Sharing With Aunty Abike (4)

Glad to be with you again. A well respected man of God known by most people as Daddy GO clocked 70 recently. Guess the gift he requested from God for his birthday? 70,000 children! Whao, so get ready to welcome lots of new sisters and brothers. For us, we can’t wait to have many more readers for this beautiful column. We wish Pastor E.A. Adeboye many more years of service to humanity. Over and beyond the gifts we receive from humans, remember that you can ask God for special gifts but note that you also have to add work to your faith.

Sunday 4^th of March would have been the 21^st commemoration of the International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB). However, I read from the news that UNICEF, the coordinating body for this global event, has brought the event to a close. I was so sad when I read it because the event, which is just catching on in Africa, has compelled the media to take a deeper look at issues relating to children especially during ICDB when the world tunes in to children.

The good news is that though UNICEF is signing off from coordinating, countries have been encouraged to continue to celebrate and commemorate ICDB. In the light of this, we are moving on. Already we had a beautiful media conference during which children learned and shared their experiences about media and culture. Throughout the week, children also learned how to produce media for children as they visited different media houses.

As part of the commemoration, let us look at who, what, when, where, why of media choices.

So who is responsible for the media choices you make? You! As a child, even when an adult decide to irresponsibly turn on a violent or x-rated movie, you have a choice to leave the scene of the viewing. What should you watch? Educative, informative, entertaining programmes, for children, that would positively impact or challenge you. I won’t go into the appropriateness of genres because even some cartoons are not for children. You know what is for children based on the content and timing. That brings us to when. Usually programmes within the children’s belt (3pm to 7pm) and family belt (8am-7pm on holidays and weekends) are rated ‘G’ i.e. general viewing. Where? If you have to lock the door or turn the screen to privately watch something on television, laptop or phone, then content is inappropriate. If you cannot freely invite mummy and daddy or uncle and aunty to watch or read with you, then it is a no-no. Why all these rules? Whatever you watch has the power to remain on your mind and influence your thought process and action so, watch what you watch.

Remember, you can celebrate ICDB in your school, church, mosque or club by reporting on news event, writing articles on the notice board or sharing a recorded interview with others. I would be glad to read about your experience.