Raising Discerning Viewers :: Heather [Ep 372]

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Media is all around us - movies, music, tv, online videos, reels, TikToks, and more. And, there are as many parenting strategies around media as there are types of media. How do we safeguard our kids around media in today’s culture?</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Spoiler Alert: We aren’t going to talk about</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">what</span></em> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">to watch per se, but rather</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">how</span></em> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">to watch. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode I’ll talk about what it could look like for us to raise not just haphazard watchers but discerning media consumers. Of course, we should exercise wisdom with what our kids watch and listen to, but also, as moms we’re in the business of teaching men to fish. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Let’s teach our kids to become discerning viewers. I’ll give you some handlebars to foster discussions about movies or TV with your kids and to get them thinking about what they’re watching too. “We want our children to know the one good story so well that when they see Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Frodo, Anne of Green Gables, Ariel, and Sleeping Beauty they can recognize the strands of truth and deception in them.” (Karalee Reinke, in Ep 27). </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“O Discerning Spirit, </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Who alone judges all things rightly, </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now be present in my mind and active</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In my imagination as I prepare to engage </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With the claims and questions of diverse cultures</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Incarnated in the stories that people tell.” </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Liturgy Before Consuming Media, Every Moment Holy</span></em> <span style= "font-we