BoB Guest Post: Mini Media Mavens

Hi everyone! This is Mommylebron from Rage Against the {washing} Machine, host of the Bipolar Tuesday that you see here from time to time. I'm going to trust my inflated ego today who tells me you all know who I am and no further introduction is necessary. (sigh, Low Self-Esteem kicked in her two cents and wants you to click the link if you don't know who I am).

I have the honor of participating in a monthly blog carnival for special needs families called Best of the Best. Every month the group is given a topic and we all share posts with our unique perspectives. For this month I am sharing my post here on the Poop! Aren't you excited? (This is where you nod and smile)

This month for BoB we were asked to consider the impact of media with our special needs kiddos. There is so much media exposure to our kids these days and there’s only so much we can do to limit it. In our house we do not have cable and never have. We stick with Netflix and DVDs. Even still my kids seem to keep up with pop culture effortlessly.

We are surrounded by commercialism in every aspect of our lives. My approach is education and awareness. I teach my children about marketing tactics and the value of money. For example, we know that our yogurt unadorned by goofy cartoon characters is just as yummy. I am also frank about what I feel is appropriate and what is not. I recently sat down and watched some of “Toddlers and Tiaras” with LeBella, who is ten. She could not believe her eyes. “Why do their moms let them dress so fresh and act like that?” I can only hope she retains this opinion.

And I also believe in teaching them to harness and use media themselves. LeBella has her own blog, Silly-licious Princess, she uses as a platform to share her creativity as well as to teach people what it is like to grow up with bipolar disorder. She understands now that there are other kids like her and she wants to reach out to them to show that they are not alone. And she wants to give their parents an idea of how they think. Her choice to blog was a big step. It showed that she had finally over come the stigma she placed on herself.Her voice is as close to the front line as we can get.

Media is a powerful tool. And like all powerful tools, it contains the power to both destroy and to build. We must teach our kids both to build and to protect themselves from those who destroy.

Mommylebron