Tips for Making Better Use of the Media
Make a media plan.
Schedule media times and choices in advance, just as you would other activities. A media plan helps everyone to choose and use media carefully.
Set media time limits.
Limit children’s total screen time. This includes time watching TV and videotapes, playing video and computer games, and surfing the Internet. One way to do this is to use a timer. When the timer goes off, your child’s media time is up, no exceptions. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 1 to 2 hours of quality TV and videos a day for older children and no screen time for children under the age of 2.
Set family guidelines for media content.
Help children and teens choose shows, videos, and video games that are appropriate for their ages and interests. Get into the habit of checking the content ratings and parental advisories for all media. Use these ratings to decide what media are suitable for your child. Be clear and consistent with children about media rules. If you do not approve of their media choice, explain why and help them choose something more appropriate.
Keep TV sets, VCRs, video games, and computers out of children’s bedrooms.
Instead, put them where you can be involved and monitor children’s use. If children or teens are allowed to have a TV set or other media in their bedrooms, know what media they are using and supervise their media choices. If you have Internet access, supervise your children while they are on-line.
Make media a family activity.
Whenever possible, use media with your children and discuss what they see, hear, and read. When you share your children’s media experiences, you can help them analyze, question, and challenge the meaning of messages for themselves. During a media activity, help children “talk back,” or question what they see. Do this during a violent act, an image or message that is misleading, or an advertisement for an unhealthy product.
“Talking back,” or asking questions about media messages, builds the lifelong skills your child needs to be a critical media consumer. Discuss how the media messages compare with the values you are teaching your child.
Look for media “side effects.”
Unless they come clearly labeled as containing violence, sex, or graphic language, parents often overlook the messages children are getting from media. Instead, be aware of the media children and teens use and the impact it could be having.
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics
Strategies to Combat negative Peer Pressure
The following are strategies young people can use to deal with negative peer pressure effectively:
Avoid putting yourself in situations that make you feel uncomfortable.
Choose your friends wisely. If you hang around with people who share your values, chances are you’ll never be asked to do something you don’t want to do.
Think about the consequences whenever you are asked to do something you are not sure about. Stop for a moment and ask: Will this activity get me in trouble? Will it be harmful to my health?
Be true to yourself. Think about the reasons why you are considering doing something you are uncomfortable with. Is it to gain popularity? Although there is nothing wrong with wanting to be popular, there are right ways and wrong ways to achieve it. If you change your behavior just to fit in with a particular group, you are not being true to yourself.
Learn how to say no. This is perhaps the most difficult thing in the world for many people to do, but it is an essential skill if you are to successfully fend off negative peer pressure. There are many ways to say no, some of them subtle and some of them a little more “in your face.”
Several examples are: “You see it your way. I see it my way.” – “If you are really a friend, then back off.” – “You must think I’m pretty dumb to fall for that one.”
