This year we were excited to be the recipient of the recycling grant from Community Power for the second time! We have always believed in helping the environment, so this grant was right up our alley. Through the grant we taught a curriculum called “Color Me Green”.  It was an excellent curriculum that covered a wide variety of topics such as: how are aluminum, plastic, and glass created, how are things recycled, what do recycled things become, what is compost and how to compost, how to make environmentally friendly cleaner, and how to be a smart shopper at the grocery store. The students learned many new things from the lessons, the books, and the engaging activities. We purposed to take that learning and turn it into a promise that they will try their best to live responsibly and take care of the earth. We hope that this inspires you to make a promise to the earth too! Without further ado, here are the promises that came out of their incredible hearts:

My Promise to the Earth

I promise to never recycle glass in the trash. (2^nd grade)

I promise to not throw my garbage in the street. (1^st grade)

I promise to never litter. (4^th grade)

I promise to recycle and pick up trash so animals do not die. I will not throw trash in the ocean, so the animals that live there can’t die, so the fish can’t die. (1^st grade)

I promise to never litter, recycle my recyclable things, make many filters for lakes and rivers, tell others not to litter, make compost, and don’t kill nature. (4^th grade)

I promise not to throw something on the ground. (Kindergarten)

I promise to not litter and not waste things. (3^rd grade)

I promise to clean up the earth. (Kindergarten)

I promise to throw away garbage and recycle and the recycling center. (1^st grade)

I promise to use less water in the bathroom. (2^nd grade)

I promise I will recycle and to pick up stuff and to recycle to the recycling center and be good to the earth. (Kindergarten)

I promise not to throw something in the street. (Kindergarten)

I promise to plant a tree and make the earth beautiful. (3^rd grade)

I promise I won’t throw away my glass bottles. (Kindergarten)

I promise to recycle:  to put recyclables in recycling, to not put in trash, to not litter. (1^st grade)

I promise to recycle and reuse. (Kindergarten)

I promise I will reuse my water bottle.  I will recycle anything I see if I can reach it. I promise not to litter. (1^st grade)

I promise I will recycle more. I promise I will not throw garbage outside. I promise I will not throw garbage in the ocean. I promise not to throw garbage on the floor. I promise not to throw garbage on the street. I promise not to throw garbage everywhere. I promise to make the environment clean. I promise not to throw garbage out the window. I promise not to throw garbage at people. (1^st grade)

I promise to give the earth water, plant trees, and love the earth! (4^th grade)

Donation Needs for Summer

Gift Cards (to Cub or Target) ♥ G-rated Children’s DVDs (with gift receipt) ♥ Healthy Snacks for 100 students ♥ 100% Juice or Juice Boxes for 100 students ♥ Hurt-free Antiseptic Wash ♥ Re-chargeable Batteries w/ Charger AA ♥ Kleenex ♥ Hand Sanitizer (small or big) ♥ Boys & Girls Hanes Underwear/Shorts/T-shirts (sizes 4-10) ♥ Boys & Girls Jeans or Pants (sizes 4-10) ♥ Whiteboard Erasers ♥ Durable Electric Pencil Sharpeners ♥ Blue Poster Putty ♥ Rags ♥ All Purpose Cleaner (409) ♥ Paper Towels ♥ Dry Erase Markers and Dry Erase Crayons ♥ Rubber Bands ♥ Pipe Cleaners ♥ Felt ♥ Colored Tissue Paper ♥ Markers ♥ Glue Sticks ♥ Glue ♥ Colored Construction Paper (all sizes) ♥ Nerf Footballs ♥ Single Jump Ropes ♥ Rubber Balls

Give a student a Summer Kids Scholarship and help them have a safe and successful summer!

