sorry kids, you can't watch spiderman?

ok after today's lecture my mind is blown.
all i have been thinking about is
spiderman is bad?!!!
i have to tell my 4-year-old he can't watch spiderman?!

let me elaborate.
today we learned about educational television- particularly for preschool-aged children.
4-5 year olds are my favorite after my experience in the preschool (if you couldn't already tell).
i love this age. they are so capable and bright.
but they're still so moldable and innocent - it is for this reason that I am so concerned.

first i'll focus on some of the awesome and really positive things that we learned:

• there's never been a better time than now for educational tv for preschoolers.  Think about it... there are so many programs directed toward 4 year olds- teaching them with interactive games and asking questions so they'll respond. blues clues, super why, and dora- to name a few. There used to only be mr. rogers and sesame street. We've never had it so easy- which also (to me) means this caution: it's so easy that i'll probably want to let my kid sit there for hours because... hey! it's educational!
• educational tv (and especially disney movies) show sooo many acts of prosocial behavior- acts that 4 year olds have been found to imitate and learn from. (one of the most fascinating things we learned was that Pocahontas has 2.79 prosocial acts per MINUTE!! The highest of all Disney movies- according to a study done by my very own professors (Coyne and Walker) 
• kids who watch these shows have better vocabularies, problem solving skills, intelligence, and show higher information acquisition (Anderson, et al., 2001). They are getting smarter and learning by watching!

Now, let's get to the really interesting stuff.

There was a study done in 2005 (Mares & Woodward) that tested prosocial and antisocial acts to see what their effects would be on the viewers (preschoolers).  They found that when children watched prosocial behavior, they were definitely influenced by it and imitated it. HOWEVER, they also found that antisocial acts are JUST as influential.  AND when prosocial acts were mixed with aggression (ex: Superman kills the bad guy, but it's a good thing because, you know, he's the good guy getting rid of the bad guys) it led to these children behaving much more AGGRESSIVEly.

You have to understand that children can't distinguish between fantasy and reality until age 7. 

Now after knowing that, can you see why children would think it's totally normal to
"kick the mean guys in the shins" (quote from my favorite movie One Fine Day). 

Can you see why your 4 year old would act aggressively because they do imitate the behaviors they see?  They don't understand the difference yet. 

So... on to what i've been thinking allll day.

What am I going to allow my kids to watch and at what age?!

What age is it appropriate for them to watch Spiderman and shows like Spiderman? 

7?

I never would have thought it would be detrimental to my kids.  I don't want to be the most hated mom, but I also want to be cautious about how i raise my kids- i want the best outcomes.

I could also start telling you about what i know about fast-paced television shows (Spiderman) and what those do to young ones... 

Let's not.  I'll get off my soap box.

But really,

what (and when) are you going to let your kids watch?

have i rocked your world or are you not convinced?

children killing children?

alright everybody is crazy for this hunger games

Jeff is hooked, nicole is hooked, everybody is hooked except me.
but what i'm wondering is

how are they going to make a movie that is PG-13
when it's about children killing children?

to me, nothing about this book/movie sounds appealing.

no thanks.
SAVE THE CHILDREN!!

bejeweled

my sister nicole got me hooked on this game called bejeweled blitz last weekend. I've been playing on my phone like a maniac. It's amazing how addictive games can be. This form of media can definitely be detrimental because it gets in the way of me getting things done. I feel like I say "one more game" a million times every day. Somehow I think that the one more time I play, I'll get a higher score.
I'm not even close to Nicole's high score, yet i still keep trying to beat it. I sort of hate her for showing me this game!! I can't wait to learn about the studies on gaming and their effects.

what game are you addicted to?

What's your favorite tv show?

Let's get real.

I'm not gonna beat around the bush.

Or pretend that this show isn't my favorite.

What's my favorite tv show?

I've gotten into it only in the last year.
I liked it in high school, but really didn't watch tv.
But now, I'M CRAZY ABOUT IT!
Why?
it's funny!
For some reason this show makes me laugh more than any other show.
I don't care for the other comedic shows people die over (30 Rock, Parks & Rec, The Office)
I'd rather watch FRIENDS over anything.
Is it because I love the different characters and their personalities ?
- how Monica, Ross, and Chandler scream every line
- Pheobie's stupidity.. wait, and Joey's!
- the dynamic between the boys and the girls
- Ross' geekiness (yes i just made up that word)
- how Monica has to clean EVERYTHING

or is it because the hilarious lines are constantly flowing?
Probably both.
I do know that if I'm home between the hours of 2-4 or 10-11pm,
that tv is going to be on channel 32 or 27!
I've never been this way about a show.  It's bizarre for me.

But it brings me to the big "debate" over media.
We've been learning about all the different media theories
and many of them take a side on whether or not media AFFECTS us
and whether or not we can be consumers and choose to not be AFFECTED.

