Other Parent (The)

Written by a children's advocate and Stanford professor of education, The Other Parent explores the effects of TV, video games, and the internet on today's kids. Published in 2002, it deals with the media's presence in children's lives, a presence that the author claims impacts children's relationships with commercialism, consumerism, violence, and sexuality. Steyer offers concrete solutions to the problems that the media can cause in kids' lives, focussing not only on the role of parents in children's development but also on the ethical responsibility of those who produce kid-targeted entertainment. The book includes tips for parents like etablishing good media habits early, keeping television sets out of children's bedrooms, teaching children to ask permission to use media, watching and listening with kids, setting clear rules regarding children's media use in other homes, asking pediatricians to review children's media use as part of their annual checkup, and reading to children.