Event will look at impact of media violence on children
- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
By Mary Louise Speer | Wednesday, January 09, 2008 |
Parents are invited to learn more about the effects of media on children at a Saturday event.
Scott County Kids Empowerment is hosting a conference with Douglas Gentile at the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency, or AEA. He is the editor of “Media Violence and Children: A Complete Guide for Parents and Professionals” and co-author of “Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents.”
“Gentile is going to be talking about the psychology of advertising and how the media influences us without our conscious awareness or consent,” said Kristen Taft, early childhood coordinator at Scott County Kids.
Gentile is a developmental psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State University. He also serves as the director of research for the National Institute on Media and the Family
He will highlight the positive and negative impact media can have on children’s readiness for school and the latest findings on brain development in children from birth to 5.
The afternoon workshop is open to parents and people interested in learning more about the topic of media and young people. The event ties in with Scott County Kids’ annual empowerment meeting, Marcy Mendenhall, executive director of Scott County Kids, said.
Another topic is how violent video games affect children’s behavior and obesity
challenges that can arise from sitting too much and exercising too little. “I’m not saying all video games are bad, just maybe the overexposure to video games,” she said.
Also, boys and girls receive different messages from TV shows, movies and video games. Girls often grapple with the issues of self-esteem and their body. Attending the conference will give parents another tool to use in helping create a healthier environment at home for their children, Mendenhall said.
The vision of Scott County Kids Empowerment is to coordinate and expand community resources and services to build positive environments for young children. The board funds a variety of services related to young children such as Parents as Teachers and Child Care Assistance, Read with Me, Hand in Hand and Baby Packets. The Child Care Checklist on the agency’s Web site at scottcountykids.org helps parents evaluate the child-care provider or site they may be considering.
The workshop runs from 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday and is free to Iowa and Illinois residents at the AEA offices, 729 21st St., Bettendorf.
To register for the event, call Linda Keith at Scott County Kids Empowerment at
(563) 326-8221 or lkeith@scott
countyiowa.com.
The city desk can be contacted at
(563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
del.icio.us
Digg
NewsVine
Fark
redditMore Stories By Mary Louise Speer
» More Local Stories
Highest Rated Articles from the last 7 Days
- Technology News Articles
- Computers, MP3, Phones & More. See Product Pics, Specs & Reviews.
- www.NexTag.com
- 2008 Diet Of The Year:
- Finally, A Diet That Really Works! Seen On CNN, NBC, CBS & Fox News.
- www.Wu-YiSource.com
- Cheap Airfare
- Compare multiple travel sites. Discount web fares made easy.
- www.LowFares.com
- Ads by Yahoo!
