Books, computer games and series all have one thing in common: they tell stories. However, when clicking and zapping through television programs and streaming services, it quickly becomes apparent that certain stories are repeated and others are barely shown. Through this one-sided portrayal, there is a danger of seeing discriminatory worldviews as normal from childhood.
Children have endless questions and are constantly searching for answers that explain the world around them. Media use makes a significant contribution to how your child perceives the world.
The media give us a very one-sided picture of our world by constantly repeating the same characteristics of a person such as skin color, gender, origin or religion. This leads to the fact that we no longer question the images and stories conveyed, but accept them.
That’s why children need stories that show that the world is colorful. Through access to a variety of stories, children come into contact with different realities of life, topics and perspectives.
And don’t worry: it’s okay to watch such one-sided movies and series. Rather, it is about offering different stories so that your child has the opportunity to get to know several perspectives on certain topics and representations. By dealing with diverse media content, your child can learn that people with or without disabilities, regardless of gender or skin color, can be heroes in stories.
To support this and promote an open world view, it is important to take a critical look at the content of radio plays, films, games and other media. In the best case scenario, take a look together with your child at how one-sided or varied the stories consumed so far have been told and how the characters are portrayed. Then you can search together for a series, a podcast, a game or a book with diverse characters that you and your child like.
Below you will find a list with some suggestions.
On Instagram , TikTok and co. are dominated by one-sided role models, because clichés sell well. We have compiled tips for more diversity in social media offerings for you in this article. You can find portraits of influencers who deal with criticism of racism and show gender diversity here.
Diverse and queer – what is becoming more and more visible in our society is also increasingly reflected in media offerings for children. In this article, we present children’s media that show diverse gender images and lifestyles.
Movies and series:
All new for Lina – Lina moves to Berlin with her family and has to find her way around. (3 years)
My City of Ghosts – In this animated film, four friends interview ghosts and learn about the history of their city, Los Angeles. (5 years)
Die Sendung mit der Maus – A knowledge series for children in which diversity is also emphasized in the moderation. (5 years)
A Lousy Witch – Friendship in a witch school. (6 years)
The Checker World – The Checker Team Can, Tobi, Marina and Julian present exciting knowledge programs for children. (from 6 years)
Dandelion – Fritz Fuchs and his dog Keks experience exciting adventures as the successors to Peter Lustig together with a diverse ensemble of actors and impart interesting knowledge in the process. (6 years)
Strong! – Short portraits of strong children. (7 years)
Avatar – The Lord of the Elements – An animated series featuring characters with various disabilities, but with no focus on their impairments. (7 years)
Rico, Oskar and the Deep Shadows – two friends with different quirks and fears chase a kidnapper until one of the two boys disappears himself. (7 years)
Moooment! – A series that deals with the topic of racism and discrimination. (9 years)
Strange World – a three-generation family must save a dying plant. (9 years)
Karma’s World – (animated film) Ten-year-old Karma wants to become a rapper. Until then, however, they have to cope with everyday school and family life. (9 years)
The Peppercorns – A group of five children solve crimes. All five main characters demonstrate strength, courage and solidarity. (10 years)
Echt – web series on ZDFtivi that deals with friendships. (10 years)
Trio – A detective series (10 years)
The Help – this feature film is about the lives of black maids who work for white families every day in the 1960s. (11 years)
Einstein Castle – series about the lives of boarding school students. A format with a lot of diversity (past, skin colors, sexuality, illnesses) without being portrayed as “special” or “unnatural”. (12 years)
Funk – Free media offer and network of ARD and ZDF. (14 years)
Books:
Buuu.ch is a blog that presents children’s books and comics that convey diverse role models and avoid reproducing stereotypes or clichés.
Book suggestions for diversity-appropriate books for teens are posted regularly on CBJ ‘s blog.
Stories about strong girls can be found on this list of children’s books.
In addition, activist Raul Krauthausen collects children’s books that deal with various facets of the topic of disability.
Something completely different is the one organized by the Munich Deaf Association, where children’s books are read aloud in sign language.
