Sandra L. Calvert, the Director of the Children’s Digital Media Center, is a Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University. A fellow of the American Psychological Association, she has consulted for Nickelodeon Online, Sesame Workplace, Blue's Clues, and Sega of America, to influence the development of children's television programs, Internet software, and video games. She is author of Children's Journeys through the Information Age (1999), and co-editor of Children in the Digital Age: Influences of Electronic Media on Development (2002). Barbara J. Wilson is a Professor and Head of the Department of Speech Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is co-author of Children, Adolescents, and the Media (2002) and three book volumes of the National Television Violence Study (1997-1998).

“This handbook is a meticulously researched ‘tour-de-force’ of the role media play in shaping child and family development. Through a multi-disciplinary analysis of the varied impacts the media are having on children's learning, social interactions, and healthy development, the handbook offers an authoritative, balanced perspective, while identifying pressing issues to be addressed by policymakers. It is a must-read for those who wish to understand the rich and subtle ways media influence children's lives every day.”—Michael Levine, PhD, Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop “The Handbook of Children, Media and Development assembles the most accomplished researchers in the field and presents in-depth and theoretically driven analyses of the most important research advances, including novel theorizing on recent technological innovations in the media. Essential as a text or reference for students, scholars, and policymakers. Understandable to undergraduates, but with depth and accuracy that scholars will appreciate.”—Joanne Cantor, Director, Center for Communication Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison“Calvert and Wilson have gathered together a collection of up-to-the-moment research on how children use and are influenced by various mass media, but also on the business models underlying the industry and an array of possible policies and interventions designed to protect children. Students, scholars, policymakers, and parents will all find this book an invaluable resource.”—Donald F. Roberts, Thomas More Storke Professor Emeritus, Stanford University

• Notes on Editors and Contributors. Foreword (Aletha C. Huston).Acknowledgments.Introduction: Media and Children’s Development (Sandra L. Calvert and Barbara J. Wilson).Part I: Historical, Conceptual, and Financial Underpinnings of Media.1 Historical and Recurring Concerns about Children's Use of the Mass Media (Ellen Wartella and Michael Robb).2 Business Models for Children’s Media (Alice Cahn, Terry Kalagian, and Catherine Lyon).Part II: Media Access and Differential Use Patterns.3 Media Use Across Childhood: Access, Time, and Content (Ronda Scantlin).4 Children, Race, Ethnicity, and Media (Bradley S. Greenberg and Dana E. Mastro).5 Gender, Media Use, and Effects (Stacey J. T. Hust and Jane D. Brown).6 Media and the Family (Alison Alexander).Part III: Cognitive Effects of Media: How and What Children Learn.7 Attention and Learning from Media during Infancy and Early Childhood (Rachel Barr).8 Media Symbol Systems and Cognitive Processes (Kaveri Subrahmanyam and Patricia Greenfield).9 Learning from Educational Media (Heather L. Kirkorian and Daniel R. Anderson).10 News, Reality Shows, and Children's Fears: Examining Content Patterns, Theories, and Negative Effects (Stacy L. Smith, Katherine M. Pieper, and Emily J. Moyer-Guse).Part IV: Social Effects of Media.11 Media Violence and Aggression in Youth (Barbara J. Wilson).12 Prosocial Effects of Media Exposure (Marie-Louise Mares, Edward Palmer, and Tia Sullivan).13 Make-Believe Play, Imagination, and Creativity: Links to Children's Media Exposure (Dorothy G. Singer and Jerome L. Singer).14 Parasocial and Online Social Relationships (Cynthia Hoffner).15 Fear Responses to Media Entertainment (Patti M. Valkenburg and Moniek Buijzen).Part V: Health Effects of Media.16 Media Use and Childhood Obesity (Elizabeth A. Vandewater and Hope M. Cummings).17 Media, Body Image, and Eating Disorders (Kristen Harrison and Veronica Hefner).18 Media and Advertising Effects (Brian Young).19 Adolescents and Media Messages about Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs (Dina L. G. Borzekowski and Victor C. Strasburger).Part VI: Media Policy and Interventions.20 The Children’s Television Act (Sandra L. Calvert).21 Regulating the Media: Sexually Explicit Content (Joah G. Iannotta).22 Media-Related Policies of Professional Health Organizations (Marie Evans Schmidt, David S. Bickham, Amy Branner, and Michael Rich).23 The Rating Systems for Media Products (Douglas A. Gentile0.24 Parent and School Interventions: Mediation and Media Literacy (Jennifer L. Chakroff and Amy I. Nathanson).Author Index.Subject Index.