Program News

Calling all summer volunteers! Calling all summer volunteers! We need you! If you have the time, we have a spot just for you! We double the number of students we serve from the school year to the summer. With this comes the necessity to have more assistance in our summer program. Volunteers play a vital role at Kaleidoscope, as we could not accomplish what we set out to accomplish without our volunteers. We pride ourselves in a 5:1 ratio. Having 1-to-1 and small group activities with our students makes a very significant impact on our students’ academic performance and emotional well-being. Also, having extra responsible volunteers to assist staff with supervising the playground, gym, and lunchroom helps us tremendously. Here are some ways that you can plug into Kaleidoscope this summer:

• Summer Breakfast/Lunch Buddy: Be a friendly face to a student by being a breakfast and/or lunch buddy. Spend time with and supervise students one day (or more) a week. This opportunity will include supervising the lunchroom and supervising the playground. Breakfast runs from 8:30am-9:30am. Lunch runs from 11:30am-1:30pm.
• Summer Classroom Companion: Assist teachers and participate in academic and recreational activities one day (or more) a week. Volunteers are needed Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 9:30-11:30am and 12:30-4:00pm.
• Summer Tutors/Mentors: Be a volunteer that gives a student 1-to-1 attention by being a summer tutor/mentor. You will work with an individual student on math, reading, writing, or other academics. You may also be a buddy with a student that needs extra attention and guidance. Volunteers are needed Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 9:30-11:30am and 12:30-4:00pm.
• Summer Meal Group: On field trips days, every Wednesday during our summer program, we would be very excited if your group would make and assemble 120 amazing lunches for our students! Meet us with the lunches at our field trip destination.

We look forward to having you volunteer this summer at Kaleidoscope! Check our website for more volunteer opportunities.  Feel free to contact us through our website or at (612) 871-9268 if you have any questions or would like to volunteer.

Calendar

• May 25 – Last Day of After School Kids! We are closed until Summer Kids begins.
• June 18 – Summer Kids 2012 Begins!

For more details on these events and other activities you can check our Events Calendar.

Warmest Regards,
The Kaleidoscope Staff

Let me tell you, as a reading tutor, nothing beats seeing the smiles on students’ faces and the light bulbs shining brightly above their heads as they sound out a long word or figure out a complicated math problem on their own. Being able to witness the students go through their own learning processes and seeing them grow physically and mentally (as well as having the opportunity to work with the wonderful staff!) is what brings me back year after year. Not only is the learning process rewarding for them, it is rewarding for myself as well because I know that I am helping the students develop skills they can use for the rest of their lives.

From an older student’s perspective, going to Kaleidoscope Place to advance the students’ reading and learning is one of the things I always look forward to every week. The change of pace outside of a college student’s schoolwork is very refreshing, and the students always have awesome surprises in store for the tutors.

I greatly enjoy participating in activities with the students because the students always provide joy in the simplest of pleasures. Nowhere else can I see a picture drawn of a boy fishing for poisonous rattlesnakes, witness the building of a splendid castle out of foam blocks, prepare a magnificent feast for a rabbit and mouse that will be arriving at 5pm, or play balloon games on a Friday for a solid hour. The sheer amount of fun experienced between everyone in the room is something that is hard to find elsewhere.

I really want to give credit to the wonderful staff at Kaleidoscope Place for maintaining such a smoothly-run program and giving tutors the opportunity to help out. The staff’s energy combined with that of the students’ definitely makes Kaleidoscope the best Place in town.

“The 5 Be’s” of Volunteering

By Taylor Trauger, Kaleidoscope Volunteer

“The 5 Be’s” at Kaleidoscope are meant to guide students ‘ behavior and instruct them on how to make their time at Kaleidoscope more enjoyable. But, I think the 5 Be’s are helpful tips for people of any age. I use the 5 Be’s as guidance for volunteering at After School Kids.

Be Safe: One of the top priorities at Kaleidoscope is to offer a safe learning environment for students. It couldn’t be safe if the workers and volunteers weren’t safe. I make sure to set a good example and keep myself safe and provide safety for the students at Kaleidoscope. After all the students have left for the day and I’m walking to the bus stop after volunteering, I keep this tip in mind because it’s important for everyone to be careful and safe.

Be Respectful: The best way to earn respect is to be respectful. We want the students to be respectful, so it is important for volunteers to be an example and treat students with respect. When I’m tutoring and helping a student with homework, I never say, “This is easy!” or “You should know that!” There is nothing wrong with not knowing an answer. A student usually knows how to find an answer; I simply guide them to it. I try to be as encouraging as possible and never belittle students or put them down. I treat them with respect, and then they respect me in return.