In the book “My dream, my story“, eight children who became world-famous talk about their dreams and stories.
The Avalino Diversity blog and Britta’sInstagram and TikTok accountfocus a lot on the topic of diversity in the nursery. Among other things, she presents children’s books and has also written her own (children’s) book.
Zuckersüß Verlag is a publisher of children’s books with strong messages and a list of 30 books for more diversity and variety in the nursery on Jane Wayne’s blog.
Podcasts:
The Avalino children’s podcast is a knowledge podcast in which children talk about their ideas (e.g. environmental protection) or cool facts (e.g. about animals).
Die Maus is a podcast of the Sendung mit der Maus, on which a 60-minute episode for children appears daily. (4 years)
Hearooz is a podcast app that was developed especially for children and contains various child-friendly podcasts. (4 years)
The children’s podcast Kakadu discovers the world together with children and answers exciting questions. (6 years)
Games:
The Unstoppables is a puzzle game in which four friends with different disabilities rescue a dog from the clutches of its kidnapper. (Recommended by Webhelm from 8 years)
In the game Starlink: Battlefor Atlas, the prosthetic arms and legs of the strong character Chase are a matter of course. (USK 6 years)
In SIMS 4 and SIMS Freeplay, characters can freely choose any hobby and profession. When creating Sims, players can decide for themselves what skin color the characters should have and choose between two body shapes (instead of genders). Same-sex and polyamorous relationships are also possible. (USK 6 years, recommended by Spieleratgeber NRW from 10 years)
Serena Supergreen and the broken wing is a game that takes a gender-sensitive approach to technical apprenticeships in the field of renewable energies. (Recommendation from internet-abc from 12 years)
Sibel’s Journey is about dealing with the topics of sexuality, gender, body and boundaries. (Recommended by wirfuervielfalt for ages 12 and up)
In Tell me why, two siblings meet again after 10 years to sell the family estate. The game also represents trans* boys. (USK 12 years)
Books and TikTok – how do they fit together? Young people show that it can be done. TikTok has long been more than a platform for colorful dance videos: Young people also use it to find out about current topics – including hot books. There are also people on YouTube and Instagram who share stories about reading and their latest reads.
Reading books seems to be losing importance in the age of social media. However, Booktok’s trend proves that digital and analog media need not be mutually exclusive. Reading also still has its place in the world of young people.
The term Booktok is a combination of the English word for book and the second part of the name of the popular app TikTok. There, mainly female readers share book tips under the hashtag #booktok – far away from bespectacled older gentlemen talking high-toned about literature. The videos are entertaining and appeal to young users. The so-called booktokers particularly enjoy reading books from the romance, fantasy, crime/thriller, and young adult genres.
Publishers and bookstores are now also on TikTok, cranking up their sales in popular genres. Certain books become trendy via Booktok and thus become bestsellers. Some bookstores have their own book tables where the most popular publications are presented.
Reading challenges are also launched. In doing so, TikTokers introduce books on a particular theme, cover, etc.
There is also a large book community on Instagram: Bookstagram. Users exchange more information on books here than on TikTok. In the comments, people talk together about current readings, create reading circles and start so-called buddyreads (joint reading rounds).
It probably all started on YouTube, where reading recommendations can also be found under the hashtag #booktube.
Special apps can help make book reading itself a challenge. How many pages have I read this week? How many books can I finish in a month? They are called GoodReads, Read-O, Bookstats or Booksup – apps that can be used to track one’s reading behavior. Statistics can be shared directly on social media in some cases.
Such apps can motivate people to read more. Through some, users network with each other and write their own reviews. You can read a particular book in a buddyread at the same time and exchange ideas about it. When installing the app, you should pay attention to what other users see and what data the app collects and possibly passes on to third parties.
Publishers use social media and influencers for advertising just like other companies. Even though books and reading are usually seen as positive, you and your child should look closely at what book is being advertised. Not always the opinion of the booktoker and bookstagramer is honest and unbiased, advertising is not always marked. Finally, book purchases can also run into money. Therefore, you should talk with your child about what and how many books really need to buy. Is your child just interested in presenting the book in a video or is he or she really interested in reading?
