Dr. Levin tackles tough topics in her books.  This one takes a careful and somewhat critical look at the media-saturated world of young children.  She recognizes that there are aspects of media that are OK and may even be positive (I like that she always presents a balanced view of her subject). This is a topic that parents and teachers alike struggle with every day and will continue to get more complicated as the world spins and moves forward.

Take a Look at The Table of Contents

Introduction: Taming the Media in Young Children’s Lives

Chapter 1: Remote-Controlled Childhood: An Overview

• Growing Up in Today’s Media-Saturated World
• Media in the Lives of Children
• The Effects of Being Connected to Media (And Disconnected From Direct Experience)
• Shared Responsibility and a Call to Action

Chapter 2: A Developmental Perspective on Remote-Controlled Childhood

• How Young Children Think Affects the Meanings They Construct From Their Experiences
• Use What You Know About Children’s Thinking and Meaning Making
• Challenges to Responding Effectively

Chapter 3: A Closer Look at Remote-Controlled Childhood: How Media Culture Affects Children

• Content Issues: Media Culture Affects What Children Learn
• Process Issues: Media Culture Affects How Children Learn
• Culture Clash
• Beyond Remote-Controlled Childhood
• It’s Worth the Effort

Chapter 4: Setting the Stage: Learn More About the Media in Young Children’s Lives

• Strategies for Learning About the Media in Young Children’s Lives
• Show Your Interest in Children’s Media Usage
• Stay Informed About Screen Media and Media Culture
• Use What You Know to Act

Chapter 5: Problem Solving With Children: How One Teacher Helped the Princesses and Princes Live Happily Ever After

• Trouble in the Kingdom
• Why This Approach?
• What’s Next?

Chapter 6: Helping Children Get Beyond Remote-Controlled Childhood: Guidelines for Practice

• Media Literacy Skills for Young Children
• What You Can Do: Considering and Counteracting Negative Media Influences
• The Value of Helping Children Get Beyond Remote-Controlled Childhood in Today’s Educational Climate

Chapter 7: Beyond Remote-Controlled Play: Helping Children Become Creative Players

• The Importance of Play in Development, Learning, and School Success
• What You Can Do: Encouraging Creative, Child-Controlled Play
• Everyone Wins: The Benefits of Promoting High-Quality, Original Play

Chapter 8: Addressing Negative Media Content: Violence, Sexualization, Commercialization, and More

• What You Can Do: Guidelines for Addressing General Content Issues
• What You Can Do: Guidelines for Addressing Specific Media Content

Chapter 9: Beyond the Screen: Empowering Children to Take Action in the Real World

• Taking Action That Grows Out of Children’s Own
• Experiences and Needs
• What You Can Do: Empowering Children to Take Action on Issues That Matter to Them

Chapter 10: Teachers and Families Working Together

• The Realities for Today’s Families
• The Power of Mutual Respect and Collaboration
• What You Can Do: Working With Families to Address Media Issues

Chapter 11: Community Building for Change: Helping Society Get Beyond Remote-Controlled Childhood

• Key Components of Change
• What You Can Do: Mobilizing Others

Conclusion: Beyond Remote-Controlled Childhood!

ISBN: 978-1-928896-98-2

The book is available here.

And….if you ever get a chance, check out The War-Play Dilemma, another book by Levin ad Carlsson-Paige that presents wonderful strategies for managing “war-play” (guns, shooting, power games) in the early childhood environment.

It looks like Diane E. Levin will be speaking about the book at this year’s NAEYC conference.  If you are going, you should definitely check it out.  I had the pleasure of hearing her speak twice in the past few years and it was amazing.