We’re racing on full steam into the digital TV world: Better sound and picture, more TV screens in the house, more channels and longer sending hours will characterize the daily TV life for both young and old. Read Kids and Media’s tips and advice for families.

Benefits
The TV media’s development gives the consumers more flexibility: You can watch what you want when you want instead of following set airing times. There are many good movies and programs to choose from, and with digital TV it’s easier to find offers irrespective of age and interests.

Challenges
The speed of TV directed at kids is increasing, the heroes are more complexly built up of both evil and good, the amount of violence is increasing and the age limits are falling. Children are introduced to youth and adult culture much sooner than before, the realism in effects is improving, the TV screens are larger and sound is more powerful. Thereby the TV experience has a greater impact on both young and old. At the same time children have gotten better at interpreting images. The development calls for proactive parents and thought through choices in the home.

Kids and Media’s advice for parents:

The decoder – a parent tool
TV decoders have the option to apply pin codes on channels you don’t wish your children to have free access to. Instructions on how to do this can be found in the user’s handbook for the decoder. Contact your service provider’s customer services if you need help. Kids and Media actively encourages TV service providers to develop new decoders. These will improve parent’s abilities to define boundaries for children’s media use: Amount, contents and when the TV can be used.

Placing the TV
Kids and Media recommend that TV screens be placed in common areas, if this is practically possible. This way it is easier for the parents to keep an eye on what the children are watching, how much they watch and how they experience what they see. Be clear about boundaries if children and teenagers get a TV, PC or games console in their own room. Give them both trust and responsibility.

Create good TV habits
Take the initiative to watch good movies and programs with your children, and let children experience that TV watching can be a social event. It is natural that children of different ages have different boundaries for what and how much they can watch. It might be a good idea to give the children “time accounts” for the use of digital media. Agree on a certain amount of time the children can sit in front of a screen in the course of a week. Remember that children learn a lot from their parent’s own TV habits.

Speak with your children
Speak with your children about good habits, teach them to recognise commercials, and give them thought through attitudes as to what to choose to watch. Invite your children to talk with you if they experience something uncomfortable or sad on TV.

Kids and Media’s suggestions for points of discussion between parents and children about movies and TV:

• What movies and programs do you enjoy the most?
• When and how much do you think it’s okay to watch TV?
• Why are there age limits on movies?
• What do you think about age limits: Should they always be kept, or can you consider the movie’s contents?
• How does it affect us to see violence on TV?
• How are we affected by commercial messages?
• What can you do if you see something you find disgusting or uncomfortable?