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Resources
When it comes to helping your child use media constructively, you no doubt will do what comes naturally. You will talk with trusted friends and family members, consult with your pediatrician, and seek advice from librarians and teachers. You also may arm yourself with resources, like the ones listed here.
Web Sites
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About-Face
Based in San Francisco, this group fights negative images of women, offering resources for parents and educators about body image and eating disorders.
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American Academy of Pediatrics' Media Matters Campaign
This site includes policy statements, articles and public education brochures created by pediatricians.
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Center for Media Literacy
This non-profit organization offers a large number of parent and teacher media literacy resources, organized by subject matter and grade level, in its online catalog. Some of the resources are available online free of charge, while others are for sale.
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Common Sense Media
A not-for-profit website that features reviews of movies, music, books, games and other websites intended to help families make decisions about what they watch, hear, read and play.
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Just Think Foundation
The Web site for this San Francisco-based non-profit organization includes a "TV Guide for Parents" and links to youth media projects.
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KidSmart Early Learning Guide
Developed by the Center for Children and Technology, Bank Street, IBM and the United Way, this site includes images, text and audio that describe young children's developmental needs and computer use in the home and in school.
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Media Awareness Network
Based in Canada, this site includes many online media literacy materials for educators and parents, such as printable handouts and resources on discussing diversity, talking about TV, and evaluating films.
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Media Education Foundation
This non-profit educational organization sells videos that cover media issues relevant to adolescents and teens. Video topics include the way girls and women are represented in advertising and the connections between violence, media and masculinity.
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National Institute on Media and the Family
This site includes fact sheets on children's media habits, ratings systems, music and other topics.
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Net Family News
At this Web site, parents can subscribe to a weekly e-mail newsletter that includes news clippings and family-relevant Internet news.
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New Mexico Media Literacy Project
Among the resources offered by this non-profit organization are eye-opening "sample deconstructions," which critically examine scenes from movies, advertisements and news reports.
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PBS Teachers: Media Literacy
PBS Teachers's section on media literacy includes a quiz that parents can take about kids and media use, as well as links to other resources and classroom ideas for teachers.
Books
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The Children are Watching: How the Media Teach About Diversity by Carlos E. Cortes
This book looks at how TV and other media influence how children think about race, ethnicity and gender.
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Mommy I'm Scared: How TV and Movies Frighten Children and What We Can Do to Protect Them by Joanne Cantor
This book for parents discusses how TV viewing may be influencing children's sense of fear.
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Talking Pictures: A Parent's Guide to Using Movies to Discuss Ethics, Values, and Everyday Problems with Children by Ronald J. Madison
This book offers parents suggestions for using films to talk about ideas and issues that matter to children and teens.