Media Literacy: Crib Notes

While I was doing my research about media literacy education in elementary schools, I saw that there were occasional references to even younger children. I didn't have the time to go off on that tangent and had forgotten all about it, but this morning while talking to my almost-two-year-old, I realized that I actually do elements of media literacy education all the time with her. She had just finished watching Clifford, and I asked, "Are real dogs red?" (expecting and getting the response most little kids are conditioned to give when you ask a question in that "Isn't it silly?" kind of voice)--"Nooooo!" "Are real dogs as big as houses?" (again) "Nooooo!" We do this with books, too, and I have noticed that I do it with more serious issues as well--a kid is being mean to another kid in a book or on a show, and we talk about how mean that is and how it makes the other kid feel--if someone gets hurt, we talk about how they should be more careful or how someone should help them--if someone does something kind, we talk about how nice that was and how we should all do that kind of thing. (We do this for real-life situations, too, since babies are learning to be life literate as well!) When we listen to music, we sing along with the words, dance in time, talk about how it makes us feel ("Does this music make you happy? Does it make you want to jump and jump and jump?"), and sing the tunes later with new words that fit our everyday situation (which she has started doing independently as well). We use words and ideas from her favorite books and shows to help her understand new situations in real life and make connections between media ("Remember when Alpha Pig's shoes didn't fit because he was growing? You're growing, too! Your shoes are too small!"). These things might be basic and random, but they are, to me, the very beginning of media literacy for my little girl!