How Tv Affects Your Child
How T. V affects your child Television watching is becoming more prominent in America culture. Children are being plugged into the television at younger and younger ages. Parents will want to get work done and the television is a very convenient “babysitter. ” Parents do not have to pay the television to keep their children pre-occupied. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation kids are being plugged into the television long before they enter school. Two thirds of infants and toddlers watch up to two hours of television a day on average.
Children under six watch about two hours of media which includes television and DVDs. Children ages eight to eighteen watch up to four hours of television and spend another two on the computer for either school work or computer games. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under two do not watch any television and those who are older than two should not watch any more than 1-2 hours a day. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that the first two years of a child’s life is very important to their brain development.
Television can interfere with reading and physical activity. Television can also be educational to children. According to the article children can learn their ABC’s and grade school children can watch nature shows to learn about animals and such. Television can have its perks but had an even bigger down fall. Children who spend more than four hours watching television are more likely to be overweight. Children who watch violent television shows are more likely to be aggressive and they may be more scared of the world they live in.
Some television characters glorify smoking and drinking , can show gender biases along with racial stereotypes. The article also stated statistics on violence in television. “The average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by age 18. ” Television tells children if you are the “good guy” that it is ok to hit when parents teach children it is wrong to hit. Children should not watch violent programs because they will not be able to distinguish reality from fantasy. Risky behaviors can also be associated with inappropriate television watching.
Alcohol ads have increased on television in the last couple of years and they always show people being really cool and pretty while drinking. Obesity is an epidemic in America. While children watch television they tend to snack. There are so many ads for junk food to get the child to eat more as well. Studies show that children who watch less television are less likely to gain weight. The article also touches upon the v-chip. The v-chip is programmed into your television and can block certain programs that you do not want your children watching.
The article says to look at the ratings on the television of the shows, the ratings can range from TV-Y to TV-MA. I mostly agree with this article in a sense that television can be a learning tool to a certain extent. Too much television watching can definitely limit a child’s physical activity along with getting their homework done. Children should be monitored while watching television and should have a certain time limit. Parents should make sure their children have finished all of their homework until letting them watch television.
I do agree that certain television shows can teach children for example: Sesame Street and Animal Planet. Too much television can definitely do damage to a child just like the article stated how commercials glorify drinking. Children should not be subject to violence because it can lead them to be uneasy about the world they live in. A parent could try to explain that the show is not real but the child does not know that, a child could still have nightmares along with being scared of the world. Violent television does not exactly make a child violent but it does make them more susceptible to violence.
If children see violence on television they are more likely to try it out. For example if a little boy or girl was watching WWE (wrestling show) they would think how cool is that and would want to try it out even though people who are older know that the fighting is actually fake and that no one gets hurt. Children do not know that this is fake fighting and may want to be cool and try out new wrestling moves. Obesity can also affect children who watch too much television. I agree with the article completely with a lot of the commercials having junk food, I have seen first hand and it even affects me.
If these junk food commercials make me want to eat badly then children are definitely influenced. The v-chip is a touchy subject, it is a great idea letting parents block certain shows. A lot of children now a days are more tech savvy than their parents and can find ways around the v-chip. The v-chip would be most effective on children under the age of 5. Parents need to learn how to monitor their children and be able to explain shows. If parents are not around children could be influenced in bad ways.
