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14.07.2020

Among us: Parents’ evenings on media education issues

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3-17 years
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As parents, you have a special responsibility for your child’s media education. But you are not alone in this. The exchange with other parents can be an important support. But you don’t always have time for an in-depth conversation on the spur of the moment. Therefore, there are concrete offers and formats to exchange with other parents on parenting topics and to inform oneself. We would like to present some of them to you here.

The parents talk

The idea is simple: parents of children up to the age of 14 are invited to a host or hostess’s home and exchange ideas in a small group for about two hours on set topics. The moderation is done by dedicated parents. In addition to topics such as nutrition or stress, they often deal with children’s media use, rules of use or new trends. There are no expert lectures, but only the exchange among each other. The idea is that parents already bring a lot of knowledge with them and can share it in Parent Talk. This format exists in Bavaria, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. You can check the linked websites to see if a parent talk session is organized in your area. Often the active parents cooperate with authorities or social workers, so you can also find there.

Media educational parent evenings

Media education evenings for parents are held regularly at many schools and other educational institutions. These often include an overview of cell phones and the Internet or topics such as cyberbullying and hate speech, child-safe media use, or how to learn and create content with media. As a rule, a media education specialist is on site to introduce you to the topic and answer your questions. You will also find out where you can get further information and ideas on media education. It is best to ask your child’s school if such a parents’ evening can be organized.

Find offers and contacts

You would like to become active yourself and request or organize an offer for parents? The distribution and accessibility of media education professionals in Germany varies widely. Especially in rural areas, it is sometimes difficult to contact suitable people. Each federal state organizes this area of responsibility differently. It is best to contact your child’s daycare or school first. There are usually social workers, and sometimes teachers, who deal with media education issues. Ask specifically. Often, media educators from the surrounding area are already known and can help.

Become active yourself

Throughout Germany, there are media education initiatives, media centers and freelance players offering seminars, workshops and lectures for parents. Also search the Internet for suitable contacts or offers in your area.
Such parents’ evenings are also increasingly offered online – among others by Elternguide. Recordings of these online parents’ evenings are available, for example, from klicksafe and the Internet-ABC. Elterntalk NRW tried out the podcast format. Two media educators regularly talk about topics related to media literacy in their podcast Medially.

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