents’ bed.

Toddler co-sleeping

Many children spend the night in their parents’ bed after infancy too. Are there risks or developmental challenges associated with co-sleeping with your toddler?  The recent Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Study showed that there is no proven negative impact on the child, although many people still believe it has an effect on a child’s development.

The study followed 944 parent-toddler pairs and monitored their sleeping arrangements each year. The decreased social and cognitive skills found in some participants were accounted for by maternal parenting style & education, as well as socio-economic status, not bed-sharing.

Beyond the headline

Although the ads in Milwaukee were considered offensive by many parents, they are serving a purpose. Milwaukee has a higher infant death rate than 30 countries worldwide – including 9 deaths in 2011 alone. The ads were made to grab parents’ attention and be provocative – which they did successfully.

The intended message behind the ads have been lost because of the provocative images. Along with the knife in bed with the child, they are positioned incorrectly on their stomach and side, and are surrounded by choking hazards like puffy blankets. These factors contribute to the danger too, not just parents sleeping beside their kids. The ad encourages those who “can’t afford a crib” to call for a free one. This shows that the danger is associated not with co-sleeping with your infant by choice but by necessity, and without taking the proper precautions.

Do you find the Milwaukee Health Department ads offensive? Do your kids spend the night in your bed? What positive or negative experiences have you had with co-sleeping?

When we lived in Russia, we never celebrated Christmas but instead in December we celebrated New Year’s. On December 31^st we exchanged presents, spent time with family members, and participated in school concerts with Ded Maroz and his grand-daughter Snegurochka.

My parents helped me cope with the culture shock by encouraging me to watch North American movies and television shows when the holidays rolled around. Through watching videos like Meg’s Christmas, I learned that Santa Claus comes down our chimney, and through other fun videos I realized that I was supposed to leave him cookies and milk. Movies and videos also showed me how elves worked in Santa’s workshop! These videos did more than just help me assimilate into a new culture. They helped me make friends among my schoolmates because by watching these videos I was able to learn English much faster.

As I grew older, we decided as a family to keep our Russian roots. We started to watch Russian movies and videos like когда зажигаются елки around the holidays and continued to celebrate New Year’s Eve as well as Christmas, and in the end it helped me preserve my heritage.

Enjoy your holiday films and happy holidays!

Encouraging your kids to get involved in winter sports and activities at a young age can help keep them active and interested for years to come. Your soccer star daughter can become a hockey pro in the off-season. Your gymnastics camp obsessed first grader can try figure skating. Exposing your kids to new activities that they don’t usually learn in gym class or on the school yard helps to develop their hobbies and keeps activity levels up year round.

Include the whole family

If the thought of enrolling your kids in yet another activity is too much to handle, family activities and play dates can be arranged outdoors. Tobogganing, snowball fights and building snowmen all promote outdoor activity and exercise, and aren’t as intimidating or expensive as organized sports.

More than just exercising

Many winter activities such as skating and cross-country skiing boost balance, flexibility, and muscle development.

Picking up new activities and skills in the winter helps to develop patience, persistence and teaches children how to set goals and to achieve them step-by-step. If you can remember conquering the biggest hill as a kid you know the benefits of goal-setting. Taking risks helps to increase our kids’ resilience, helps them make judgments and gives them opportunities to challenge themselves. The trial and error and confidence-building that many winter activities require will help them when they enter the classroom, and with family and friend relationships too!

Happy and healthy

Many of us experience a slump when the colder weather, shorter days, holiday stress and flu season hit. It’s easy for families to feel overwhelmed in the winter months and to find themselves waiting for spring to arrive. Getting outside can help prevent these feelings.

It’s proven that engaging in outdoor physical activity is associated with mood enhancement, positive engagement, increased energy, decreased tension and aggression, as well as feeling more satisfied than indoor activity. Looks like just another reason to face the elements and jump on the toboggan with the kids this winter!

What activities do you and your kids participate in in the winter months? Any tips for parents who can’t find the time to enjoy the winter weather? Leave a comment below.

Advertisement overload

An average child sees 40,000 commercials a year on broadcast television. On average 86% of these commercials are for fast food, cereal, candy and toys while only 2% of all commercials are for fruit and vegetable products.

Are children consumers?

Marketers and advertisers understand that kids have significant influence over household spending. A report released by the Institute of Medicine, Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity? found that over $11 billion dollars a year is spent on marketing food and beverages to children in the United States. And the main goal is to turn children into life-long consumers.

Pester power

Parents and advertisers both know that children can be persistent in their request for the things they see in commercials. But the so-called ‘pester power‘ does more than just boost sales of a product. It also increases parent-child conflict. Many commercials feature popular characters to boost the appeal to kids, undermining the parents’ attempt to choose healthy diets for their kids. Junk-food commercials advertise toys that come with their kids meals or use cartoon characters to appeal to kids. And with 40,000 of these messages being broadcast to each child every year, parents don’t have the resources to compete.

What can parents do?

Children younger than eight cannot understand the difference between program content and commercials. Children take advertised claims about a product literally, and they don’t realize that the intent of the commerical is to get them to buy things. This is especially true when their favourite character is promoting a product. Talk to your kids about advertisements and commercials. Explain to them how advertising works and what advertisers are trying to accomplish with the commercial.

You can play spot-the-product-placement game. Watch movies or TV shows and try to find logos or specifically placed products in the show. This will help your child think critically about ads and product placement.

You can limit your children’s exposure to advertising on the Internet by choosing great websites that don’t advertise to children. Most sites that are free have advertisements and banners. While online, they can accidently click on the flashy ad thinking that it’s just part of the website.

