Television has a tremendous influence on how children view
our world. Youngsters spend more hours watching TV from
birth to age 18 than they spend in the classroom. A
positive aspect of TV viewing is the opportunity to see
different life-styles and cultures. Children today are
entering school more knowledgeable than children before the
era of TV. In addition, TV has great entertainment value.
While TV can be a good teacher, many children watch TV
excessively and experience some of the negative consequences
described below.
- TV displaces active types of recreation.
It decreases time spent playing with peers. A child has
less time for self-directed daydreaming and thinking.
It takes away time for participating in sports, music,
art, or other activities that require practice to
achieve competence.
- TV interferes with conversation and discussion time.
It reduces social interactions with family and friends.
- TV discourages reading.
Reading requires much more thinking than television.
Reading improves a youngster's vocabulary. A decrease
in reading scores may be related to too much time in
front of the TV.
- Heavy TV viewing (more than 4 hours a day) definitely
reduces school performance.
This much TV interferes with study, reading, and
thinking time. If children do not get enough sleep
because they are watching TV, they will not be alert
enough to learn well on the following day.
- TV discourages exercise.
An inactive life-style leads to poor physical fitness.
If accompanied by frequent snacking, watching TV may
contribute to weight problems.
- TV advertising encourages a demand for material
possessions.
Young children will pressure their parents to buy the
toys they see advertised. TV portrays materialism as
the "American way."
- TV violence can affect how a child feels toward life and
other people.
Viewing excessive violence may cause a child to be
overly fearful about personal safety and the future. TV
violence may numb the sympathy a child normally feels
toward victims of human suffering. Young children may
be more aggressive in their play after seeing violent
television shows. While TV violence does not increase
aggressive behavior toward people in most children, it
may do so in disturbed or impulsive children.
- Encourage active recreation.
Help your child become interested in sports, games,
hobbies, and music. Occasionally turn off the
television and take a walk or play a game with your
child.
- Read to your children.
Begin reading to your child by 1 year of age and
encourage him to read on his own as he becomes older.
Some parents help children earn TV or video game time by
equivalent reading time. Help him improve his
conversational skills by spending more of your time
talking with him.
- Limit TV time to 2 hours a day or less.
An alternative is to limit TV to 1 hour on school nights
and 2 or 3 hours a day on weekends. Occasionally you
may want to allow extra viewing time for special
educational programs.
- Don't use TV as a distraction or a baby-sitter for
preschool children.
Preschooler's viewing should be limited to special TV
shows and videotapes that are produced for young
children. Because the difference between fantasy and
reality is not clear for this age group, regular TV
shows may cause fears.
- If your child is doing poorly in school, limit TV time
to 1 half hour each day.
Make a rule that your child must finish homework and
chores before watching television. If your child's
favorite show is on before the work can be done,
consider recording the show for later viewing.
- Set a bedtime for your child that is not altered by TV
shows that interest your child.
Children who are allowed to stay up late to watch
television are usually too tired the following day to
remember what they were taught in school. By all means,
don't permit your child to have a TV set in her bedroom
because this eliminates your control over TV viewing.
- Turn off the TV set during meals.
Family time is too precious to be squandered on TV
shows. In addition, don't have the television always on
as a background sound in your house. If you don't like
a quiet house, try to listen to music without lyrics.
- Teach critical viewing.
Turn the TV on for specific programs only. Don't turn
it on at random and scan for something interesting.
Teach your child to look first in the TV program guide.
- Teach your child to turn off the TV set at the end of a
show.
If the TV stays on, your child will probably become
interested in the following show and then it will be
more difficult for your child to stop watching TV.
- Encourage your child to watch some shows that are
educational or teach human values.
Encourage watching documentaries, or real-life dramas.
Use programs about love, sex, family disputes, drinking,
and drugs as a way to begin family discussions on these
difficult topics.
- Forbid violent TV shows.
This means you have to know what your child is watching
and turn off the TV set when you don't approve of the
program.
Develop separate lists of programs that are OK for older
children and for younger kids to watch. Make your older
children responsible for keeping the younger ones out of
the TV room when they are watching programs not allowed
for the younger children. If they don't keep them out,
the show must be turned off.
The availability of cable television and video-cassette
recorders means that any child of any age has access to
the uncut versions of R-rated films. Many children
under the age of 13 years develop daytime fears and
nightmares because they have been allowed to watch such
vicious movies.
- Discuss the consequences of violence if you allow your
older child to watch violent shows.
Point out how violence hurts both the victim and the
victim's family. Be sure to discuss any program that
upsets your child.
- Discuss commercials with your children.
Help your children identify high-pressure selling and
exaggerated claims. If your child wants a toy that is a
look-alike version of a TV character, ask how he or she
would use the toy at home. The response will probably
convince you that the toy will be added to a collection
rather than become a catalyst for active play.
- Discuss the differences between reality and
make-believe.
This type of clarification can help your child enjoy a
show and yet realize that what is happening may not
happen in real life.
- Set a good example.
If you watch a lot of TV, you can be sure your child
will also. In addition, the types of programs you watch
send a clear message to your child.