Use your local library and borrow some books from there. Many libraries have digital access points through which e-books can also be borrowed. An e-reader is also available for check-out at the library.
Imagine if Jack from “Titanic” had survived the disaster and arrived in America with Rose? Or what would Harry Potter’s life have been like if his parents had survived? That’s what fanfictions are all about.
Fanfictions, fanfiction, fan stories or abbreviated fanfics are stories written by fans about a book, a series, a music band or a computer game. These stories use the characters and universe of the original work and rewrite it. They add events to it and let characters live even though they died in the original work.
Most often, these stories take up the usual themes of friendship and love or drama. In connection with fanfictions, own words were invented over time, such as the term “shipping“. This is about a fan’s desire for a relationship to exist between two or more people. The word comes from the English term relationship or friendship. There are countless other original abbreviations fans use to describe their fanfictions. Fans can use these abbreviations and terms to briefly share what content appears in their story. Whether it’s a crossover – an overlap of plot – between two worlds, or whether it’s just about one character. For example, Anakin Skywalker, a main character from the Star Wars universe, suddenly goes to school at Hogwarts and his experiences at the wizarding boarding school are recounted.
If you want to read more about the topic, you can find information on the fanfiction sites on the Internet, e.g. on
fanfiction.com
and
Wattpad.com
. Interested young people can discuss their favorite parts of books and movies with other fans, give free rein to their creative streak in fanfiction contests, and find friends who are interested in the same things as they are.
Fanfiction can develop the writing talent of children and young people and stimulates the imagination. For anyone who would like to write their own books or can imagine a career as a writer, fanfiction is a good exercise.
Fanfiction has been around for a long time. Even the ancient Greeks liked to pass on stories. The Internet now provides a portal for all these stories. Nevertheless, it should be noted that fanfiction is in a gray area. This is because copyright and personal rights are violated here, for example by using protected terms from the original works. Using and rewriting the thought of authors can be considered illegal. However, most authors have no problem with this and see it as something positive, as long as the fan stories are not sold.
You should also note that many fanfictions on the Internet have been written in an adult manner. This is usually indicated by an age rating or a warning against drastic content, since some stories also involve sexual acts.
Fanfiction websites offer a wide range of stories and it’s worth checking out. Maybe you and your child have a favorite movie in common and want to dive deeper into his or her world this way.
This digital listening pen – the successor to the TING pen – wants to do more than just read aloud, but offers a recording function so children can get creative themselves and also functions as an MP3 player.
The digital audio pen BOOKii is designed to help children discover books with all their senses. The principle that when illustrations and texts in media designed for the pen are tapped with the tip of the pen, dialogues, sounds and information are heard is common to all listening pens. Texts can be read aloud or you can get active yourself with interactive search and knowledge games.
The range of compatible books and games is constantly being expanded. So far, there are around 50 titles from various publishers. The popular WAS IST WAS? series is available for the BOOKii, as are language learning books from Langenscheidt.
Since the pen has a recording function, other books can also be expanded with read-aloud elements. The BOOKii comes with stickers that can be reloaded over and over again with your own recordings. For selected products for older readers, BOOKii – via a Bluetooth connection with a cell phone, tablet or PC – leads to videos or further links on the topic. The function as an MP3 player and the possibility to connect headphones also make the BOOKii attractive as a multifunctional digital listening pen.
It is exciting for children to experience the information they find in a book in different ways. If, for example, it is not only explained how the call of an owl sounds, but an audio example can also be played, this is an exciting reading experience for children.
The recording function and the associated stickers make the pen special. Children can record things themselves, sing or make sounds and add stickers with their recordings. These stickers can be stuck almost anywhere: in the favorite book, on the family calendar or in the school notebook of the sister.
With the successor model to its TING pen, Tessloff Verlag is focusing entirely on interactivity and openness. In addition, during the production process attention was paid to health and the environment: The BOOKii case is made of food-safe material and can be used even by small children. The packaging of the hearing pen and the case are produced in Germany and are recyclable.
