• Quiz

The goal of this activity is help children identify the values that are important to their families and to compare them with those promoted by the media, especially television, video and computer games, toys, and games. See also, a sample chapter from Selling Out America's Children, author David Walsh, Ph.D.

1-2 hour

Notebook paper
Pen or pencil

In Selling Out America's Children, author David Walsh, Ph.D., examines the extent to which essential morals and values are missing in today's youth. In the days before television and video games, children learned primarily by observing and imitating parents, other family members, and members of the community. In the past few decades, television and video games have grown in prevalence in our society. Children today spend more time watching television and playing video games than they do in school, reading, playing, or one-on-one with their parents. Given this, it makes sense that much of what children are learning comes from the media. The question is: what are they learning?

Media can be entertaining and educational. However, the goal of media is not to raise or educate our youth. The goal is to make money and the way to make money is to keep the viewer's attention and to keep them watching from commercial break to commercial break. A variety of techniques are used to gain and keep the viewer's attention, including the use of violence, sex, and humor. The average American child will witness 200,000 acts of violence on television before he or she is eighteen years old. Though watching acts of violence and committing them are two different things, studies have shown a connection between violent entertainment and violent behavior.

In Selling Out America's Children, Dr. Walsh addresses ways to counteract society's harmful messages and "reclaim America's children."

1. Discuss the meaning of the word "values" with your children.

Values are principles, standards, or characteristics considered worthwhile or desirable. Values exist at individual, family, and society levels. For example, as an individual, an important value may be striving to always do your best. In your family, a value may be to respect other family members. Our society has values that may be similar to or different from your individual and family values. An example of this is wealth. American society values wealth; this may or may not be an important value to you and your family. Values can differ between people, families, and societies.

2. Create two columns on a piece of paper by drawing a vertical line down the middle of the paper. Label one column "positive values" and the other "negative values."

3. With your child, create a list of values that are important to your family and write them in the "positive values" column.

4. Create a list of values that are unimportant or considered negative by your family and write them in the "negative values" column.

5. If you need help thinking of values, use the list below to get started. Values on the list that are considered important to your family should go in the "positive values" column. Values that are considered negative by your family should go in the "negative values" column. Then add any additional positive or negative values you can think of to the columns. If you are neutral on a value, do not put it in either column.

• justice, fairness
• violence
• cooperation
• peaceful conflict resolution
• sex or sex appeal
• self-esteem from within
• wealth
• greed
• social responsibility
• competition
• success
• rewards without working
• selfishness
• altruism, generosity
• drugs and alcohol
• moderation
• disrespect
• respect for self and others
• empathy
• tolerance, understanding
• health

6. Explain that people learn many values from their families, but they can also learn values in other ways, such as from friends, in school, through religion, from books, from magazines, from advertising, from television, from movies, from toys and games, etc. Sometimes the values they learn in these other places reinforce what they learn in the family; sometimes the values conflict with what they learn in the family.

7. Explain that together you will be looking at some of the things in your house that can teach values to see what values they are promoting and whether they fit your family's values.

1. Ask your child to get two favorite toys. If your child received gifts during the holiday season, you may ask him or her to select from the new gifts.

2. Using the list of positive and negative values you created earlier, discuss the values that are promoted by the toys (i.e., what do you learn from playing with this toy or game?). If you come up with values that were not on your list, add them to either the positive or negative column. For example, if one of the toys is a football, you may decide that it promotes teamwork or cooperation, health, competition, discipline, following rules, and violence. Remind your child that there are no right or wrong answers and that most toys can promote both positive and negative values.

3. Explain that you will be doing a scavenger hunt, using the list of values and things in your home (books, magazines, videos, video or computer games, toys, games).

4. Select two positive values and two negative values from your list.

5. Ask your child to get something they use or play with that promotes the one of the values you selected. Once he or she has returned with the item, ask them to get something that promotes another of the values you selected. Repeat until your child has returned with an item for each of the two positive and two negative values.

6. Discuss the following:

• Was it easy or difficult to find things that promote positive values? What about negative values?
• What other values are promoted by each of the items?
• Overall, do the toys, games, videos, magazines, and books in your house promote the values that are important to your family? What about the television programs and commercials watched by your child?
• If not, what can be done to help ensure that your family's values are being taught and reinforced? (For helpful tips, see 12 Tips to Tame the Tube).

1. With your child, view an hour of television during the time your child usually watches.

2. While watching the program(s), keep track of the values that are promoted by the program and ask your child to do the same. Remind your child that there are no right or wrong answers and that most television programming can promote both positive and negative values. Also pay special attention to the commercials. (You may want to use the list you made earlier to keep track of the values. If you see evidence of values that are not on the list, add them to either the positive or negative column).

3. Compare your list with your child's and discuss the following:

• What values appeared most frequently in the program? Are they considered positive or negative by your family? Did you and your child record the same values?
• What values appeared most frequently in the commercials?
• Why do they put commercials in programs watched by children?
• Overall, do the television programs and commercials watched by your child promote the values that are important to your family?
• If not, what can be done to help ensure that your family's values are being taught and reinforced? (For helpful tips, see 12 Tips to Tame the Tube).