Parenting Pointers; How Books Teach Kids Values Amid The Media Overload

As kids grow up in a media-saturated world - social media sites, smartphones, tablets and endless TV channels - they receive a barrage of mixed messages. 

Parents, meanwhile, face a battle of getting the right message across. Psychologists note that sometimes a child's takeaway from a media screen session is in opposition to what's being taught at home. Studies show TV can have a negative effect on kids' values on topics such as violence, race and sex. Likewise, the hazards of the internet on children and teens are well-chronicled. 

As parents try to police the heavy media traffic and keep their kids on the right road, they can still turn to books as a dependable tool for teaching and reinforcing values. A study in healthychildren.org summarized that today's youth "are bombarded with conflicting, ever-shifting standards of ethics and morality, but fortunately, a really great book has the power to counterbalance these outside influences and teach children important lessons as they grow." 

"The children's book and its message of values is of even higher importance to kids and their parents today," says J.L. Baumann, author of Mackenzie Goes Adventuring (www.snookton.com). "The clutter and mixed messages of other media often conspire against what parents want to teach. Books that keep the kids entertained and curious get the message through in stories and pictures that stick in their minds." 

Baumann lists some pluses that books provide as tools for teaching values: 

Time to think. Quiet time with a good book has another advantage to a child: it turns off the noise of the parent, allowing the child to think for his or herself. Kids tend not to learn from lectures or loud, repetitive one-way talks, experts say. This is especially true of teens, who don't want to be told what to think, Baumann adds. 

Gets them talking. Compelling books prompt discussion, which furthers kids' learning processes and opens up more dialogue with their parents and peers. "They're at a curious stage of their life, seeking answers as they read about conflict and resolution," Baumann says. "For a child or teen, a book should be like having an adventure and seeking inspiration. That's the best kind of education." 

Leaves an impression. Printed words written meaningfully, with a value lesson in mind, can leave an indelible mark on a young, impressionable mind. "It's a powerful, positive combination with the words teaching something important coupled with lively, colorful illustrations that convey the message, that reinforce the whole adventure, the great learning experience," Baumann says. 

"Children's books and good books for teens have never lost their value," he says, "and in fact are still a wonderful tool to teach values." 

About J.L. Baumann 

J.L. Baumann is the author of the children's book Mackenzie Goes Adventuring (www.snookton.com) and numerous works for adults, including A Gothic Rendezvous and Sonnets of the Provocative Kind. He is the father of four children, all of whom were home-schooled, and has a background in accounting. He is also the founder of Prosperity Financial Services Inc. and Postmortem Publications Inc.