Ep 53: Toys at bedtime?

This episode starts with an apology for my erratic output in recent weeks. It’s been partly about travel and visitors and such, but there has also been quite a lot of stuff for a children’s media rights advocate to do. For example I gave evidence to a parliamentary committee on privacy: see the Hansard transcript here. Plus we have been working hard on our response to the review of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice - submissions due on 11 November. Hoping to get a bit more regular now, and if you want to send me any encouragement please do!

As for the episode, I found probably the dream research study for the pod’s purposes: a trial of a very practical intervention with toddlers, to improve their sleep by replacing screen-time with play-time in the hour before bed. The study didn’t just look at the impact on sleep quality (which was positive) but it also measured how feasible the intervention was for the families who participated (even more positive). So get on down to your local toy store or library and get an intervention in your own home, whenever you’re ready, and enjoy your extra-refreshed cherub.

Then we get a review of the second Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, and I look into the pros and cons of negotiating a written agreement with children and teens when you get them a smart phone (or other device). The cons come from a post I’ve linked to below, and I can recommend that whole Substack as one where you can find some really thoughtful and thought-provoking content about children, teens and screens. If you want to subscribe there, do tell them I sent you.

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Show notes

British paper: Hannah Pickard, Petrina Chu, Claire Essex, Emily J. Goddard, Katie Baulcombe, Ben Carter, Rachael Bedford and Tim J. Smith, 'Toddler Screen Use Before Bed and Its Effect on Sleep and Attention: A Randomized Clinical Trial' (2024) JAMA Pediatrics doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.3997; Published online October 21, 2024

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel review: https://childrenandmedia.org.au/movie-reviews/movies/alvin-and-the-chipmunks-the-squeakquel

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel availability in Australia: https://www.flicks.com.au/movie/alvin-and-the-chipmunks-the-squeakquel/

Zooming Out details:

Melanie Hempe post

CyberWise template https://www.cyberwise.org/technology-agreement

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Children and Media Australia (CMA)

You can find the Children and Media Australia Know Before You Go service via this link.

Then, depending what you’re looking for, you can sort the list or search by title alphabetically, by age suitability, by classification or by date added. All of the reviews are prepared by people with training in child development, and they cover every G and PG title released in Australian cinemas since 2002, as well as selected M-rated movies and some pre-2002 ones that are available on streaming services.

Or at this link, you can access Know Before You Load – reviews of game style apps and apps that may appeal to young children. These cover some extra things that are relevant to games, like data collection and gambling-like content.

You might also like to sign up for our KBYG Weekly newsletter about the latest reviews, and join the CMA facebook community.