Be Positive: I make it a point to be positive, not just when I’m tutoring, but all the time at Kaleidoscope. As volunteers, we are there to assist teachers and support students. The best way to be an effective volunteer is to be positive—to help make classroom activities more exciting, and to help keep students out of conflicts with each other if something goes wrong. Instead of always telling students to be calm and be positive, I try to act out those feelings and inspire them to follow suit.

Be a Good Listener: I volunteer so I can help Kaleidoscope and I must listen to staff for instruction and listen to the students. No matter how little a task may be, like sweeping the floor or filing worksheets, I listen and do as I’m told because every little task helps Kaleidoscope run more smoothly. No matter how silly a question or comment may be, I listen to the students and provide an answer to the best of my ability. Students should never be discouraged, and they will never learn to listen if adults don’t listen to them.

Be Responsible: Finally, the one that encompasses them all: responsibility. The students at Kaleidoscope are still growing and learning in many different ways, and they learn from everyone around them at home and at school. The best thing I can do as a volunteer is be a responsible role model. I’m going to college, I have a job, and I volunteer and give back to society. I want the students to know that it all can be done, and that they can be responsible too.

Donation Needs for Summer

Gift Cards (to Cub or Target) ♥ G-rated Children’s DVDs (with gift receipt) ♥ Healthy Snacks for 100 students ♥ 100% Juice or Juice Boxes for 100 students ♥ Hurt-free Antiseptic Wash ♥ Re-chargeable Batteries w/ Charger AA ♥ Kleenex ♥ Hand Sanitizer (small or big) ♥ Boys & Girls Hanes Underwear/Shorts/T-shirts (sizes 4-10) ♥ Boys & Girls Jeans or Pants (sizes 4-10) ♥ Whiteboard Erasers ♥ Durable Electric Pencil Sharpeners ♥ Blue Poster Putty ♥ Rags ♥ All Purpose Cleaner (409) ♥ Paper Towels ♥ Dry Erase Markers and Dry Erase Crayons ♥ Rubber Bands ♥ Pipe Cleaners ♥ Felt ♥ Colored Tissue Paper ♥ Markers ♥ Glue Sticks ♥ Glue ♥ Colored Construction Paper (all sizes) ♥ Nerf Footballs ♥ Single Jump Ropes ♥ Rubber Balls

Give a Student a Summer Scholarship!

This issue of Kids in View contains the correct link for the Summer Scholarship! Please give a Summer Kids Scholarship today and change the future of a student!

Program News

We are ramping up for another excellent summer! Registration for Summer Kids 2012 has been open for one month and we already have 50 students registered, all of our field trips are reserved and scheduled, all of our teachers have been hired… now we just sit back and wait for it all to begin! Okay, maybe not “sit back”, but preparations are going well! If you are planning on sending your child(ren) to Summer Kids 2012, get your registration in soon. Our last Families Together event on May 1 was a great success! Many families came to the event and enjoyed a potluck dinner. They also made and decorated a family pennant with their last name on it for us to put up in our hallway at Kaleidoscope. It was fun seeing the families enjoying the art project and working together to represent themselves.

• May 7 – Closed.
• May 25 – Last Day of After School Kids! We are closed until Summer Kids begins.
• June 18 – Summer Kids 2012 Begins!

For more details on these events and other activities you can check our Events Calendar.

Warmest Regards,
The Kaleidoscope Staff

It is my pleasure to communicate with you in this newsletter as the Chair of the Kaleidoscope Place board of directors. The last two years have flown by as we launched an in-depth strategic planning process looking at the organization from several perspectives: programs offered, staffing considerations, budgeting, fee-based income, fundraising, and how we aligned ourselves with the Center for Changing Lives (CFCL) where we are located. I have found that not-for-profit boards rise best to new challenges when a sense of transparency allows all information to be available to every individual who needs to know. We have done just that!