Encourage your kids to think critically about marketing messages. Ask your child questions like, ‘Do you think the product is as good as it’s shown on TV? How does this commercial make you feel?’ When targeting children, advertisers try to portray happiness and fun in the commercial rather than talk about the product itself.

Do you have any tips or suggestions on how to teach children about advertising? Or how to defeat pester power? Leave a comment below!

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Digital Kids in the News

It’s obvious from these numbers that our young children have become part of the digital world. School boards are evaluating how to develop new curricula in light of reports of severe ‘cyberbullying’ that are appearing in the news weekly. So what’s the best course of action for parents?

Starting Younger

We see plenty of new technology gadgets geared towards kids. The iTunes’ App Store returns thousands of results for kids’ apps, and tablets made especially for toddlers are being released. With children as young as two regularly using mobile technologies, parents need to emphasize online safety and responsibility as early as possible.

Developing open communication and sharing online experiences with your toddler is a great way to help them learn safe online habits from an early age, and helps them develop trust that they can come to you about anything they see or experience online. Most kids at this age need help manoeuvring from site to site, so it is a great time to lay down some basic rules.

Connecting Consequences

As kids get older, more social factors become more important when going online. Kids are using IM, webcams, Youtube and even social networks before middle school. But many of them do not connect what they say or do to consequences in real life, or they consider it “just a joke”. An easy way to explain ‘being a good digital citizen’ to your kids is to ask them to always compare what they are doing online to “real life” and establish that you shouldn’t do anything online that you wouldn’t do in person.

Tips

Here are some of the basic tips to share with your kids when they start to go online:

• Never share personal details (like your name, address, or phone number).
• Be polite and respectful. Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t say in real life.
• Never meet in person with people that you’ve met online

Share your experiences and tips by posting a comment below.

For more information about online safety for your kids, check out these resources:

Media Literacy Week Resources

Common Sense Media’s: Internet Safety for Elementary School Kids

Why reading matters

AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) and the Reading Rockets recommend that you read to your child everyday. But that doesn’t mean it has to be a huge project! Reading to your child should be rewarding and fun. You can read a 3-minute story or a 30-minute story to your kids everyday as long as it keeps your child engaged and interested. By reading you are enhancing your child’s knowledge and exposing them to a wealth of information and experiences they might not otherwise enjoy.

The benefits of reading

When you are reading to your child you are not only stimulating their imagination, but their language development as well. Books expose kids to new words and through different stories they gather new meanings and uses for each word. As a result they are also improving their vocabulary.  Reading also teaches your children logical thinking skills and problem solving. They learn to recognize cause and effect and grasp abstract concepts. All of these skills are necessary for future academic success.

Setting the stage for learning

The period between ages 0-5 is critical for brain development and it sets the stage for all later learning and adult functioning. Studies conducted by the Center of the Developing Child at Harvard University have shown that from 50 children who had trouble learning to read in kindergarten, 44 of them continued to have problems once they were third grade. One way to increase your child’s participation is through dialogic reading, a technique to increase your child’s engagement with the story. Reading to your child is an easy and fun way to help your child succeed in the future.

Reading should be fun!

There are many ways that parents can engage with their kids besides a bedtime story. Libraries are an excellent resource. Check your local library to see if they have reading circles or hours specifically for preschool children. This can be a great opportunity for preschoolers to learn and socialize together. Parents can also mix art and reading together by encouraging their kids to draw when you are reading a story. This will fuel a child’s imagination and it will help to develop hand-eye coordination.

How often do you read to your children? Did you have a favorite book when you were a child?

Tech and Toddlers

90% of parents report that their children younger than 2 years watch some form of electronic media. This is just one of the statistics in the AAP’s report that speaks to how important this issue has become over the past few years. Accordingly, there is a strong emphasis on babies and toddlers in this report. Ultimately, the AAP has reaffirmed their previous position which discourages media use for children younger than 2 years old. So, what are the problems with screen time for children this young?

But it’s educational!

The AAP news release cautions parents to be wary of the educational claims that companies make about their products for young children. “Quality programs are educational for children only if they understand the content and context of the video,” the release states, adding that this is frequently the case with children over 2 years old. Children under 2 years of age have difficulty understanding the context of what they are watching.

The AAP suggests that there are much better ways for children to learn about the world around them, without the use of screen media. While the statistics on media use and young children suggest parents don’t necessarily share that view, the AAP is trying to get the message out that screens ≠learning, particularly when it comes to kids under 2.

In the Real World

Some of the main criticisms of the AAP’s guidelines are that they do not reflect the reality that parents are using these devices, sometimes as digital pacifiers, nearly every day with infants and toddlers. The AAP’s position is that children this young learn best from the real world, and there are scientific studies to back that up.

Media Still Matters!

While there is still some uncertainty about the long-term effects of engaging children with digital media at such a young age, there is also lots of evidence that preschoolers and older children can seriously benefit from quality educational programming. Sesame Street, for example, has made a huge impact on school readiness among 3-5 year olds, particularly for kids from low-income families, who tend to have fewer books in the home and are spoken to less frequently than children from higher-income families.

What it Means for Parents

So, as a parent in today’s digital world, what can we learn from studies like the ones mentioned above? How can we make better choices for our children when it comes to media consumption? One thing is clear: while passing your iPhone to your toddler may get you a few quiet minutes to have a shower, cook dinner, or make that important business call, it probably won’t make your child the next Steve Jobs.

Will it harm them? There is still a lot of research necessary to say for sure, but we do know that more time with television and other digital devices is associated with some negative effects, such as sleep disturbances and attention problems. Whether there are other factors at play in these correlations will become clear as more research is carried out, but we can be sure that when it comes to helping babies and toddlers learn, the real world trumps the virtual one every time.