METHODOLOGICAL SUPPORT FOR THE FORMATION OF MEDIA SAFETY OF CHILDREN OF SENIOR PRESCHOOL AGE IN CONDITIONS OF MARTIAL LAW

Abstract

This article examines the issue of fostering media safety among older preschool-aged children under martial law as a crucial component of ensuring their mental well-being, emotional resilience, and safe socialization. The relevance of the study is justified by the growing influence of the media environment on child development amid the information overload of wartime and the insufficient development of scientific and methodological foundations for fostering media safety among preschoolers. Contemporary scientific approaches to the issues of media education, media literacy, and information safety for children are analyzed. The essence of the concept of “media safety for older preschoolers under martial law” is clarified; it is viewed as a set of psychological and pedagogical measures aimed at protecting children from negative informational and psychological influences and fostering skills for safe interaction with the media environment. The main groups of methods for fostering media safety have been identified and characterized: informational-orientational, emotional-regulatory, behavioral-practical, and interactive-communicative. Their content, pedagogical potential, and possibilities for application in the educational process of a preschool institution are explored. Examples are provided of the use of discussions, media situation analysis, fairy tale therapy, psychogymnastics, role-playing, situational exercises, group games, and collaborative creation of media products to develop children’s skills for safe behavior in the information environment. It has been demonstrated that the comprehensive application of the proposed methods contributes to the development of the cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and socio-communicative components of media safety among older preschool-aged children. The importance of partnership between preschool institutions and families is emphasized as a necessary condition for improving the effectiveness of media safety education under martial law. Prospects for further research include the development of diagnostic tools and the experimental testing of the effectiveness of the proposed methods in preschool education practice.