Gloria DeGaetano.com


Note from Gloria

In 1987 I left my work as a school district administrator to devote my time to helping parents and educators deal proactively with media-related issues. Since screen-machine saturation affects so many of parents’ daily decisions and since screen machines dominate so much of children’s and teens lives, I came to believe that this is one of the most critical issues of our times. If we get this one right, many current challenges will resolve.

For instance, research shows that by reducing time with TV, video or video games we will see increased attention span, literacy skills, and motivation for school learning along with decreased obesity, bullying, and discipline problems. Children and teens tethered to screen machines miss out on a myriad of other experiences crucial to their well-being and optimal development.

During my keynotes, I share ideas for meeting the Vital Five —five human needs that often get shortchanged in our media saturated society. By focusing on what parents and educators can amplify with youngsters I believe we can confront the complexities of media issues with confidence and creativity—ensuring that we do not relinquish our humanity in the Age of the Screen Machine.

My talks emphasize meeting children’s developmental needs through a living systems approach and a pro-active positive change process that I successfully use in training parent coaches at the Parent Coaching Institute (PCI).

In fact, many graduates of the PCI, after receiving Parent Coach Certification® use what they learned from me about media-related issues in workshops they give. I believe every professional working with parents and children or teens today need the information I provide. In addition to media-related topics and media literacy, I speak on will development, identity formation, and the individual’s relationship to the common good—all themes which help me to support professionals to infuse a living systems paradigm in the work they do with children and parents.

When you contract with me…

I will provide one or two workshops on the same day of the conference as well as the keynote address. When I am in a city I am happy to offer an additional 1.5 – 2 hour community presentation either the evening before or after the conference.

I customize every keynote and workshop I give based on what you want for your conference participants. After we agree to work together, I e-mail you a draft of the working title and the description to make sure my address will be both inspiring, informative, and specifically practical for your audience.

To get started, please review my most popular keynote topics listed below:

Click here for a PDF brochure, Keynotes and Trainings for Early Childhood Educators

Click here for a PDF brochure, Keynotes and Trainings for Schools and Organizations

Click here for a PDF brochure, Keynotes and Workshops for Parent Groups

Listen to me speak here.

I am sure you will agree that my message is a vitally important one for all of us working toward a better world for children.

Please contact me at info@GloriaDeGaetano.com or 425-753-0955 and we will begin to shape your customized conference keynote and workshops today!

All Best Wishes,

Gloria DeGaetano


Popular Keynote Topics

Healthy Brain Development in a Media Age
Popular with early childhood educators and parents of young children, this presentation explains the neuroscience behind the young brain’s interface with “screen machines” and the measures we must take to ensure optimal brain development in a media age. Based on a “living system” concept of the child/environment interdependence, participants receive practical, pro-active strategies that support healthy brain development in a media age.

Parenting Well in a Media Age
Based on my book of the same title, this presentation outlines the new parenting skills necessary in our industry-generated “pop” culture. We explore The Vital Five—five critical human needs that often get shortchanged in this counterfeit culture. I show how meeting these five critical human needs means optimal development for our children, leading us back to an authentic, personally-generated culture. My book: Parenting Well in a Media Age is often sold in conjunction with this keynote.

Screen Smarts:  Raising Media Literate Kids
Children growing up in a media environment are best equipped to navigate that environment when they know how to “read” visual messages and practice thinking critically and creatively about what they see on the screen. For caring adults, communicating about TV, movies, and video games can be a very effective way to increase children’s and teens’ thinking abilities, their creativity, and their self-esteem. This presentation, based on my book: Screen Smarts: A Family Guide to Media Literacy, gives fun, practical ideas for helping children think critically about TV, movies, and video games. Participants receive my booklet: 100 Family Media Literacy Activities: For Children and Teens ages, 3-18.

Will and Willingness: Building Individual Participation for the Common Good
We are all small parts of a whole and that whole is much more than the sum of its parts. To direct our attention, time, and energy toward something greater than ourselves—whether that is to our families or communities—means we are contributing to a better world. How do we acquire the mental discipline and emotional commitment to move outside of self-serving interests in an increasingly self-centered society? How do we know that we are participating as fully as possible in the “life of the whole?” And what is to be gained from such full participation? This keynote inspires individuals to re-connect to that larger whole in new and exciting ways. It provides a “living systems” framework by which organizations can successfully invite greater participation of its members.

Media Violence, Trauma, and the Developing Brain
For the past few decades, research has indicated that media violence is a significant contributing factor to real-life violence. TV, movie, and video game violence can profoundly impact children’s present and future attitudes, behaviors, and values by increasing their aggression, fear, callousness, and appetite for violence. This presentation examines the research and introduces the concept of “stimulus addiction” as related to the developing brain. My book, co-authored with Lt. Col Dave Grossman, Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call Against TV, Movie, and Video Game Violence is often sold in conjunction with this keynote.

Emotional/Social Intelligence: Where the Cortex and Human Heart Come Together
Cognition plays an important role in humanizing us. In this presentation I examine the deep connections between cortical brain functioning and the heart’s decision making processes. Parents and educators who wish to relate and respond to children’s authentic selves discover do-able strategies that deepen their relationships to their children and enhance children’s self-identity, autonomy, and creative expression.

The I’s That Form the I: Building Children’s Self-Identity from the Inside Out
Children who spend four-five hours daily (currently the national average) in front of a screen do not learn how to go inside themselves. Yet, the foundation for a strong self-identity requires ample time with introspection and imagination. The noise, quick image changes, and stimulus hype that bombard children daily make it increasingly difficult for them to develop their internal landscape. This presentation outlines what structures and functions of the young brain are being most affected by the perceptual chaos of media and screen technologies and how concerned parents and educators can divert children’s attention away from the externalized trivialities of screen entertainment and toward the sacred space inside themselves.

Contact Information:

Gloria DeGaetano
info@Gloria DeGaetano.com
Phone: 425-753-0955

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