School’s Out for Summer: Media

Children can be very impressionable characters, as the advertisers have noted, so as parents we need to be a bit more diligent even with home entertainment. It is ill-advised to let the TV to do the babysitting. While we are trying to reschedule our lives for the summer period, here are some tips to minimize the negative fallout from the media at home.

• Make sure you have the TV program time schedule so you can be more prepared and determine what is suitable for the children to watch. Also, this allows you to put other activities in mind if a program slot is not suitable.
• If children are watching TV, stay in the room with them so you can observe what they are watching and respond more effectively.
• With older preschoolers, observe your child’s reaction and make comments to discourage passive viewing and encourage dialogue so your child thinks about what he or she is watching.
• Choose programs in which the characters treat each other with respect.

• Avoid violent media, especially if the characters are glamorized and made to seem attractive.
• Select channels with minimal advertising. Advertising only teaches your child how to become a consumer and (1) to want things that might not be good for him or her, (2) to want things that you might not be able to afford, (3) to not appreciate what he or she has, (4) to have ideas that may lead to haram activities, and (5) to be less creative or productive with his or her time.
• Involve your child with your amusement so that your child feels a part of you and wants to include you in his or her interests.
• Try to avoid having the TV on in the background while your child is playing or entertaining friends. Play nasheeds or calm music that helps to balance the atmosphere in the home. After all, you are not together very much throughout the year, so you might very well be learning how to be with one another.

• Once a program has ended, share comments on the program so your child goes away in a reflective mood. Discuss what he or she would like to do and plan for it if it is not possible to do it straight away.
• Be selective about computer or video games and encourage the kind of games that lead to developing creativity, problem solving, and exercising the mind.
• There is enough negativity in the world, so avoid having TV news in the background.