To download a printable version of this transcript, click here.
 
 
iQuestions Faculty, Ted Baehr 
 
 
Question: 
 
How can I teach my kids to be discerning about the media? 
 
Answer: 
 
Parents need to teach their children at every stage of development 
how to deal with the media and how to deal with the culture.  
 
There are five steps to doing that. 
 
Number one is to teach your children that the media has an influence 
on them. All children get that feeling. Some of the influences are for 
very good purposes, and some of them are not so good. 
 
Number two: help your children to understand that different children 
are susceptible to different messages, and they’re susceptible 
differently at different stages of development. They have to 
understand that as they mature they can watch things that are a little 
different than they can when they’re a little younger. 
 
Number three: understand how the media works. Understand some of 
the principles in the media. 
 
Number four: understand your values. What are the values you want 
to communicate? What is the faith that you want to communicate? Do 
you think it’s good to have sixty percent of the victims be women? Do 
you think this is good or not? 
 
You’ve got to define and understand your values. 
 
 
 
Number five (and this is the best): ask the right questions. Who is the 
hero? Is this the type of person I’d like to copy? Is this the type of 
person that I think is a good person? Who is the villain? What is the 
storyline? 
 
These things need to be introduced at every stage of development— in 
a little bit more sophisticated manner— but those are the five principal 
steps for helping your children. 
 
Children are ready to learn that in the three to seven imagination 
stage. Before that, you really need to protect the eyes of innocence.  
Baehr -2- 
To download a printable version of this transcript, click here.