healthykids OVERCOME HOLIDAY
MEDIA MADNESS THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE AREN’T THINGS
by Melinda Hemmelgarn
I
f your children watch commercial television, go to the movies, play video games or spend leisure time
on the computer surfing the Internet or chatting and texting with friends, they already know exactly what they must have to be happy this holiday season. That’s because ads aimed at kids are everywhere, enticing them to desire toys, branded cloth- ing, foods and other products they don’t really need and their parents might not be able to afford. Nor will these things they want so desperately make them happy.
Family Media Diets How much is too much of a good thing? According to The Henry J. Kai-
Iowa State University research suggests that viewing TV or video games more than two hours a day can make a youth 1.5 to 2 times more likely to experience attention problems. During the 13-month study, elementary- and college-age participants averaged 4.26 hours of screen time a day.
ser Family Foundation’s study of media in the lives of 8- to 18-year-olds, young people today consume more media than ever before—about 7½ hours a day, often multitasking or using media simultaneously. At the same time, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours of screen media use per day for children over 2 and none for younger children—with good reason. While exposure to media in moderation can be educational and entertaining, the Center on Media and Child Health links excessive media consumption with poor diet, poor body image, obesity, ear- lier sexual activity, smoking, violence, disturbed sleep and increased anxiety.
46 Collier/Lee Counties
swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com getting and spending.” Likewise, Tim Kasser, author of The High Price of
Materialism and psychology professor at Knox College, in Galesburg, Illinois, reports that countries with the highest levels of kid-targeted marketing have the least happy kids.
Secrets of Family Happiness
It turns out that what kids really value, but may not ex- press, is quality time with their family. Our sense of well- being depends less on stuff and more on relationships, a sense of belonging, community and spiritual nourishment, according to research led by Kasser and colleague Kennon
Psychologist Susan Linn, director and co-founder of the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), explains that exposure to media and marketing also promotes materialistic values in children and is stressful for fami- lies. CCFC conference reports on relevant research show that conflict between parents and children is often directly related to children’s exposure to advertising. Juliet Schor, author of Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture, says, “[Even] psychologi- cally healthy children will be made worse off if they become more enmeshed in the culture of
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