With the greatly appreciated help of Cindy Johnson, a contract services provider initially working for both Lutheran Social Services and CFCL, the Kaleidoscope board added new members, named Ryan Kirk as our new Executive Director, successfully wrapped up several outstanding grant requests (won almost all of them), reviewed our recruitment and retention strategies with students, and more aggressively looked for critical partners for our future growth. Ryan has done a great job, as have his colleagues, which now includes Cindy Johnson, on a part-time basis. With the addition of highly qualified and contributed professional services in key areas, allow me to shout for joy at the wonderful place we find ourselves in as we serve this great Minneapolis community!

We have welcomed Southside Child Development Center into our common program space as they seek to serve an evolving and diverse need for quality daycare services. As their young customers grow up we hope to see them and their siblings enrolled in our year-round programs. For the first time in too long, we are “at capacity” and looking forward to another successful summer program in 2012. We also look forward to welcoming new staff leadership at the CFCL where the future for this remarkable adventure on Park Avenue just gets better all the time. All the partners in the building seek to make every individual we serve better equipped to live successfully!

I want to share these direct words from one of our students as given to me by Ryan Kirk. The students have been thinking together about what is really important for them to be contributors along their life journey:

“First, I don’t think that anybody can be perfect. If someone was perfect they won’t make any mistakes. But everyone makes mistakes, and so no one is perfect. No, we (as a society) have not reached perfection. Some people fight and that is not perfect. Some people are not good at some things. I do think people can be “whole.” A whole person is someone who is proud of themselves. They are always trying hard.”

As we seek and invite new board members we will take care to remember the mission we strive to achieve….even as we thankfully acknowledge that it is the journey, not the ending where we make a difference.

Summer Kids 2012 Registration is OPEN!

Summer Kids 2012 runs from June 18th through August 9th and is open to students going into 1st grade through 8th grade. Summer Kids is open Monday – Thursday from 8:30am – 4:30pm. For more information see our Summer Kids page.

Register Online!!! You can now begin the registration process online! How cool is that! Check it out!

Give a Student a Summer Scholarship!

Last year we launched our summer scholarship appeal and the response was truly amazing! We couldn’t believe how many of you gave and how many scholarships we were able to offer. It was more than double the amount of scholarships we offered the previous year. This makes it possible for many of the families to send their child(ren) to Kaleidoscope for the summer. The impact of your scholarship is unfathomable because you never know what you are saving a student from if they are not at Kaleidoscope. Giving a student a safe, academically focused, enriching, and healthy environment to be in for eight weeks makes a significant difference in their life. Last year, your generosity was off the charts! Wouldn’t it be awesome to repeat that again this year! Please give a Summer Kids Scholarship today and change the future of a student!

Program News

It has been a busy spring! We interviewed and hired all of our Youth Staff for the summer and have completed orientation with them, we interviewed and got matched with our new 2012-2013 Volunteer Coordinator through LVC, we opened registration for Summer 2012 with new Online Registration, we also created online Volunteer Registration, and the list goes on and on. The students have had a lot of energy lately as the weather has been great. They are always anxious to go outside and release all that energy with good old-fashioned fun!

• May 1 – Families Together: End of School Year Potluck
• May 7 – Closed.
• May 25 – Last Day of After School Kids! We are closed until Summer Kids begins.
• June 18 – Summer Kids 2012 Begins!

For more details on these events and other activities you can check our Events Calendar.

Warmest Regards,
The Kaleidoscope Staff

I am always impressed by the work that our students create. Here at Kaleidoscope, we work with students of all ages and abilities. However, each and every one of them is capable of producing work that astounds me. I had the wonderful opportunity to tutor a sixth grade student in the writing of an essay. Typically this means helping with grammar, spelling, and the mechanics of essay writing. This occasion was unique because the student was simply trying to get their thoughts down on paper, so our tutoring session rapidly became a Socratic dialogue, with a rough draft being the final result.

The student was assigned an essay on the topic, “To Be Whole.” This is a copy of their first draft which I’d like to share with all of you.

—

“To Be Whole”
By a Kaleidoscope student

First, I don’t think that anybody can be perfect. If someone was perfect they won’t make any mistakes. But everyone makes mistakes, and so no one is perfect.

