Methods of Engaging Children in Creative Media Practices: A Cultural Analysis of Children’s Film as a Tool for Socialization

The article is devoted to the analysis of methods for engaging children in creative media practices based on the study of children's cinema as a tool of socialization. The research focuses on identifying the potential of children's cinematography to shape social norms, communication skills and behavioral models, as well as on determining effective ways of integrating children into creative media environments. Special attention is paid to the mechanisms through which film becomes a medium of participation – from emotional immersion and identification with characters to collective viewing, discussion and creative interpretation of cinematic content. The work considers children not only as passive recipients of audiovisual information, but as active co-participants capable of producing personal meanings, experimenting with narrative forms and developing media competencies. Children's cinema is thus viewed as a multidimensional cultural practice that both reflects and constructs social experience, supporting the formation of value orientations, empathy, imagination and cooperative interaction. This makes film a powerful instrument for including children in the space of creativity and communication, facilitating their gradual integration into cultural and social contexts. The research identifies the key capacities of creative media practices for developing critical perception, empathy, and the ability to acquire social roles. It specifies the features of children’s cinema that support socialization, including the value-based structure of the narrative, expressive emotional means, personification of social roles, and its potential to stimulate creative participation. The study substantiates methods of active media viewing, project-based media activities, and the educational integration of film that ensure the most effective engagement of children. The results may be applied in mediapedagogy, programs for developing children’s creativity, educational institutions, cultural organizations, and psychological-pedagogical practices of supporting children's socialization. The study concludes that combining children’s film viewing with creative media practices significantly enhances the socialization process. Children’s cinema functions not only as a channel for transmitting cultural norms but also as a mediator of creative experience that fosters social engagement, communication, and reflective skills.