Not that long ago, when it came to the media, our main parental concerns were how much television our children were watching, and what type of music they were listening too (and could they please turn it down a little....)   Today, children and teens are consuming over 8 hours of media per day ....on par with the average work day for most adults!  This alone should be a wake-up call to parents, caregivers and teachers.

Linda Millar an Education Specialist with the Concerned Children’s Advertisers (CCA) did an informal survey of grade 4, 5, 6, students in Whitby Ontario and reported that more than a third of them had their own cell phone.  Although cell phones are a very popular choice of media, screen media such as computers, Face book, gaming systems, MTV, and IPods, are used daily by today’s youth and like it or not, they are probably the best multi taskers around!  Texting, sending pictures, surfing the net, and listening to their IPod all at the same time is done with such ease and quickness it is enough to make our heads spin.  Yet they really have no idea of the implications in using such media, and quite frankly, we the adults are no better.

The Concerned Children’s Advertisers (CCA) have been delivering social marketing campaigns designed to help Canadian children deal with the challenges they face on a daily basis for over twenty years.  Long Live Kids (LLK) is a one-of-a kind initiative made up of three key pillars.  Phase one being Heathy Eating, Phase two Healthy Living, and just recently the organization unveiled its latest initiative, phase three - a new media literacy campaign, designed to encourage children and teens to balance media consumption with physical activity, think critically about the messages they receive from all media, and recognize that they have the ability to make informed and healthy decisions on their own.

 According to Linda Millar parents are the key people in helping our youth become media literate.  But how do we do this?  Certainly we can’t be expected to police everything they read, or listen to, but we can become co-learners with them on the journey to being media literate by implementing some relatively easy and fun idea’s into our daily lives.

• Most important is to take the computers out of the bedrooms and have them in a centralized area in the home.  This way you the parent can be more involved and aware of what web sites your child is surfing and actively participating in. 
• Children should be getting a minimum of 90 minutes of daily exercise.  The sad truth however is that less than 84% of children actually do and are quite content on sedentary type of activities.  Encourage your child to spend less time at the television and computer and more time outdoors or doing something physical such as a dance or karate class.  Set up a fun challenge.  For every minute your child spends on the computer they must spend the exact amount of time doing a physical activity.
• Instead of sitting and listening to their Ipod, have your child dance to the music.
• Walk, or ride a scooter or bike to school.
• Have your children plan seasonal calendars with you that incorporate outside activities and physical fitness.
• Instead of planning a party at an indoor venue such as the movies, plan for something outdoors.  Why not a party in the backyard or at the park? If it is during the winter months than opt for a skating or rollerblading party, or take the children to the slopes for some tobogganing.
• Be aware of the video games your child is playing on both hand held devices and on the computer. Only six out of twenty five parents I surveyed at a local elementary school knew the rating of the video games that their children were playing!  Talk to your children about their games, or play the games yourself to see what they see.  Most children will be more than willing to explain the complexity of what they are mastering on that DS!  All you need to do is ask.
• Communicate, communicate and keep communicating!  When watching a movie pause it and ask your child questions.  What would they do in that situation?  Do they really think that house hippos are real? Can toys really talk?  Open up their minds and encourage them to think about what they are watching or listening to, and try to distinguish what is real and what is fantasy.
• Discuss how books, television, and advertisements seen on billboards are put together. Explain how they are carefully constructed products with economic, political, social and cultural implications. Talk about target audiences and why writers, producers, and directors may have made certain choices.
• Allow your children to explore their own tastes and learn to make decisions on what they like and don’t like.  The purpose of media literacy is not to protect children from the negative media, but to teach them to analyze and evaluate information that is provided by media.
• If you own a video camera take a creative and hands on approach to media literacy and encourage your child to create their own video.  They can write, direct, and act in their own show.   In developing their video your child will be exposed to the codes, conventions, and languages of media which will assist them in being able to analyze mass media products more effectively.
• Media literacy is mandated in the school curriculum.  Talk to the staff at your child’s school to find out what approach they are taking to implement media literacy in the classrooms.

 For parents, teaching children about media literacy is a lot of hard work, however, it has its rewards.  It teaches children to lead a more physical and healthy life style, and to think critically about all the information they consume. In turn, this will enable today’s youth to become more productive, and self confident adults.  This is worth remembering next time your child interrupts your favourite show to ask why or how something is being done for the tenth time. 
For more information on Concerned Children’s Advertisers and Long Live Kids Initiatives visit  http://www.cca-kids.ca

Article by Chantel Kowdrysh

Veteran mom, Chantel Kowdrysh has six children under the age of 12 in her charge and another baby to arrive in February. She has encountered more than her share of fellow moms looking for advice, primarily about how she manages to juggle life with such a large brood and a husband who is only home every five months or so.

You can read her blog where with humour, she provides an honest and upfront view of life in a busy family, including honesty about popsicles for breakfast, crazy schedules, and advocating for her two sons with autism.