If a person is perfect they would be smart and clever and make no mistakes. He would do his job well. He would be good at school.

No, we (as a society) have not reached perfection. Some people fight and that is not perfect. Some people are not good at some things.

I do think people can be “whole.” A whole person is someone who is proud of themselves. They are always trying hard.

To be whole, think of yourself. Try hard at school. Don’t listen to other people and what they say about you.

—

I haven’t seen the student’s final copy. I know they have been working on expanding their ideas and fixing grammatical mistakes. But what impressed me most about this was that I never had to ask a leading question, or suggest a direction for the essay to go. All of the ideas above are wholly the students.

This episode served as a reminder to me that all of our students, regardless of age or ability, are filled to the brim with deep, incredibly meaningful thoughts about the world they inhabit. Here at Kaleidoscope all we do is give them the tools and resources to express these thoughts clearly.

Program News

 
Congratulations to Ryan Kirk who is now our Executive Director! We are excited about his passion and leadership for Kaleidoscope Place and look forward to a bright future! We are already preparing for summer and our Youth Employment Fair was a success with over 50 youth attending. We are also grateful for the ongoing support of St. Stephen Lutheran Church as they are having their 2nd Annual “St. Stephen’s Got Talent” talent show to benefit Kaleidoscope Place’s Summer Kids program. Be sure to join us for the event!

• March 24 – UGYE Public Applications are due
• March 25 – 4:30pm St. Stephen Lutheran Church Talent Show Benefit for Kaleidoscope Place’s Summer Kids
• April 2 – Summer Kids 2012 Registration begins

 
For more details on these events and other activities you can check our Events Calendar.

Warmest Regards,
The Kaleidoscope Staff

“Kaleidoscope is…happy because there are volunteers here. They read books with me. They are fun.”
Faiza, kindergarten

“Kaleidoscope is…a happy place. When I come here I see happy people. I see Kaleidoscope as a place where people can learn. By that I mean a good learning environment.”
Abdishakur, 8th grade

“Kaleidoscope is…good because we have snacks and sometimes we have parties.”
Muna, kindergarten

“Kaleidoscope is…a place that you learn and where you do your homework. And when you are not done you can take a break then go back to your homework.”
Amina, 3rd grade

“Kaleidoscope is…awesome and fantastic and happy because Matt is our teacher. He is on the job.”
Jonathan, 1st grade

“Kaleidoscope is…a place where you learn. Kaleidoscope is a place where everybody deserves to be. It is a place where you do homework then, once you are done, you have fun. At Kaleidoscope we do something called “The 5 Be’s.” The 5 Be’s are words that mean respect.”
Abdimalik, 5th grade

“Kaleidoscope is…a place where I come and work with volunteers on my homework.”
Alex, 4th grade

“Kaleidoscope is…a rainbow because it’s fun, it’s fresh, we get to play, we get to have Community Club. We get to do America Reads. When we are done with our things we get to play games like Candy Land. We get to play with toys. On Fridays, we get to play in the classroom and we don’t have to do math.”
Mulki, 1st grade

In mid-November, I worked with an extraordinary group of students. I’ve worked with many of these students before, but when they signed up for Community Club, I saw a whole new side of them. As we wrote our Community Club contract on Monday, they were bursting with great ideas on how to give back to Kaleidoscope. They were eager to clean, organize, and even write thank you cards to volunteers.

We all agreed that Monday through Thursday we would work hard to improve Kaleidoscope, and the reward for this would be a Community Club Party on Friday. Each day these enthusiastic students worked hard at every task from sorting through markers and glue sticks and sharpening pencils, to cleaning the rooms around Kaleidoscope. They kept a positive attitude and great work ethic through the week. For a celebration of their hard work, on Friday we baked cookies from scratch. They took turns pouring in each ingredient, mixing them up, and putting the cookies on the pan. Their faces lit up as they got to eat the fresh baked cookies that they each had put something into. You could see how proud they were to have made a difference in their world at Kaleidoscope!

