The Community Foundation

With advancements in smart phones, video games and television, children are inundated with technological options. Now more than ever, parents need help navigating their kids’ media-saturated lives and online identities. As James P. Steyer, CEO and founder of the child and family advocate organization Common Sense Media, notes the average child spends more time today with media than they do in school or with their family.

Steyer will share parental advice at his Nashville seminar “How Technology is Shaping The Younger Generation – and What to do About It,” as part of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s 14th annual Edna S. Thomas Lecture Series.

Instead of shielding children completely from online images and messages, Steyer’s practical approach gives parents essential tools to help filter content, preserve good relationships with their children, and make common-sense, value-driven judgments for kids of all ages.

A number of studies reveal the impact technology has on children:

• The Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a study in (Jan. 2010) stated 8-18 year-olds spend an average of seven hours and 38 minutes using electronic media per day.

• A study published in BMC Public Health (July 2013) reports media technology in children's bedrooms such as TVs and computers can disrupt their sleep patterns.

• A Northwestern University report, titled "Parenting in the Age of Digital Technology” (June 2013), says 55% of parents say they are either “not too” (32%) or “not at all” (23%) concerned about their child’s media usage.

Steyer, who authored “Talking Back To Facebook: A Common-Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age” and “The Other Parent: The Inside Story of the Media’s Effect on our Children,” has spent more than 20 years as one of the most respected experts and entrepreneurs on issues related to children's policy and media in the United States. At Common Sense Media, he is responsible for the overall leadership of the nation's leading nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the media lives of kids and families. Learn more at www.CommonSenseMedia.org.

The series is made possible by The Community Foundation’s Edna S. Thomas Fund, a charitable fund established in 2000 by Thomas’ daughter, Judy Lewis, as a tribute to her mother’s outstanding parenting skills.

As a field-of-interest fund of The Community Foundation, the Edna S. Thomas Fund was created to support a broad area of interest – helping parents raise healthy children. Each year, the Fund presents the lecture series to achieve that goal, offering an expert’s knowledge and advice to provide tools for parents and educators to be successful.

“The Community Foundation recognizes the varied challenges that parents and educators face and is honored to be a part of this effort to provide tools for success, through the vision of Judy Lewis and the Thomas family,” said Ellen Lehman, president of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

For more information on the Edna S. Thomas Lecture Series, designed for parents and educators, visit www.CFMT.org, or call The Community Foundation at 615-321-4939.