CCFC kicked out of its home

Violence against kids declining

There may be reason to feel your child is a little safer in the world. Bul- lying, sexual assault, theft, and other violence against children aged 2 to 17 is on the wane, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center (CCRC). Between 2003 and 2008, the percentage of children report- ing physical bullying declined from 22 to 15 percent. Sexual assaults dropped from 3.3 to 2.0 percent during the same period, and emotional/ psychological abuse decreased from 10.3 to 7.1 percent. The authors conjecture that the decline in bullying may be attribut-

able to school campaigns against violence and bullying. However, the study also emphasizes that while some crimes against children have decreased, others have increased. The percentage of children experienc- ing physical abuse actually rose slightly, as did the percentage of children who witnessed family violence. Lead researcher David Finkelhor cautions

that “The overall level of children’s victimization is still shockingly high, but we are making considerable progress.”

The results, published in the March 2010 edition of the peer-reviewed

Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, were garnered from two

similar studies conducted fi ve years apart: the Developmental Victimiza- tion Survey and the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence. For more information, or to read the full article, visit the website of UNH’s Crimes Against Children Research Center, at www.unh.edu/ccrc.

—Laura Andre

Kids’ media use on the rise

Kids’ appetite for media has grown, accord- ing to Generation M2

: Media in the Lives of 8- to

18-Year-Olds, a national study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The study found that in 2009, children aged 8 to 18 years devoted an average

of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using

entertainment media in a typical day, or more

than 53 hours per week. And because they

spend so much of that time “media multitasking” (i.e., using more than one medium at a time), they actually managed to pack into that 7:38 a

total of 10:45 worth of media content.

These fi gures are a sharp increase from

2004, the last time Kaiser evaluated media use by the same age group. Concerned about children’s use of media, the American Speech- Language Hearing Association has urged the FCC to consider the potential negative impact that the misuse of entertainment media could have on children’s hearing and communica- tion development. To read the Kaiser study, go

to www.kff .org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf.

May–June 2010 | mothering.com 37

Sometimes acting with integrity has a price. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC)

has been evicted from its home

with the Judge Baker Children’s Center (JBCC), a Harvard-affi liated children’s mental-health center in Boston, Massachusetts. CCFC recently campaigned successfully against the Walt Disney–owned Baby Einstein product line, forcing Disney to off er refunds for the products. According to CCFC, representatives from Disney contacted JBCC last fall, coincident with the refund announcement. Shortly after that, CCFC staff were told not to discuss Baby Einstein with the press, and questions were raised about whether CCFC’s mission was any longer appropriate for JBCC. In a related New York Times article, CCFC’s use of—or threats to use— lawsuits against corporations was singled out by JBCC’s corporate board as an inappropriate strategy.

In January, CCFC was asked to leave JBCC.

The timing of the announcement was awkward;

Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, media director of JBCC and a staunch advocate of CCFC, had been scheduled to receive JBCC’s prestigious World of Children Award on March 13. The gala ceremony was canceled after Dr. Poussaint, in solidarity with the shunned CCFC, refused to accept the award. The CCFC’s new home is at Third Sector New

England, a Boston-based organization committed to promoting a more just and democratic society.

—Laura Andre

ISTOCK PHOTO

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