MEDIA RELEASE
Helping children cope with the media coverage of war

18 March 2003

Barbara Biggins, OAM, President of the Australian Council for Children and the Media, trading as Young Media Australia (YMA), today urged parents, grandparents, teachers, child care workers and all who work with children to be vigilant about their children’s exposure to media coverage of the war.

Ms Biggins stated: “We can expect saturation coverage of this frightening event. There will be news breaks interrupting normal programming, promotions of news programs and documentaries in times normally reserved for G programming and graphic footage repeated over and over again.

Irrespective of our political views about the war and Australia’s involvement, one of our urgent priorities at home must now be to protect our children from media harm.”

Young Media Australia Helpline believes there are six key questions that parents and caregivers can ask themselves to help them care for their children at this time.

• How old are the children in my care?
  • Respond according to their level of development.
• What media are they seeing or hearing?
  • Minimise and rationalise.
• How are my children feeling?
  • Listen and acknowledge.
• How am I communicating with them?
  • Communicate openly and honestly.
• How can I reassure them?
  • Give both physical and logical reassurance.
• How can I make them feel safe?
  • Routines, family togetherness and monitoring your own reactions.

For more detailed responses to these questions and some practical tips in applying them, parents are reminded that the national freecall Young Media Australia Helpline (1800 700 357) is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

YMA is Australia’s only national advocacy organisation representing the interests of children and young people in relation to print, electronic and screen-based media, and provides a valuable resource for legislators, regulators and the media.

For more information, interviews and photo opportunities, please call Barbara Biggins on (08) 8376 2111 or (08) 8234 9396.