Media literacy can improve child nutrition, family relationships

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/wsu-mlc042120.php

News Release 21-Apr-2020
Washington State University


During this pandemic when few parents can limit screen time, a new study shows that building critical media skills as a family can have a positive impact on kids' nutrition without restricting their access to TV and computers.

The study, published in the journal Childhood Obesity on April 20, found that an education program that had parents and kids learn media literacy skills together not only helped children eat more fruits and vegetables but also improved communication between parents and their kids.

"We weren't trying just to get children to stop nagging their parents for things like candy and chips," said Erica Weintraub Austin, lead author on the study and director of the Edward R. Murrow Center for Media and Health Promotion Research at Washington State University. "We wanted them to be working together to make healthy decisions, and for the children to be well positioned for the future when they have to make those decisions on their own."

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