A Powerful, Common Sense Guidebook to your Kids' World
Do you get the feeling that every day you have less and less influence over your kids? Unfortunately, you aren't just imagining it! Family has rapidly been losing ground to other influences in young people's lives. Peer pressure has definitely played its part, but do you know that even "all the other kids" have taken a backseat to media and its influence on today's kids?
Between 1960 and today, a seismic shift has occurred in the institutions of influence on young people. Here is the picture:
| Rank | 1960 | 1980 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FAMILY | FRIENDS | MEDIA |
| 2 | SCHOOL | FAMILY | FRIENDS |
| 3 | FRIENDS | MEDIA | FAMILY |
| 4 | CHURCH | SCHOOL | SCHOOL |
*Center for Parent Youth Understanding
This guide was written to help your voice be heard above the roar of the media in your child's world. And it is critically important for you to be heard.
Buy your copy now!
A Sample of the Practical Parenting Tools in this Guide
You'll find many helpful tools and strategies presented in easy-to-remember ways. Here's one example. The "Media Rockin' R.U.L.E.R." forms the foundation of your quest to stay in touch with today’s constantly shifting youth culture, keeping you up-to-date and connected with a dynamic youth culture that in some ways kids define, but in some ways also defines them!
The Media Rockin’ R.U.L.E.R.is a five-step, common-sense acronym that encourages parents to:
Recognize
STAY AWAKE!
Recognize the influence of media in the world of today’s kids. Media has become the most influential social institution on young people followed by friends, family, and school.
- How much and what types of media are kids really exposed to?
- Does mass media have any effect on teen thinking and beliefs?
- Is it safe to adopt the attitude that “kids will be kids” concerning media?
Understand
TAKE THE TIME!
Understand the language and environment of today’s youth. In a study conducted by Teen People magazine, 82 percent of those teens surveyed said they don’t think that their parents understand what it’s like to be a teen today.
- Do I pay close attention to the most popular music, games, and shows?
- Do I research the latest trends and teen icons that have kids’ attention?
- Do I know the youth lingo and what it REALLY means?
Listen
PAY ATTENTION!
Listen reflectively and objectively to the media interests of the young people in your life. We hear kids with our ears; but it requires a willing mind to listen to what they are really saying.
- Do I thoughtfully engage my kids about their media interests?
- Do I try to remember what it was like to be a teen?
- Is my adult concern tempered by my adult understanding regarding their media interests?
Evaluate
ASK “HARD” QUESTIONS!
Evaluate media messages through media literacy and media discernment. HOW kids watch and listen to media is equally as important as WHAT media kids watch and listen to.
- Am I teaching my kids to question the presentation of information in media?
- Am I questioning them while the show is running or the CD is playing?
- Do I let them ‘off the hook’ too easily when questioning their media choices?
Respond
BE SINCERE!
Respond with a sincere and committed heart that seeks the highest and best interests of the young people in your life regarding their media and life choices. We teach kids what we believe; but we reproduce who we are.
- Do I regularly spend quality and quantity time with my kids?
- Am I establishing truth and trust with my kids through my own personal integrity when it comes to my media and life choices?
More wisdom from the guide
- “Kids are immersed in a universe outside their parents’ reach, a world defined by computer games, music, TV, and movies.” -- Newsweek
- Kids are looking for relationships, and they WILL find them somewhere.
- It is absolutely imperative to stay relationally connected to your kids during this very turbulent time in their lives (adolescence).
- There are some battles with your kids you would like to win.
There are some battles with your kids you have to win.
It is vitally important that you clearly draw the lines of distinction. - HOW kids watch and listen to media is equally as important as WHAT media kids watch and listen to.
- Although you may always want to be your child’s ‘friend’, there are going to be times for the well-being of your child when that desire will have to give way to the responsibility you have as your child’s parent. That’s just the way it is.
- We teach kids what we believe, but we reproduce who we are!
About the Author
George A. Palombo
Executive Director, American Center for Character & Cultural Education
“Plant your visions deep and they will bear fruit for many generations.”
George Palombo knows about the impact of today’s media on adolescents, both as a parent and an educator. As a parent, he is the father of six children,including four special needs adopted children, and he has been selected by iParenting Media as a “Dad of the Month.” As an educator, George has spent more than 12 years in public school classrooms as a Crime Prevention Instructor as well as conducting student assemblies, parent programs, law enforcement training, and educator in-service programs, both locally and nationally. Honored as a “Pennsylvania Police Officer of the Year,” he is the passionate guiding force behind the American Center for Character and Cultural Education’s unique pop culture, critical thinking-based approach to impacting the decision making of America’s youth. George resides with his family in Ambridge, PA.
Contact: info@straightroads.org
Order your copy now!
Equipping Parents for Battle: A Practical Guide to Connecting with Your Kids in Their Media Saturated World
$10.00 plus $2.00 shipping (plus 6% sales tax for PA shipping addresses)
Pay by check
Download and print this order form and mail with your payment to:
American Center for Character & Cultural Education
1600 Laurel Rd.
Ambridge, PA 15003
Pay by credit card
Questions? Call 724-283-5585
