Raising Discerning Viewers :: Heather [Ep 372]

Media is all around us - movies, music, tv, online videos, reels, TikToks, and more. And, there are as many parenting strategies around media as there are types of media. How do we safeguard our kids around media in today’s culture?

Spoiler Alert: We aren’t going to talk about what to watch per se, but rather how to watch.

In this episode I’ll talk about what it could look like for us to raise not just haphazard watchers but discerning media consumers. Of course, we should exercise wisdom with what our kids watch and listen to, but also, as moms we’re in the business of teaching men to fish.

Let’s teach our kids to become discerning viewers. I’ll give you some handlebars to foster discussions about movies or TV with your kids and to get them thinking about what they’re watching too. “We want our children to know the one good story so well that when they see Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Frodo, Anne of Green Gables, Ariel, and Sleeping Beauty they can recognize the strands of truth and deception in them.” (Karalee Reinke, in Ep 27).

“O Discerning Spirit,

Who alone judges all things rightly,

Now be present in my mind and active

In my imagination as I prepare to engage

With the claims and questions of diverse cultures

Incarnated in the stories that people tell.”

A Liturgy Before Consuming Media, Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey

Links Mentioned:

• Feeding the Mouth That Bites You by Kenneth Wilgus, PhD
• VidAngel Filtering Service
• Minno
• PureFlix

Related Episodes:

• Family Movie Moms :: Amanda White [Ep 27]
• Annie, Into the Woods, & Night at the Museum 3 :: Family Movie Moms [Ep 53]
• Summer Movie Edition :: (Inside Out, Tomorrowland) :: Family Movie Moms [Ep 79]
• Mockingjay & Big Hero 6 :: Family Movie Moms [Ep 49]
• How to Train a Dragon 2 :: Family Movie Moms [Ep 31]

Movie Discussion Guides

• Meet the Robinsons :: Family Movie Discussion Guide
• Big Hero 6 :: Family Movie Discussion Guide
• Family Movie Discussion Guide : “Cars” (Pride & Humility of Lightning McQueen)
• “The LEGO Movie” Family Discussion Guide
• Frozen :: Family Movie Discussion Guide
• Using God’s Story to Analyze Movies
• Dolphin Tale 2 :: Family Movie Discussion Guide (& Review)

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