A child's experience with death is really made up of three components: the direct or indirect exposure to a death, the child's perceptions and reactions toward death, and the intervention of a mediating agent (relative, friend, teacher, counselor, the author of a book or poem, or the creator of a movie or television program). The helpfulness or…

Discusses literary developments in seventeenth century England which caused certain authors, for ideological reasons, to focus a new attention on children. During this period, the emphasis was on presenting children in a more realistic fashion. Literary selections are included. (DB)

The portrayal of reading, writing, and other selected behaviors on prime-time network television was examined in this two-part study. First, an interest inventory was administered to a sample of 301 elementary students (i.e., grades 1-5) in South Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to determine their favorite television shows, books, and school…

Research on children and media has generally focused on the negative impact of media on developing minds. However, a theoretical framework is proposed for thinking about the role of television for American children from a developmental perspective. Instead of focusing on television's effects, television viewing can be examined as is any other…

A review of research findings examines how children up to age 12 use media, especially television, and presents theoretical accounts of the functions media serve during childhood. (Author/KC)

Legal and political theorists strive at expanding the scope of children's rights to cover further areas of their lives and choices. This paper suggests that this effort is misguided, and that the protection of children requires instituting adults' obligations, rather than broadening children's rights. Contrary to the common theoretical and…

Analyzes studies on children's time-use by their goals, target population, and methods. Makes a case for the importance of time-use studies providing a resource for describing children's social lives and well-being. Suggests how children's time-use could be studied regularly on a larger scale as part of society's effort to study and monitor its…

Adults from the pre- and posttelevision eras were surveyed to determine whether the superhero that today's preschoolers dramatize in their play is qualitatively different from those of past childhoods. Results revealed significant changes in early childhood in heroes or play themes since the advent of television, but no significant change in…

The literature on children's acquisition of sex-typed knowledge, preference, and behavior is reviewed, and a matrix of sex-typing constructs and sex-typed content areas is offered. Two major themes are discussed. The first theme concerns the importance of activities, interests, and peer associations in the early acquisition of sex-typing…

When teachers lay the weight of the world's ecological problems on elementary students before they have fostered the kind of connectedness that underlies appropriate environmental education, they create a condition of fear and disempowerment called "ecophobia." The paper suggests that teachers must lead with emotional connectedness…

Issues of daily life experience from a child's perspective were examined in the Spring 1976 as the Children's Time Study interviewed 764 preadolescents (aged 11-12) from Oakland, California and their mothers. The interviewers explored children's use of time outside the school by focusing on five domains of time use: (1) parent-child interactions;…