Media Workshop Series for Parents

Did you know that the majority of kids spend more time with media than they do at school or with their parents?

Topics include: the influence media has on children, evaluating your family’s media use, maintaining a healthy media environment in your home, and an introduction to media analysis.

Topics include: effects of advertising, childhood obesity, pester power, and media analysis.

Topics include: cybersafety, parental controls, social networking, and the benefits of growing up online.

Refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP to ciulla@mac.com.

All participants will receive resource information including tip sheets, recommended websites, books, and suggestions on appropriate media choices for kids.

*Turn over for more information regarding the lectures and the facilitator.

You started to create your own attachment to Playhouse Disney until your child came home from school playing Star Wars and insisted on turning everything into a lightsaber. As your child gets older, you find your child wants to go on Club Penguin or play Guitar Hero more than anything. Not to mention, your child really needs a cell phone. Everyone has one! How did this happen? This workshop focuses on the media saturated environment kids are growing up in today.

Their relationship started innocently enough. A red fuzzy guy on your television at 7 a.m. Before you knew it, your child was eating off of Elmo plates, sleeping on Elmo sheets, and playing with dancing Elmos. Elmo is EVERYWHERE. Or maybe it’s Thomas, Dora, Clifford, Spongebob, Hannah Montana, or High School Musical. How can you maintain some control over the intense commercialism kids experience every day? This workshop is intended to give you tips on how to manage the onslaught of marketing aimed at your child.

At a click of a button, our kids have access to all the information they could ever want. They can learn about history, science, music, and anything else they have an interest in. But having access to the web also presents its challenges. We know about Facebook, My Space and YouTube and the hours kids spend on them every day. We have also heard the horror stories about sexual predators and cyberbullying. Is it possible for children to enjoy the benefits of the Internet while staying safe? This workshop will explore all the ways to keep your family safe on the Internet.

Workshops Led by Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, Media Educator

Michelle started her career at Nickelodeon where she spent over eight years working in production and development. She produced specials including Rugrats: Still Babies After All These Years and Stars, Slimings and Blimps: Best of the Kids’ Choice Awards. She was an integral part of the launch of Nickelodeon’s Games and Sports Network. After becoming a mother, Michelle moved into the non-profit sector to work as Program Director for Baby Buggy, a non-profit organization that provides essential items for young children living in poverty in New York City. In 2007, Michelle received her graduate degree from NYU with a concentration on how media and the arts affect social change. Her graduate thesis was entitled “How Parents Monitor Their Pre-School Children’s Television Use.” Michelle writes and lectures to parents and educators about the effects of media on children. She is a Board Member of the Drama League, a P.T.A. Exec Board Member at P.S. 199, and a member of various organizations supporting healthy media for children including Common Sense Media, National Association for Media Literacy Education, and Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood. She lives in New York City with her husband and two kids.

Contact Information: 205 West End Avenue, Apartment 10H - New York, NY 10023

Email: ciulla@mac.com          Phone: 212-721-7282              Cell: 917-494-9155