It’s especially easy to get wrapped up in screen time during the winter, when it’s harder to play outside and the days are shorter. However, thanks to a new resource from Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, families have a new resource available to them that reminds us why it’s so important to engage in screen-free playtime in the first place. Geared towards parents, educators, and anyone else who cares about young children, the free (and printable!) pamphlet shares facts and simple suggestions for creating a happy and educational screen-free childhood.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” – The Lorax by Dr. Seuss The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood writes: The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has launched a campaign to “Save the Lorax!” from an onslaught of corporate cross-promotions. For more than forty years, Dr. Seuss’s classic book, The Lorax, has been a clarion call for reducing consumption and promoting conservation. … Read More
QUESTION AND ANSWERS How does YOUR family handle excessive consumerism and commercialization during the holidays? Amanda Saklad writes, “We don’t visit any malls from October until February. Crazy out there!” Meagheanne Donahue writes, “My son gets “ten and a goat”. Santa brings him ten Christmas presents (not big ticket items, usually just movies, Legos, board games, etc.) and a donation in his name to Heifer International. Santa even leaves a Heifer International… Read More
TRUCE Action Guides: Toys, Media & Children It’s Black Friday and many parents have holiday gift buying on their minds. The discussion of holiday buying looms large in our community, with folks chatting about buying local, buying handmade, and buying non-commercial. Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment (TRUCE), a Massachusetts based group of educators concerned about how children’s toys and entertainment are affecting the play and behavior of kids, has a few guides… Read More
Empowerment by Art: Hilltown Families Checks Commercial Fashion In the wake of JCPenney’s “I’m too pretty to do homework” and Forever 21 “Allergic to Algebra” t-shirt debacle, this past Friday Western MA families came together to pushback against commercial fashion and corporate marketers in the Hilltown Families event, “I Am Not A Billboard!” Presented by Hilltown Families and hosted by The Art Garden, a newly formed non-profit in Shelburne Falls, grandparents to… Read More