When Should I Start Talking To My Kids About Gender Portrayals in the Media?

Studies show that the average American between the ages of 2-18 spends about 5.5 hours with some form of media every day. There's no doubt that starting at an early age, your child will start being influenced by the media about gender roles and portrayals. And, as the Social Cognitive Theory explains, if your children don't learn about mediated media portrayals from you as their parent, they will definitely come to accept those false portrayals as truth.
Listed below are some age-appropriate messages that can be discussed with your children, from the ages of 2-18.
2-6 Years

• Gender Equality
• One of the first building blocks of gender awareness in the media.
• Teach your children that girls and boys are just as equal, even though the shows they might watch may have under represent girls or show them in diminished roles.
• Self-Efficacy
• Teach your young girls that they are just as capable as boys to do certain jobs "when they grow up."
• Teach your child to believe in herself and her abilities at a young age, even when the media might portray boys as being stronger, or smarter than their female peers. Also, teach your young boy to not look down on women who have the same types of jobs as males. 

7-12 Years

• Stereotypes
• Children are able to understand stereotyping more at this age than in their younger years.
• Talk to your children about what a stereotype is - and point out examples in the media that they're exposed to.
• Teach her that it's important to express her unique talents, and not just follow the expected sterotype of a young boys and girl their age -- for example, being beautiful and famous, or macho and violent.
• Role Models
• Most children at this age adopt role models that are prominent in pop culture, who lack moral character and other high-quality characteristics.
• Help your child, and also teach them to find a role model who possesses the characteristics that will help her succeed in life and help her aspire to acquire more characteristics than beauty, sexuality, violence, or male dominance, which is so pervasive in their following teenage years. Look to family, church groups, community leaders, for example, for find positive role models for her.

13-18 Years

• Over Sexualization
• Young girls moving into their adolescent years already face a dramatic drop in self esteem. With the over sexualization of women in the media, they are even more vulnerable to accept the belief that sex is the only way to become popular and get attention. Teaching teenage boys about these fake realities in the media can help prevent them from developing unrealistic expectations and altered views or morality. 
• If parents can constantly discuss this inaccuracy with their children, they'll be less likely to get involved in underage sex, STDs and teen pregnancies.
• Help and support your children in developing other talents and attributes that don't depend on beauty, sex, or popularity -- for example, leadership and service groups, fine arts, sports, etc.
• Body Image
• This video series by Jean Kilbourne, "Killing Us Softly," is a documentary on the over sexualization and unrealistic body images of women portrayed in advertising and the media.
• Adolescent girls who either have role models of unrealistically thin models or are exposed to very thin models in the media have an even higher chance of developing an eating disorder and unhealthy views of their bodies.
• Parents can play a role in combating this issue by discussing and encouraging their teenage daughters to seek a body type that is healthy, but not unrealistically skinny.
• Parents should teach their daughters that not every body shape and size is similar -- teenage girls should feel like they fit in and are accepted in the home environment, even when when the media is telling them to look different.