Post: The Best Present: A Healthy Media Diet
The Best Present: A Healthy Media Diet
Last year I made a decision: If I was going to give media for presents, I could at least balance passive media with more active kinds.
I figured out that the best present I could give my kids would be a healthy media diet. That meant looking for interactive media that inspire creativity. And choosing stuff that we can watch or listen to as a family.
The next day I bought two books -- one for each kid. I also bought a computer program that lets them edit digital photos and make movies. Then, as I was pushing my cart through Costco, I spied the seven volume recording of the Chronicles of Narnia. This is something we could all enjoy sitting by the fire. I plopped it in the basket.
Ready to round out your shopping? Read on for tips for holiday giving.
Make a list, check it twice. Make sure your list is balanced and appropriate. Magazines, books, audio CDs, and music all nicely complement movies and video games. Did you check the ratings and recommended ages before buying items on their lists? Better do so -- especially on games and DVDs.
Make sure you give media you can enjoy with your kids. Why would you want them seeing something you can’t stand? I admit it: I paused before Dodgeball. Then I realized I would rather have a root canal than watch this highly inappropriate movie with them. Back it went on to the shelf in favor of something we could all enjoy.
Create some guidelines around media use. I know my son, in particular, would happily sit down with a video game and not move for the entire holiday vacation. He now knows he has to read for an hour before he goes near the Playstation. And when I give him the Star Wars game he desperately craves, it will come with time limits. I tell my kids that media is a privilege, not a right, and one they earn by using it responsibly.
This entry is adapted from an article that originally ran in the Common Sense Media newsletter on 12/16/05.