Is TV Holding Your Children Back?

The way we consume media is way different now than it was even just 10 years ago. We communicate constantly through phones, text, social networks, chat, tablets, apps, and gaming consoles. It's essential to use computers at work and school, and we use them to decompress on our down time. We watch more TV and movies than ever. Spending a huge chunk of time with a screen in front of you has become a way of life. If you choose not to participate, you risk not connecting as much with friends and family and missing out on topics and discussions that are relevant today. Kids are curious and smart, and pick up on using these new technologies quickly, which puts them in the precarious position of being caught up in a cacophony of media and advertisements. But how do you avoid letting them get consumed by what they're consuming? Below, we've offered up some ideas on putting things back into perspective.

The Impact on Self-Esteem
Unless you're a white boy, if you watch a lot of television as a child, chances are you're not going to come out thinking too highly of yourself. Girls and African-Americans come away from TV viewing feeling like they're lacking the position, skills and worth required to obtain the success that white males seem to hold with ease. More than 90% of protagonists in TV and movies are white men, and minorities and women are usually relegated to the background, practically used as props. This can make your children feel that their inherent value is based on what other people think of them or how they look.

Even if your child is "fortunate" enough to be white and male, consider this: if other children are struggling with their place of importance, what does that say about the child that's always put at center stage? Your child may discover "privileges" he feels he's entitled to. He may view other people less as human beings with drive, flaws, talents and dimension, and think more about how they make him look and feel great. He may miss out on rich, strong relationships because he doesn't know how to recognize all of the great things everyone has to offer.

Put things in perspective.
Talking to your children is the most powerful counterpoint to messages in media you can provide. Rather than banning media from your children altogether, watch TV with your children, and ask them lots of questions. Ask them how they feel about the different scenarios they're watching, ask who they would want to be friends with on the show and why. Ask them if they were in charge of the situation, what would they do? Talk to them about how in stories, things are exaggerated and simplified to make things easy to understand and entertaining, and how in real life things take time to happen and develop. Ask them how they want to be treated, and how they would earn the respect of their friends in healthy ways.

Cultivate and encourage other hobbies.
Children are going to be interested in tons of different things throughout their childhood and young adulthood, because everything is a new discovery. It's okay to try a bunch of different things, but encourage and steer your child to find something they love and stick with it. Discuss with her how when you love something, it's not always easy and fun. Sometimes she will struggle with getting better at what she wants to do, and it will probably take a very long time. But if she's consistent and works on it regularly, she will feel like she accomplished something great. She will have something cool about herself she can share to impress her friends, sure. But more rewarding is knowing that she has strength in herself to do great things. She won't need other people to validate her strength because she already knows it for herself!

Create a Sense of Community
Surround yourself with people who will support how you want to raise your children, and give them role models. If your daughter is learning electric guitar, find a great female guitarist to teach her, and introduce her to bands with female leads and strong female members. Make sure your family understands the kind of positive language and goals you want to encourage in your kids. Connect with other parents who want to raise their children the same way, and attend church functions with a congregation that fosters positive parenting. The more people that your child can connect with in the real world who represent who they want to become, the more they'll know they can aspire to and meet those goals. If they feel like they are people of value and know what it looks like when others love and respect them, they won't seek validation from people in unhealthy ways.

Choose your media wisely.
Rather than just finding something G rated and plopping your kid in front of it, seek out and consume those shows that have strong role models that match what your child is aspiring to. Shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Adventure Time have lots of strong female characters. Avatar the Last Airbender features lots leading characters of different races and strong female characters. TV shows like Community for young adults feature men and women of different races and age groups interacting as friends rather than getting caught up in romantic entanglements. There are more options out there that feature life more realistically than ever before.

The bottom line is, the more involved you are with shaping your children's experience and expectations, the less likely they are to give in to believing stereotypes and diminishing their self-worth. Get interested in what your children are interested in, and you'll discover amazing realms of potential within them. Until next time, keep it clean!

Father Christmas: A History!

     With Christmas nearing in on all of is with only 6 days left, I felt it appropriate to talk about holiday related topics! Today I'd like to talk about Christmas, and everyone's favorite: SANTA CLAUS! Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nickolas, Father Christmas and also "Santa", is a figure with legend, myth, history, and even magical origins! Santa is rumored to bring presents to the homes of all the good children during the late evenings and over night hours of December 24th, also known as Christmas Eve.