Donation Needs!
Healthy Snacks (for 100 students)
100% Juice or Juice Boxes (for 100 students)
Rags ☻ All Purpose Cleaner (409)
Scotch-Brite Scrub Sponges ☻ Kleenex
Whiteboard Markers ☻ Pencil Sharpeners
Rubber Bands ☻ Pipe Cleaners ☻ Felt
Colored Tissue Paper ☻ Rechargeable Battery Set

“Each time a person stands for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice…he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope…” Robert Kennedy

Much of what I do for Kaleidoscope is writing grants, grant reports and building relationships with community partners. These are important functions to continue to be an agency that thrives in these difficult times. However, it is actually being at Kaleidoscope during program hours that feeds my soul. The children that we work with are facing many challenges; economic challenges, behavior challenges, family challenges, social challenges, and academic challenges. Yet, despite these challenges, these children come to Kaleidoscope and we watch their lives transform before our very eyes. But, of course, we do not do it alone. In the midst of a bare bones staff that is dealing with so many children with so many different issues…there are the volunteers.

As I walk through Kaleidoscope I can see a college student reading to a child and helping them understand the meaning of words. I see a retired math teacher helping a student and the smile on the face of that child when they understand subtraction for the first time. I watch as volunteers introduce a child to the world of art and help them articulate what they see and capture those images in drawings, paintings, or photography. I watch the children light up as they speak of Tor, who is a performing arts director, and how they played Taiko drums. I watch the students, for whom English is a second language, get the homework help that they need to be successful in school. I watch the retired psychologist work with a child who needs to understand more constructive ways to express their anger.

In an effort to serve our students in the best way possible, Ryan has visited other programs to gain new insight into curriculum, behavior guidelines, and what works best when it comes to after school programming. This cooperation and willingness to speak with Ryan will benefit Kaleidoscope for years to come. This fall we were also fortunate to have a group of volunteers who are experts in the field of education visit our program and share their ideas about ways we can better serve our students. We take these insights and ideas seriously and are excited to implement them so we can have even stronger programming at Kaleidoscope.

The talented and dedicated Kaleidoscope staff would be the first to tell you that our program would not exist without those who volunteer their time for us. From the dedication of our talented board under the leadership of co-chairs, Debbie and John Ondov, to the volunteers who sort supplies and clean our rooms, this Thanksgiving season we reflect on how grateful we are for each of you and for the wave (not ripple!) of hope you bring to the lives of the children we serve.

I hope that this letter finds you all doing well. As 2011 is coming to a close, it is hard to believe that we have almost completed another calendar year at Kaleidoscope. Earlier today I was talking with a volunteer about how much has happened and changed around Kaleidoscope in the past twelve months. It’s particularly difficult for me to believe because I have only been at Kaleidoscope for a little over a year now, but it feels like much longer.

Perhaps the biggest change that we’ve undergone in the past couple of months is the change to our space. For those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to visit lately, Kaleidoscope has given up two of its rooms to an incoming day-care, Southside Neighborhood Services. It hasn’t always been an easy transition with moving our office, losing a classroom, and other adjustments, but it has been an incredible experience to meet and work with another excellent agency focused on youth development. With Southside and Kaleidoscope in the same wing of the Center for Changing Lives, students can now receive services from birth through high school.

There is so much going on; it’s hard to sum up in one letter. Over the past year Kaleidoscope has seen many new students, new staff, new board members, and new volunteers. We’ve also brought in new partners to work with, and have become a United Way organization. This year, our After School Kids program is bringing in a host of new opportunities for our students. We have partnered with Free Arts of Minnesota to bring high-quality arts education to our students, and have tied that into many of our themes. We will be working with Hennepin County to educate our students about the importance of recycling and use of natural resources. We have started a mentoring partnership with Augsburg Fairview Academy, a charter high school. Together with Ebenezer and MacPhail we are working on a multi-generational music project. And these are just a couple of the projects that are enhancing our students’ experiences at Kaleidoscope.