Already in its first years, BOOKii received several nominations for prestigious game awards. The justifications emphasize that the pen promotes children’s auditory skills and that small guessing games train concentration.
Tessloff itself highlights the many possible applications for different ages, the possible promotion of language development and children’s cognitive abilities. Thus, according to the manufacturer, the hearing pen is also suitable for use in kindergartens, schools and other educational institutions.
Even if the operation seems child’s play, discover the listening pen and what can be done with it together with your child. There are a number of BOOKii starter packages for different age groups. They usually include a book, the pen with case and recording stickers.
If you want to discover a children’s book with the BOOKii, the associated files must be installed on the pen. To do this, it is best to connect the hearing pen to a PC or laptop. Connection and charging cables are included.
Find out what else is important about using listening pens in the family in our article “Using listening pens for an interactive reading experience“.
Read-aloud pens bring a whole new reading experience to your child as they enhance classic books with audio. We have already explained here how these work exactly and which ones are available on the market. But you can not only be read to, you can even play audio pens yourself and bring your very own stories to life with audios.
To create your own audio content and integrate it into the desired book, there are special recording stickers. These stickers store the content that you have recorded using the stylus. They can be individually recorded with sounds, stories or even music. Playback works with the listening pen by swiping the tip of the pen across the corresponding sticker. The stickers can be stuck on objects or paper and can be erased and revisited at any time. Either the sounds are recorded directly via the pen or they are loaded onto the pen via USB. For this purpose, e.g. the AnyBook or the Bookii can be used.
You can use the recording function to set picture books to music together with your child, for example. Does your daughter or son have a favorite picture book? Then come up with dialogues and sounds together and record them with the listening pen. If you stick the associated stickers to the corresponding places in the book, the next read-aloud will be a special experience. Or record questions that play at certain points, such as “Where is the dog?”.
Bring old familiar games like memory to life with the stickers and the pens. The duck receives a sticker on a card that can be used to play the quack with the listening pen. For example, your child can learn animal sounds.
The special stickers can also be used in language learning as concept stickers by sticking them on objects for vocabulary learning.
I’m sure you can think of more creative ideas on how to use the listening pen!
Shortly before bedtime – the three-year-old daughter sits on your lap, directs her gaze to the colorful pictures and listens intently to the story. In many families, reading aloud in the evening is a ritual. Often there is the favorite book to be read over and over again. But in times of freely accessible videos, radio plays and songs via digital media, are books actually still up to date?
Reading aloud in general is enormously important for children’s language development. When you read stories to your child and you look at and talk about the pictures together, your child’s vocabulary also expands. In the process, it also learns words it doesn’t necessarily hear otherwise, e.g. in books that tell about sea creatures or about life on a farm. When reading aloud, your child develops a sense of the structure of language.
Reading aloud also has a positive effect on your child’s imagination. Telling stories and sharing them encourages your child to think up and imagine their own worlds.
The decisive factor in reading aloud is above all the exchange and the closeness to you. This can also be made when using a tablet instead of a book to read aloud. You can use your fascination with digital media to make reading appealing, especially to older children. Digital reading worlds often work with interactive elements that can arouse children’s interest and stimulate their imagination. So there is a lot of potential in them that you can use as parents.
Picture book apps such as “Fiete” or “Milli and her friends” also expand the reading experience in a special way. A list of recommended apps can be found at Stiftung Lesen. In addition to apps, there are also special children’s websites that specialize in read-aloud stories,such as Amira. There are also books that digitally extend their stories (e.g. B. What happened here?). This can be a great way to combine offline and online worlds in a meaningful way.
It’s important to consciously choose which digital adventure your child might enjoy. The timing of use should also be considered. So an interactive read-aloud adventure before bedtime might be too exciting for your child. The bright screen and flickering elements may prevent your child from sleeping peacefully afterwards. Instead, reach for an (analog) book that your child already knows and finds reassuring.
For more tips on digital read-aloud formats, visit Stiftung Lesen.
Always remember: both classic and digital reading worlds have their advantages and disadvantages – it’s all in the mix!
