Wheelock College Professor Helps Children and Their Families Make Informed Decisions about the Screen Media

Smartphones. Tablets. E-books, apps and more.  The prevalence of screen devices in today’s society means that many children are growing up in media-saturated environments. Wheelock College Early Childhood Education Professor explores how this exposure to media and media culture affects what young children learn, how they learn, and how they want to learn in her new book Beyond Remote-Controlled Childhood: Teaching Young Children in the Media Age.

 Beyond Remote-Controlled Childhood: Teaching Young Children in the Media Age helps teachers and parents understand how media is influencing children, whose attitudes, values, and behavior are more and more controlled by what they see on a screen. It is an ideal resource for early childhood professionals and parents who want to help young children get beyond a remote-controlled childhood and promote their healthy development in all areas. This book aids educators and parents on developing a framework and strategies to work effectively with young children and their families—to move beyond the negative effects of a media culture and promote the positives effects.

This book will show how to:

• Adapt classroom practice to take into account the realities and experiences of today’s connected children
• Counteract the potentially harmful impact media can have on both the process and content of children’s development and learning
• Help children and their families make informed decisions about the screen media in children’s lives
• Work with families to address the impact of screen media

At Wheelock College, Diane Levin teaches courses on play, media literacy, violence prevention and peace building, and qualitative research. As a private college with a public mission, Wheelock strives to be the premier college educating people to create a safe, caring, and just world for children and families. Since 1888, Wheelock has contributed to the vitality of families, communities, and societies by educating students to advocate for programs, policies, and laws that enhance the quality of life for children and families.

Levin is an internationally recognized expert who helps professionals and parents deal with the effects of various societal forces—such as violence, poverty, media and commercial culture, gender stereotypes, and high-stakes testing—on children, families, and schools. She advocates widely on issues related to children’s well-being and is a cofounder of Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment, Defending the Early Years, and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. She is the author or coauthor of nine other books, including So Sexy So Soon, Teaching Young Children in Violent Times, and The War Play Dilemma. Levin is a frequent keynote speaker and workshop presenter.

On Wed, Sept 18th, please join us at Wheelock College for a book launch celebration from 4pm-5:30pm. More details can be found here: http://www.wheelock.edu/diane-levin-book-celebration.

Beyond Remote-Controlled Childhood: Teaching Young Children in the Media Age ($28.00; 176 pages; ISBN 978-1-928896-98-2) is published by National Association for the Education of Young Children, the largest and most influential advocate for high-quality early care. The book is available for sale from NAEYC’s Online http://www.naeyc.org/store/Beyond-Remote-Controlled-Childhood.