Even with all of the changes, though, there are many aspects of Kaleidoscope that remain constant. Students still come first. I am consistently impressed by the great example they are capable of setting for others. And even though the faces may change, the staff at Kaleidoscope will always be around to create a safe and caring environment for our students to grow and thrive in. We still offer excellent academic programming and homework assistance to our students. It’s still our goal to provide every student with the tools they need to be successful in a changing world.

Looking back, it has been a very successful year. Since I came to Kaleidoscope just over a year ago, we have served 212 students, completed yet another successful school year and summer program, and have made a significant difference in the lives of our students and families. Although we are a small organization, we are making a huge impact in south Minneapolis. It’s been one of my greatest pleasures to get to know not just the students, but the families, friends, donors, and volunteers of Kaleidoscope. As always, it is all about the students, and our students here are truly amazing.

Hopefully last month’s introduction to the influence of media article stirred your curiosity. Have you spent some time pondering what you and your children are learning from television?

As I stated before media is a teacher. In this article we are going to dig in and uncover more about how media really teaches us and our children. But before we begin, here are a few statistics you should be aware of:

• Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900 hours
• Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1500 hours (almost twice the amount of hours they spend in school!)
• Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes elementary school: 8,000 murders
• Number of violent acts seen on TV by age 18: 200,000 violent acts
• A 3 year National Violence Television study found that 61% of programs contain violence.
• Number of 30-second TV commercials seen in a year by an average child: 20,000 commercials
• Number of TV commercials seen by the average person by age 65: 2 million commercials

(If you would like to view the full list of statistics you can go to http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html.)

So why do these numbers matter? Let’s dig in!

A long time ago (or maybe not so long ago…) you were born. During this time your brain was in major development mode. You see, your brain is made up of billions of intercommunicating electrical (neural) networks that enable you to do, think, feel, and dream. Although we continue to develop neural networks throughout our lives, the development of these neural networks peak before the age of 7.” (Mediawise: Watch what your kids watch. p.49. National Institute on Media and the Family) Yes, that’s right – age 7.

Child See, Child Do! More than a decade ago scientists discovered that we have something called “mirror cells.” Without even moving a muscle, a child can watch somebody do something and learn exactly how to do it. The mirror cells are “practicing” how to do the action just be watching the action. Then once the cells learn it, the child learns it and they are able to imitate it. And not just that, when the child was simply observing the action, their neurons fired exactly the same as if the child was actually doing the action. Research has shown that these mirror cells are the “foundation for social interaction and moral awareness.” (Mediawise: Watch what your kids watch. p.49. National Institute on Media and the Family) Of course this begs the next question, “Who do you want forming your child’s social interactions and morality?”

Now that you understand mirror cells, we can put this into perspective. If your child is seeing, through watching television, 8,000 murders before the end of elementary school, and 200,000 violent acts by the age of 18, what are they learning to do? And this of course is easily expanded to additional negative things they may be learning about from television: negative self-image, unhealthy social interactions, drugs, alcohol, sex, lying, cheating, unhealthy problem solving, unhealthy conflict resolution, revenge, etc. The list goes on and on.

I know your next comment will be, “What about the positive things on TV?” Of course there are positive elements to some shows. Children may learn about sharing, loving, caring, compassion, taking turns, being nice, being safe, healthy self-image, healthy social interactions, etc. This is good, to a degree. The issue is that they are learning these positive things amidst a myriad of negative things. So, is it worth it? Do we really want to be exposing our child to all of these negative things…that they are learning how to do just by watching them? What is the cost of allowing this to happen? What is the long-term impact on your child and on society? I’m trying hard to not paint such a grim picture, but the effects go much deeper than what is addressed in this article.  It is also important to look at what children are not doing or experiencing because of the massive amounts of time they spend watching television. We will explore this further in the next article.

I’m not saying that you should throw your television away. What I am saying is: 1) be aware of what the shows are teaching you and your child. Watch them with your child and take note of questionable things. And 2) be selective about the shows you allow your child to watch, and 3) limit the amount of time they can watch television. These three simple actions will help you to create a healthy heart for your child, and yourself. Consider other interactive ways that your child can learn positive social interactions and morality without the use of television. The less negatives there are, the more positives there will be.