Preview: Perspective On…Listening to Kids

Posted on: Friday 19 June 2020 7:00pm

Esther Kaufmann and Laura Hamm – producing and  presenting one of the CMC 2020 “Perspective On…” videos  urge us to listen to kids, and tell us how to do it

Perspective On… Listening to Kids  has a Chat area in the Children’s Media Conference Facebook Group. Delegates can use it to leave messages, ask questions and discuss.

The call at last year’s CMC was loud. The young Changemakers were clear – we adults have to listen more. If we want to create media that speaks to children, that stays with them, we have to listen.

But real listening is hard. We understand children best when they talk like adults, so there’s a lot we don’t hear. That means we miss opportunities to really connect by mirroring children’s experiences.

 As Laverne Antrobus, Child Psychologist, explains in our  ‘Perspective on… Listening to Kids’, it’s deeply affirming for children to see their stories reflected in media. Laura says: “I’ve seen that first-hand in my work on kids’ storytelling, the treasure hiding in plain sight when you tune in to their stories, their play.”

 Laverne joins a delicious line up of speakers urging us to uncover this secret world of children’s voices. We’ll guide you into the Aladdin’s cave, and give concrete tips on how to pick out the gems of meaning buried there.

Pete Robinson, Chief Strategy Officer at Kids Know Best, shares the approaches used by the most innovative brands to ‘get down on the floor’ with children.  And as Pete points out, this isn’t just about research. Brands need to respond to the rising demand for young people’s voices to be heard and amplified. 

Our special guest, ten-year-old writer Viola Bradshaw, talks to us about why she writes, and how her imagination is still her most valuable resource in doing that. She  reminds us of the centrality of children’s media in populating their inner worlds, but discovering those inner worlds means unlearning some adult habits. It’s easy to draw the wrong conclusions, as Psychology Professor Marjorie Taylor shows. She helps us navigate the teddy-bear-traps with some hilarious examples from her research. Can you guess what one boy’s imaginary friend “the Butcher Shop boy” looked like? We’ll send a prize to anyone who can get it even a little bit right before watching her interview!

So with prizes on offer, surely you can’t resist joining us to hear about sacred swiss army knives, a planet of horse-gods and, most of all, to learn how to listen to and understand children better. 

View Perspective On…Listening to Kids in the Video on Demand library available to all registered delegates for CMC Online 2020