subject: What story morals are good for kids? [print this page] What story morals are good for kids?
Today children are bombarded by media from all sides. Books, tv, games, social media, comics and the list goes on. Children, inexperienced as they are, find it difficult to distinguish between content that is uplifting and content that reinforces negative attitudes and beliefs. How are parents to know what sort of stories are appropriate for their kids?
Any parent today knows that there are all sorts of age inappropriate stories being produced for kids. In the endless stream of kids media we find story morals that Today children are bombarded by media from all sides. Books, tv, games, social media, comics and the list goes on. Children, inexperienced as they are, find it difficult to distinguish between content that is uplifting and content that reinforces negative attitudes and beliefs. How are parents to know what sort of stories are appropriate for their kids?
Any parent today knows that there are all sorts of age inappropriate stories being produced for kids. In the endless stream of kids media we find story morals that reinforce greed, selfishness, amorality, violence and worse. This problem is made worse by the fact that kids actively seek out material that is intended for older audiences.
An example of this might be young boys playing R rated internet video games that focus on highly realistic violence. Another might be girls in the tween age range reading young adult novels that deal with adult issues like drug abuse, sexual violence and adult relationships. Call me crazy but I don't think homicide, drug abuse and sexual violence are appropriate topics for ten year old children.
So what should parents do? What type of story morals should they be trying to expose their children to? This is a question that has to be answered by each parent for themselves based on their personal beliefs. However most parents would agree that stories which reinforce values such as responsibility, caring, sharing, family togetherness, tolerance, hard work and persistence are healthy for young minds. On a more general note, themes like love, happiness and self esteem are always in vogue for young children.
However it is easy to flood young children with unrealistically 'up' books. Why is this bad? Well, something that most parents don't remember is that the schoolyard is not a peaceful, happy place. It is filled with tensions, conflict and resentment. Jealousy, anger and hatred are encountered on a daily basis. This is not a bad thing. Children need to learn how to deal with negative as well as positive emotions if they are to grow into healthy and esteemful teens.
So buy books that are happy and 'up'. But don't be afraid to let children have access to material that deals with conflict. Age appropriate conflict. Blowing people's heads off is not age appropriate content for a ten year old (it's not age appropriate for any age really). Age appropriate story morals deal with the types of conflict that children might really encounter. Schoolyard settings where child characters deal with and resolve their problems are the sort of conflict based stories parents should be seeking.
Stories that deal with real schoolyard conflict can help children by giving them mental models of how to deal with that conflict. Children are often confused by their own emotions and the emotions of others and reading about them can be a great way to take control of their lives. Parents should protect their children from the adult world. But they must also realize that children need to fully experience the world of children in order to grow up. The good side and the bad side of the world of children.
So we as parents need to monitor and filter the media our children are exposed to. But there is no need to pretend to your child that the world is all sunshine. Allowing them access to age appropriate conflict stories can be a great way to build emotional maturity in the young person you care about. Just make sure you balance these with story morals that deal with the positive issues too.einforce greed, selfishness, amorality, violence and worse. This problem is made worse by the fact that kids actively seek out material that is intended for older audiences.
An example of this might be young boys playing R rated internet video games that focus on highly realistic violence. Another might be girls in the tween age range reading young adult novels that deal with adult issues like drug abuse, sexual violence and adult relationships. Call me crazy but I don't think homicide, drug abuse and sexual violence are appropriate topics for ten year old children.
So what should parents do? What type of story morals should they be trying to expose their children to? This is a question that has to be answered by each parent for themselves based on their personal beliefs. However most parents would agree that stories which reinforce values such as responsibility, caring, sharing, family togetherness, tolerance, hard work and persistence are healthy for young minds. On a more general note, themes like love, happiness and self esteem are always in vogue for young children.
However it is easy to flood young children with unrealistically 'up' books. Why is this bad? Well, something that most parents don't remember is that the schoolyard is not a peaceful, happy place. It is filled with tensions, conflict and resentment. Jealousy, anger and hatred are encountered on a daily basis. This is not a bad thing. Children need to learn how to deal with negative as well as positive emotions if they are to grow into healthy and esteemful teens.
So buy books that are happy and 'up'. But don't be afraid to let children have access to material that deals with conflict. Age appropriate conflict. Blowing people's heads off is not age appropriate content for a ten year old (it's not age appropriate for any age really). Age appropriate story morals deal with the types of conflict that children might really encounter. Schoolyard settings where child characters deal with and resolve their problems are the sort of conflict based stories parents should be seeking.
Stories that deal with real schoolyard conflict can help children by giving them mental models of how to deal with that conflict. Children are often confused by their own emotions and the emotions of others and reading about them can be a great way to take control of their lives. Parents should protect their children from the adult world. But they must also realize that children need to fully experience the world of children in order to grow up. The good side and the bad side of the world of children.
So we as parents need to monitor and filter the media our children are exposed to. But there is no need to pretend to your child that the world is all sunshine. Allowing them access to age appropriate conflict stories can be a great way to build emotional maturity in the young person you care about. Just make sure you balance these with story morals that deal with the positive issues too.
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