To help foster more conversation among families, Nickelodeon launched a
series of public-service announcements Thursday for its new 'Talking with Kids
About Tough Issues' campaign.
Also Thursday, Nickelodeon, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and
Children Now released a study that showed that parents and children aren't
communicating as well as they should.
In a Nickelodeon study of children, their parents and how they tend to talk
about tough issues, 62 percent of kids aged eight through 15 said they would
like more information on what to do if someone brings a gun to their school.
The report was released just days after a high-school student in Santee,
Calif., opened fire during school hours, killing two teen-agers.
'When a tragic incident like that happens, it draws national attention to
children and families,' Kaiser Family Foundation vice president Tina Hoff said.
She added that children who hear about the news need to be reassured, to know
how to protect themselves and to feel comfortable in telling their parents if
they hear about guns at their own schools.
'After that story goes off the headlines, it's a conversation that needs to
keep happening' between parents and their children, Hoff said.
Child-focused PSAs will air on Nickelodeon and Noggin, while spots aimed at
parents will run on sister networks such as VH1, TNN: The National Network,
Country Music Television and Nick at Nite.
In addition to the TV spots, Nickelodeon has devoted space to the campaign on
its separate Web sites for kids and parents, www.nick.com and www.everythingnick.com,
respectively.
The network has also set up a toll-free number that parents can call to order
a 16-page guide on talking to kids, which includes a 'talk challenge official
contract' between parents and kids. The initial print run was for 250,000
copies.
