The Parent Coaching Institute: Media as the Third Parent

I am well on my way to becoming a parent coach!    This semester our class is entitled Supporting Moms and Dads to Parent Well in a Media Age.

The main point of the class is that there are many new skills that parents must utilize in todays day and age.  Media is almost playing the role of a third parent, and one that only cares about making big bucks, not really about the health and welfare of your child.

So, hmmm, what to do?   Do you ever feel like media has control of your family rather than the other way around?  Picture this:

I am in Chicago visiting my sisters for Thanksgiving, always a very special time.    Before dinner, this is what's going on:   My brother in-law and his brother are watching the football game on the large screen television in the living room.  My mom and dad are sitting side by side on the couch playing words with friends and sort-of watching the game too.   Down in the basement, newly decked out for the teenagers, my sixth grade niece and nephew are playing a war video game.Neither of them are allowed to play it, but in the excitement of the holiday no one has noticed.  Upstairs in the attic a bunch of famiy members, including my three year old, are having a dance contest on the Wii.  Nearby, another niece is working on her college applications on her laptop.   My husband is trying to talk to his children (my step-children) on his cell phone. but is having trouble with the reception.  I am wondering if my favorite show, Project Runway, will be on this evening and if we will have time after dinner to see it.  

This is the world we live in, very different from ten years ago or even five years ago.  My husband, a preschool teacher, is starting to see (what we think are) the results of this high-tech lifestyle--more and more kids that are unfocused and unable to pay attention.  

Gloria DeGaetano, my professor at The Parent Coaching Institute http://www.thepci.com/ is an expert in this topic and her book is a great foray into understanding the many ways that media can effect brain development.    She also shares many ideas as to how to parent well in this media age.

Through the website you can also find a coach (but more on that later!) to help you make decisions around media that are best for your famiy.