What's my take on it?
I think it's both.

Take FRIENDS for example:
Some people are totally against FRIENDS because it has some inappropriate and sexual humor.
Sure, I've learned some things from FRIENDS that I probably wouldn't have otherwise (I'm sort of naive though so maybe I should have learned them years ago;)... and that's how I'm AFFECTED by the show without my control.
But I also think that most of the time while watching this show I do have the control over whether or not I'll be AFFECTED by it.
My values don't change by watching it because I laugh at them and realize their views are different.
I'm not going to suddenly change my mind and get married 3x because I saw that Ross did and that makes it okay.

So will I keep watching?
Yes.
Judge me if you'd like, but I feel like FRIENDS is a much better choice compared to a lot of things that are on tv now.
What do you think?

either way,

I'm going to keep

laughing 

Nicole and Nina Singing Part of Your World

These are my sisters (home sick with chicken pox) singing Part of Your World.

Nicole gets pretty intense! So funny.

Gloria Schade Janse aka Funny Grandma

Gloria Schade Janse

Yesterday Jeff's grandma passed away.  

She was one month shy of 99 years old!

From what I knew, she was the most beautiful woman 

with the most irresistible smile.

And her eyes smiled with her.

She was the most "with it" grandma I ever knew.

Even though her eyes started failing her,

she could somehow always figure out when I was talking to her.

And she'd always say, 

"ohhh kara. I'm so happy you're in the family, you sweet girl!"

She hardly knew me and I hardly knew her.

But she was quick to love (like her daughter, my MIL- Julie)

and I'll never forget that.

I'm glad that I could meet this remarkable woman.

So I can remember her kindness and tell our kids about her.

Her legacy will always live on.

We already miss you Funny Grandma!!

But we're glad you're with your sweetheart now.

dear family, we've found her obituary here
and while in the search, I found that Joseph, her husband, is on wikipedia!
Pretty cool to have such a famous husband!

the voice of voiceovers really do make a difference

call me crazy but i melt when i hear Stanley Tucci's voice.

he does the at&t commercials and you probably know him best from "cingular, raising the bar"

i get excited when i hear his voice
and that's how you know it's a good voiceover

New Year 2012

The best thing you can do for yourself at the start of this New Year is to read this 2009 BYU devotional address by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (my favorite;) titled:

Remember Lot's Wife.  

I have read it at the beginning of every New Year since then and continue to deeply touched by his words.  Too often I find myself "looking back"and longing for something I once had.

My past has been so good and so sweet that I often want what I used to have.

I miss my days dancing at The Dance Club.
I miss the good times I had with great friends.
I miss the ease and giddiness and fun of high school.
I miss the blissful days of not having responsibility.
I miss the time I had to spend every night before bed
reading my scriptures and the strength of youth,
writing in my journal,
and praying.

But, when I look at my present, I see that I have so much.

I am lucky to have such a wonderful husband.
I am so blessed to be near family.
I am grateful to be studying at BYU- an experience I'll never have again.
I have such a wonderful (and profitable, really, for what I do) job.
I get to study child development every day.
I am at the age where I can form wonderful lifelong friendships.
This is the time where I can GROW.

And as I look forward to my future, I find that I have so many greater things to look forward to.

I can't wait to have babies! I find joy and excitement in thinking about all the time that I'll be able to spend with my kids.
I look forward to working as a Child Life Specialist (hopefully) and working with and helping kids in hospitals!
I can't wait for the day I can say I am a cook
I long for the day that I can clean and my apartment won't always be a mess!
I'm excited to not work on weekend nights
I can't wait to know where we'll be going for medical school

But there is another one of my traps. I get caught up in what tomorrow will be like. I LOVE this talk because he captures all my weaknesses.  I need to live in the present and be thankful for what I have. And not longingly wait for the day that it will all be gone.  Cause like one of my favorite songs says,

You're gonna miss this. You're gonna want this back. 

You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast.

(trace adkins)

so live it up people!!!

make 2012 a great one!

"To all such of every generation I call out, "Remember Lot's wife." Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ is the "high priest of good things to come."" 

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

ahhh, don't you just love him?!


.... so did you read it? His talk? Because that is a heck of a lot more worth your time than this post was! GO! Read it! Or you'll be sorry...

Media, Family and Human Development

One of my final college courses this semester is called

Media, Family and Human Development.  

This course requires that I post on a blog 

2x a week 

so readers (all 2 of you;)

BEWARE!

and here's your

WARNING.

I will be posting like crazy compared to what I have so far. 

Get ready for this blog to 

RUMBLE!!

Let's talk about the

MEDIA

or is it just media?

the media vs. media?

this word is starting to look strange to me.

m-e-d-i-a