Eat Chat Parent: What Are Your Children Watching?
It’s 10 o’clock — do you know what your children are watching? Steven Schlozman, Ph.D., poses the question in regards to his upcoming Eat Chat Parent workshop.
It might feel like the time when the family gathered around the TV, negotiating a one-hour program before bed are long gone. Now, young people have so many avenues to take in media, from Netflix to YouTube and even the free apps when on an airplane. Our job as parents is to be open to talking about what’s on the screen because as the saying goes, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to helping solve who is watching what — but that’s why Mountain Youth is teaming up with Eagle Valley Behavioral Health and Epic Promise for the final Eat Chat Parent workshop of the 2019-20 school year, March 3-4. Scholzman will focus on the challenges of ubiquitous technology. He’ll talk about digital entertainment and how you can talk to your children about how they (and you) can remain media savvy, while maintaining your child’s sense of independence and sharing family values. He will discuss TV shows, online videos and programming and how it relates to the teenage brain and behavioral health.
“Kids are always going to try to get away with watching some-thing verbotine, it’s a coming of age thing,” he said.
But, it’s how we, as parents, react.
“It’s more about helping families stay true to their values and understand the strengths about what is out there,” he said
Although the format has changed, Schlozman is quick to point out that parents have been dealing with various types of technology for generations — from the introduction of the rotary phone right to today’s diverse menu of offerings. Whether the content is a horror film, sex scene or series about suicide, it’s important for parents to know what kids are watching — and be ready to talk about what may be a sensitive topic.
‘An ongoing conversation’
It was one year ago Schlozman opened many of our eyes to anxiety in our children. Yes, all young people have anxiety and certain levels are healthy. He helped us talk openly about anxiety and presented clear tips on how to help young people cope with stress. It’s with this same down-to-earth approach that Schlozman will return this year to share his expertise with us in the arena of technology.
“Talking to your kids about technology should be an ongoing conversation. There are many ways to start the conversation and Dr. Schlozman will bring up some perspectives that may be surprising, and helpful, to having that ongoing conversation in your home. Please join us,” said Carol Johnson, community education manager for Mountain Youth, in a news release.
Children ages 10 and older are welcome to come with an adult. There will be free childcare, dinner and Spanish interpretation. Learn more at http://www.mountainyouth.org/eatchatparent, and regis-ter at http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MarchEatChatParent2020.
If you go …
What: Eat Chat Parent discussion about how to have conversations with children about what they’re watching.
Where/when: Eagle Valley High School on March 3; Battle Mountain High School on March 4; dinner is at 5:30 p.m. with the presentation from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Cost: Free
More information: http://www.mountainyouth.org/eatchatparent
