The media everywhere exert a certain fascination because
they are very attractive and easy to access. Being an integral part of the
child's environment, they participate in the evolution of their imagination,
and are enriching for their creative spirit.
However, the media can also manipulate the child by touching
his sensitivity, his fragility because he is a small man in the making, still
unable to have a critical look and take the necessary distance.
It is important, even essential for parents, to teach them
how to use the media wisely to get them to understand how they work and
gradually to separate truth from fiction.
The real and the imaginary in the child
At 3-4 years, the child does not discern the true from the
false, nor the imaginary of the real, he does not know how to dissociate the
silent thought and the words that can translate this thought. Bruner writes on
this subject that the young child is convinced that the person before him knows
all his thoughts.
The child has a particularly developed imagination. He can
invent and tell aloud many stories without premeditation or malice. He tells
them to have fun, he identifies with his heroes, without worrying about
realism. The stories come to him naturally, from his childhood life, everyday
rituals, moments spent with the family, the nanny, the school...
"The identification with a superhero means above all in
the child a desire to be great, to identify with parents, with those he loves.
It's a declaration of love. The fascination for the superhero, on the other
hand, is not positive because it can translate a fear of the world, a desire to
take back virtually the control of reality. The game, drawing or writing, can
support the real by providing magic offsets. "
It is important to help the child become anchored little by
little in reality, to project, without restricting his imagination. Some
recommendations can lead him to make the difference between the imaginary world
and reality:
·
Valuing the child's words when they are right,
true. When he has made a mistake or a mistake, the parent can encourage him to
say what really happened. It is important to congratulate him when he
recognizes his error or his mistakes and when he repairs. The scolding is not
the most effective, the child would later seek to hide his mistakes and lie for
fear of being punished.
·
Avoid making a moral judgment about your child's
"stories". "You really talk about anything!" During an
interview explains that parents can try to read behind the words, even when the
words "lie", and find out what is the hidden truth in the story of
the child. For example, if the child says: "I'm cold!" While it's
hot, it's better not to answer him: "No, it's hot!" It is essential
to respect the unique feeling of the child. Even if this feeling does not
correspond to reality, it still corresponds to something that the child seeks
to express. This is how he can strengthen his self-confidence.
After 4 years, the child discovers what is not real. This
does not prevent him from continuing to invent stories. The psychologist
answered on this subject: "If he tells you that he drives a car, rather
than telling him:" It is not possible! ", Which would cancel his word
and his imaginary world, it is possible to enter his imagination by graciously
correcting: "Ah, you would like to drive a car ... You would like to be
able to do it already .... But do you really know how old you will be able to
do it?
The media
a) Their influence:
The media exert a lot of influence on the psychosocial
development of the child. They quickly realized that advertising products
marketed to children is very effective because they do not understand the
principle of hype and advertising bluff. They tend to believe everything they
are told, and they may even feel deprived of something essential if they do not
acquire the products touted by advertising. Most preschoolers do not understand
the difference between a show designed to entertain and an advertisement made
to sell. "Several studies show that because of their level of development,
children before primary do not necessarily distinguish advertising from regular
programs."
b) Images and violent sounds:
The violent images that are most likely to disrupt a child
are scenes of real-life events, hot topics such as bombings, war, famines in
foreign countries .., as well as scenes in which animals are injured or killed.
Psychiatrist, specifies: "As far as what is shown, it is its emotional
context which matters for the small child. For him, seeing a soldier firing a
machine gun is less disturbing than seeing people howling, crying, and running
out of their homes. And he is even more disturbed when he does not know what
value to attribute to this emotional intensity, as is the case when he sees
pornographic images. "
Understanding an injured child by the media images?
"From the age of 2, a child is able to turn away from
something that bothers him, such as leaving the room or changing channels when
he is older,". However, if some violent images have caused him emotional
stress, in the form of anguish, fear, anger or disgust, he will seek to protect
himself, not only but in front of someone. For this, he tries to transform
these images in 3 ways:
·
by talking about it,
·
by telling each other stories
·
or by reproducing, imitating the stressful
gestures he has seen.
Daily accompaniment
Adults who are aware of the risks that a child faces in the
media can guide him or her in the relevant use of the whole, be it TV, radio,
video or computer games, the Internet...
·
With good media management for example in its
second year, television habits can be established, and parents knowledgeable
about the shows and their hours of broadcast.
·
Watch television, the Internet together and
enjoy these times to discuss programs, images, what the real order is, and what
is fictional. He proposes to establish a climate of trust and a constructive
dialogue and not to systematically ban everything. Other media such as
magazines and radio can be supervised by adults because they can also influence
the child's eating habits, physical activity, consumption or mental health.
·
Vary activities shared with the family: cooking,
DIY, various outings (walks, zoo, park, museum, outdoor games ...), because the
more children spend time with the media, the more they are influenced by them
(television for example). A child who has problems with aggression, or who
seems more vulnerable.... may be too exposed.
·
Continue to keep abreast of the most recent data
on the influence of the media and the development of psychosocial health of the
child.
Conclusion
The issue of children's exposure to the various media is an
integral part of education today. Parents and professionals play a very
important role in the social learning of the child. The media have their good
side, they are rewarding for all. To speak about them regularly and to share
the opinions of each one, each one, big and small, is to act as
parents-educators actors.
The media is ubiquitous and the pressure is constant. Also,
do not let them take over our children, when it comes to education and
influence.
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