     Santa Claus is generally portrayed as a hefty, joyful, white bearded man - sometimes with glasses - wearing a red coat with white collar cuffs, white cuffed red trousers, and a black leather belt and boots. According to tradition, which can be traced to the 1820's, Santa lives at the North Pole, with a large number of elves and nine flying reindeer to pull his sleigh named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer leading the pack!
     Santa has been believed to make a list of children throughout the world categorizing them according to their behavior ranging from naughty to nice. Santa is rumored to deliver presents of toys and candy to the good children of the world, and coal to the naughty children.

     The tradition of Santa Claus entering ones home through the chimney is shared by many European seasonal gift-givers. In the tale of Saint Nicholas, the saint tossed coins through a window, and, in a later version of the tale, down a chimney when he finds the window locked. Santa's entrance into homes on Christmas Eve via the chimney was made part of American tradition through Moore's A Visit from Saint Nicholas where the author described him as an elf. The North American traditions associated with Santa Claus are derived from a number of Christmas traditions from various countries. Some rituals (such as visiting a department store Santa) occur in the weeks and days before Christmas while others, such as preparing snacks for Santa, are specific to Christmas Eve. Some rituals, such as setting out stockings to be filled with gifts, are age-old traditions.

     Santa Claus appears in the weeks before Christmas in department stores or shopping malls, or at parties. The practice of this has been credited to James Edgar, as he started doing this in 1890 in his Brockton, Massachusetts department store. He is played by an actor, usually helped by other actors (often mall employees) dressed as elves or other creatures of folklore associated with Santa. Santa's function is either to promote the store's image by distributing small gifts to children, or to provide a seasonal experience to children by listening to their wishlist while having them sit on his knee. Sometimes a photograph of the child and Santa are taken. Having a Santa set up to take pictures with children is a ritual that dates back at least to 1918. 

    Writing letters to Santa Claus has been a Christmas tradition for children for many years. These letters normally contain a wishlist of toys and assertions of good behavior. Girls generally write longer but more polite lists and express the nature of Christmas more in their letters than in letters written by boys. Girls also more often request gifts for other people.
     Santa isn't the only one who loves Christmas! Here at Azuma we love the holiday season and recognize as many different holidays and traditions as we can! Until next time, keep it clean, and ha-ha-ha-happy holidays!

     

Back to School

It's hard to believe that summer is almost done and soon, the kiddos will be returning to school with new backpacks filled with new crayons, notebooks, pens and pencils. Soon, it will be back to football games, band practice, after school tutoring sessions and homework (notice that I listed homework as the last item on that list?).
Here are a few things to think about as school bells start ringing class into session again:

• Back to school means that there will be more children walking and riding bikes to school. Please be sure to keep an eye out for them especially in school zones or at cross walks.

• Make sure that your child is up to date on immunizations. Each state has different requirements so check with your healthcare provider to find out what your student needs.

• Many states offer a "tax-free" holiday which means that certain things are not taxable during a set period of time. It's a great way to save money for items your child may need for school.
  

• Kids get nervous when faced with the reality of going to a new class with a new teacher and new classmates. "New" can be scary and overwhelming! Remind your child that many of the other students will be in the same boat and that the teacher will do their best to make them comfortable.

• When buying a backpack for your child, pick one with wide, padded straps and a padded back. It will make it much more comfortable for your munchkin.

• Another note about that backpack, even though little John or Jenny wants to pack every piece of new school stuff into that pack, refrain from doing so. Those packs can get awfully heavy especially when you start adding their lunch in that pack. The lighter the pack, the better.
  

• Don't forget that getting back to school is going akin to us returning to work after a long vacation. We need time to assimilate back into a normal routine and so does your child. Be patient.

• Try to ease your child back into the routine of going back to school by getting them into bed at their normal "school year" hour so they can adjust to waking up earlier.
  

• Teach your child to lay out their school clothing the night before so they won't have to rush in the morning. This will help to eliminate school morning stress.
  

Hope these tips help out in making the back to school transition a little less daunting! Until next time, keep it clean!!