Kids & Media: media literacy materials for parents, families and children

Welcome to an exclusive service of MediaLiteracy.com -- links to free downloadable media literacy fact sheets, discussion guides and other materials, organized by subject category.

Most downloads are easy-to-print PDF files which require the free Adobe Reader software to open. Download Adobe Reader here.

available from Common Sense Media
This site has hundreds of articles, many accompanied by a printable PDF handout, with great advice for parents. Numbers in parentheses show the number of articles on that topic as of May 2010:

• Internet safety (63)
• Digital citizenship (35)
• Social networking and virtual worlds (27)
• Mobile and communicating (33)
• Creating media (13)
• Sex and violence (49)
• Consumerism (22)
• Physical health (45
• Educational issues (26))
• Celebrities and stereotypes (27)
• Family media management (94)
• En Espanol (6)

available from the Center for a Commercial-Free Childhood:

• Marketing to Children Overview
• Marketing Media Violence
• Sexualizing Childhood
• The Commercialization of Toys & Play
• Marketing without Borders
• Marketing to Babies and Toddlers
• Materialism, and Family Stress
• Marketing in Schools
• Food Marketing and Childhood Obesity
• Body Image and Eating Disorders
  

available from the Media Education Foundation

• War Games: Thinking Critically About Video Games That Play at War
• Media Violence and Children: Statistics

available from Media-Awareness, the awesome Canadian media literacy site
Printable articles in major categories: Television, Movies, The Internet, Video games, Music, Marketing & Consumerism.

available from Children Now

• Many reports with data from their excellent surveys and research

available from PBSParents
PBS Parents Guide to Children & Media features printable articles on TV & Movies, Computers, Advertising and Video Games.

Note: Despite strong recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatricians that children under the age of two watch no TV, PBS materials for preschoolers assume that “Television may be an inevitable part of young children's lives.” They produce and/or broadcast programs for infants and very young children, despite the recommendations of doctors against it.

The statement from PBS makes a good media literacy lesson all by itself. The lesson is on how a message reflects the point of view of those who created it. While these are excellent materials, parents should always consider the source, compare the message to what others say, and ask, "Why did they take this position? Whose interests does it best serve?" Who has the deepest knowledge and greatest concern for what's best for young children's emotional and physical/brain development: our children's doctors, or television producers?

Site of the Week Archive:
4+ years of
media literacy education-related sites