With all of the news of late, it is nearly impossible to know what – if anything – to say to your children about the world we live in. Audrey Paul (M.D.Ph.D. trained in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine), who runs Heads Up Concussion Center in Westport and works at Westport Urgent Care shares her guidelines on how much and what media exposure is appropriate based on age! Thank you Audrey!
When I was growing up in the 70s and early 80s, my parents would regularly turn on the evening news, and we would watch the news together as a family. The world was certainly not perfect or peaceful at that time, but somehow the level of tragedy and destruction was not even close to what we have experienced in the past month. Within the last few weeks, we have witnessed mass destruction of entire islands due to hurricanes and just a few days ago another senseless, mass shooting in Las Vegas. As stressful and anxiety producing as these times are for us, they are even more confusing for our kids. With everything going on, what should we share with our children and how much? I have put together a summary guideline on how much and what media exposure is appropriate based on age. These recommendations are compiled from the American Academy of Pediatrics and PBS. Hope you find it helpful!
