Book Review: Teddy's TV Troubles
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What Parents Should Know
Bibliotherapy is a tried and true method of helping children
with their fears. The author of this book has dedicated her
professional life to studying the effects of mass media on
children. TEDDY'S TV TROUBLES, the result of her years as a
researcher and children's advocate, is designed to be used with
kids who are experiencing fears from TV and movies, but can
also be used with other kinds of fears. Professor Emerita of
the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Cantor is also the
author of the parenting book, "Mommy, I'm Scared": How TV and
Movies Frighten Children and What We Can Do to Protect Them"
(Harcourt, 1998). She has an excellent web site as well:
www.tvtroubles.com.
Common Sense Media Review
Intelligent, reassuring, and practical, this book will be of
great help to parents looking for ways to help their children
deal with upsetting images that they see on TV ads, in movies,
or simply by walking through the room when a parent is watching
the nightly news. In the story, the exact source of Teddy's
fear is not specified, so that the book can be useful in a wide
variety of situations. The author also gives a step by step
instruction for what to do with a frightened child. All the
while, the book reads like a storybook, not a manual.
The watercolor artwork is literal and unsophisticated, but it functions satisfactorily with the story. A child who is not yet reading could easily follow the sequence of the story through the illustrations.
From the book:
Teddy Bear was scared.
Something he had seen on TV left him jittery and jumpy.
He didn't want to be alone.
He needed a hug!
Mommy Bear was puzzled.
"Tell me what it was that scared you," she said.
"I don't know," said Teddy.
"The way it looked ... The way it sounded ... It was
just scary."
Mommy took Teddy on her lap and said,
"I'm glad you told me, Teddy.
There are lots of scary things on TV.
The same thing happened to me
when I was your age."
"It did?" asked Teddy, looking surprised.
"What made you scared?"
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
