CHFD 331 AMU week 3 lesson Close Families, Development, and Challenges American Military University
Effective parenting is essential to children’s growth and development. Parenting young children is a challenging and often isolating task, but good parenting is essential to the wellbeing of children. In this lesson, students will explore children’s growth, skillful parenting techniques, ways for parents to access needed support, and how to monitor and supervise
media use for their school-age children.
Topics to be covered include:
- Ways parents can promote positive and nurturing family relationships.
- Strategies for parents that promote children’s growth and parent’s well-being.
- Techniques that help children learn to regulate their behaviour and develop problem solving skills.
- The consequences of children’s media use.
Introduction
A child’s growth includes maturity in the areas of physical, social-emotional, and cognitive leaning. Physical health is dependent upon appropriate nutrition, adequate sleep, and a clean and safe environment. A child also needs adequate nurturing in the social, emotional, and intellectual areas for healthy development. Parents can support their child’s growth in these areas by providing the following responses:
- Quick and appropriate responses to a child’s needs
- Warm, supportive, and positive interactions
- Consistent daily routines with some flexibility based on the child’s needs
- Opportunities to play and explore in a safe environment
- Encouragement of the task and feedback on their effort and abilities
- Modeling of appropriate social interaction and responses
- Reading experiences
Media Use and Children
Media includes access to television, video access, video games, iPods or other mp3 players, computers, cell phones, and other similar technology. Media use can have positive effects of providing families and individuals with instant access to social media and sources of entertainment and information.
Parents of children under six years of age have also reported that media devices can be used to calm children down, help them go to sleep, distract them from arguments with siblings, and allow some parental free time
for chores or relaxation (Brooks, 2013). Today’s homes have multiple televisions, video game consoles, computers, and other media sources.
Children have exposure to media use for many hours of their waking day—whether it is a background media use during multitasking or direct use of a media device. Multitasking includes having more than one media device operating at one time or having a device operating while doing another activity like eating a meal.
Effects of Media Use
Our society is increasing its use of technology. Therefore, our children have more access to media devices and spend more time using them. Generally, media that have positive messages are associated with positive behaviours or learning new skills. Media with negative messages and content are associated with negative behaviours. While media use is associated with certain behaviours, it cannot be directly linked to either positive or negative behaviours. Other variables, such as parent modelling and parental involvement, also have a strong influence on children’s behaviours.
School-age children use Facebook, Twitter, texting and YouTube for social networking and as possible educational tools. These tools may be used in the classroom–students might watch educational videos or
network with one another using social media, but there are many risks associated with social networking for children. Some of the risks include cyber bullying, inappropriate sharing of content (e.g., sexting),
misinterpreting privacy issues, and receiving texts or marketing contacts from groups or businesses. Children and teens need guidance regarding privacy and legal issues on sending photos and sexually explicit messages
through social media or their cell phone. Sending, re-sending, receiving, and storing sexually explicit images of children under the age of 18 is a felony offence.