This day and age parents have to be more careful than ever in monitoring what their children are watching on television. Television, video games, and movies have become more violent than ever. This has been a main concern causing much debate over how the images in the media will affect your child during the present and future. With the internet as the most popular media outlet, it makes it even more difficult to monitor what your child is being exposed to on a daily basis.Luckily, there is a website dedicated to kid friendly media,
www.KidsFirst.org. This ingenious site brings together everything you and your child need to develop a strong understanding of what quality media really is. You will find an unlimited amount of resources including, Top 100 Kid?s Film List, Clubs, film festival selections and press coverage, news & info, a YouTube group, movie reviews, and an online store!
KIDS FIRST! is the coalition program that evaluates, rates, and endorses quality children?s feature films, DVDs, videos, CDs, TV shows and interactive media. The rating system uses volunteer, community-based juries comprised of child development professionals, teachers as well as parents and children from diverse geographic, socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. A KIDS FIRST! endorsement is given to titles that meet the KIDS FIRST! baseline criteria and are approved by both adult and child jurors.?
Goals
A. To teach children to become critical media users;
B. To help adults recognize the importance of teaching critical viewing skills to children;
C. To help children identify and be aware of outstanding media programming;
D. To develop programs for children with special needs such as low-income, hospitalized or at-risk children.
To become a KIDS FIRST! juror, you need to take a training course. The course insures the quality of a KIDS FIRST! evaluation and endorsement. The training consists of two consecutive webinar sessions for a fee of $30 which is entirely refundable once you complete the course and evaluate six titles for the organization. Click, Become a Kids First! Juror for more information!
