The Dutch Youth Institute has put together a special tool box for professionals. Peter Nikken, Professor on Parental Mediation, appeared in the Leidsch Dagblad on June 26 to present the Toolbox Media Education.
Parents are having trouble teaching their children media literacy. Children seem to be able to scroll and swipe before they learn how to walk. When parents search for advice about media literacy, professionals are often faced with limited knowledge and sources.
The Toolbox Media Education that prof. Peter Nikken presents contains tools, tips and advice that professionals can use to inform parents. Facts and tips based on recent international scientific research are now bundled together, whereas reliable information was previously hard to find.
According to prof. Peter Nikken, parents should guide and supervise their children consciously. “We live in a different time. My own children, for example, are filled with disbelief when I tell them that I used to cycle over to my friend to ask him if he wanted to play.”
While clinics and infant welfare centres have plenty of information pamphlets about various issues, information about children and iPads is very limited. “That must change, because just as parents think about healthy eating and the best school for their child, media education is a part of life too.”
The purpose of the Toolbox Media Education is to give professionals working in educational support, teachers in education and group leaders in child care enough knowledge to give informed answers to the questions of parents.