Press Release for Teddy's TV Troubles:

To Obtain a Review Copy or to Request an Author Interview:

(608) 221-0593; FAX (608) 221-4548; or email: jrcantor@wisc.edu

"Teddy's TV Troubles" Helps Parents Ease Their Children's Fears

Media Psychology Expert Offers Children's Book
to Meet Growing Need

Joanne Cantor, Ph.D., a nationally recognized authority on the media and children, has written Teddy's TV Troubles, a reassuring children's book to help families cope with today's disturbing media environment. Parents often have difficulty comforting their young children, who can't readily be reassured with words. The book helps by:

· acknowledging the fear and letting children know they are not alone

· showing a loveable character work through his fears with the help of a caring adult

· presenting a series of age-appropriate activities that help children overcome their fears, including drawing pictures, creative play and reassuring bedtime rituals

Teddy's TV Troubles, charmingly illustrated by Tom Lowes, is a story book, an activity book and a going-to-bed book rolled into one.

The problem of children being frightened by the media has intensified over the past several years as 24-hour news broadcasts -- including terrorism, sniper attacks, child abductions, natural disasters, and the War in Iraq -- have become a staple in the typical home. Because Teddy's TV Troubles never raises scary issues or shows frightening images, it can be used for any of  the many types of frightening events that may assault children through television, including movies and commercials, as well as news stories. It can apply to other frightening situations as well, and it can be read to children who are not scared, to teach them what to do if they do become frightened. A "Parents' Pointers" page and Cantor's Web site (www.tvtroubles.com) offer further guidance.

Joanne Cantor, Professor Emerita of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the nation's leading expert on the effects of scary television and movies, is repeatedly sought by the media to advise parents on these issues. Her critically acclaimed parenting book, "Mommy, I'm Scared": How TV and Movies Frighten Children and What We Can Do to Protect Them (Harvest/Harcourt, 1998), explains the types of media content that frighten children of different ages and suggests ways parents can help calm their children's fears. Teddy's TV Troubles translates this advice into a language that children of all ages can understand.

The book has been endorsed by numerous educators and health-care professionals, including Rosemarie T. Truglio, Ph.D., Vice President of Education and Research for Sesame Street, who commented, "I think parents will love it, and it definitely fills a need in the lives of children today!" Michael Rich, MD, Director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School said, "Warm and engaging in style, and based on decades of solid science, this book enters the lives of those affected most powerfully - our children."

ISBN 0-9647663-7-X, $16.95. 36 pp.  Distributed through Baker & Taylor and Quality Books. Also available at Amazon.com and TVtroubles.com.

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