Talking with Kids About Tough Issues is an on-going public information campaign of the Kaiser Family Foundation and Children Now to encourage parents to talk with their children earlier and more often about tough issues like sex and puberty, HIV/AIDS, violence, respect, alcohol, and drug abuse. Since 2001, the campaign has teamed up with NBC’s award winning “The More You Know” in a national initiative to support parent-child communication. The More You Know PSAs have featured top stars from “ER”, “Boomtown”, “American Dreams” and “The West Wing” offering tips on effective communication. Click here to view the newest PSAs.
Online Resources
The campaign's web site (www.talkingwithkids.org) is a comprehensive family communication resource, including age-appropriate guidance and tips for parents raising difficult topics with their kids. The web site also offers resources on media literacy. The web site offers free bi-monthly e-flashes containing useful updates on the campaign and parent-child communication. Subscribe to www.talkingwithkids.org
Public Service Announcements for Parents
Talking with Kids has created several PSAs for parents, encouraging them to talk with their kids about sex and puberty, among other issues. PSAs developed for the national market include Bill Clinton, Gloria Estefan and 'N Sync, as well as unscripted messages with middle school students. PSAs were also developed in collaboration with Nickelodeon, which target parents and kids themselves. Messages created for the Northern California markets feature Oakland Raider Rich Gannon. The spots are tagged with resources for parents: the campaign's web site and toll-free hotline.
Free Parent Guide
Talking with Kids has created a series of free guides for families, including materials in Spanish. They are available through the campaign's website at www.talkingwithkids.org.
About the Partners Children Now (www.childrennow.org) is a research and action organization dedicated to children.
