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Television Is Great For Parents
Let's face it. We all need a break.
Having a young child under your feet, needing your help or demanding
your time can make it difficult, if not impossible to get things
done. So we use the built-in babysitter. It's easy, it's free
and it works.
Is TV Good For Young Kids?
While the TV may be a good thing
for us parents, the fact is that the results of numerous studies
conducted over the past decade show that spending a long time
watching television is not good for kids.
Don't worry. I'm not about to tell
you to throw away your TV. In my life and probably also in yours,
it's just not realistic. But, like every decision that affects
your children, you should be aware of how television viewing affects
your young child and the risks and benefits you need to weigh
in order to set the television viewing policy in your home. Just
as you consider carefully the pre-school environment you choose
for your child, you need to also evaluate your home environment
carefully.
How Much TV Does Your Child Watch
Each Day?
The American Association of Pediatrics
recommends that children under two- years-old should not watch
any television and that older children should not be watching
more one to two hours a day. For more information you can go to
Television
For Very Young Children.
Despite these recommendations, the
average American child watches between 20 to 30 hours of television
each week. This means that children spend more time watching television
than any other single waking activity.
Sit for a minute and consider if
this statistic applies to your child. If so, you should consider
the following concerns that arise from young children spending
too much time sitting in front of a television.
- Television Reduces Learning
And Discovery Time
Here is one fact not based on formal
studies, but based on my own personal observation as a pre-school
teacher and a mother: young children learn by doing. I'm not saying
that a child can't learn to count by watching Sesame Street. She
will learn to count faster, however, if she counts the number
of steps she needs to walk up to get to her house or the number
of crayons she uses to draw a picture. There is no end to the
number of facts a child will discover in his backyard or at the
local park.
Young children also need free time
to learn through imaginative play. Just dressing up, building
a castle out of blocks or sitting around daydreaming is essential
for helping a young child to develop his imagination. If every
free moment is spent in front of the TV, imaginative play will
not happen.
- Television Teaches Children
To Expect Instant Gratification
Watching television is always easy.
The fun happens, it happens fast and you don't have to work to
get it. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of real life. Instead,
real life is a series of challenges that sometimes require slow
and methodical work to get results.
- Watching Television Violence
Can Affect Your Child's Opinions And Behavior
According to the American Psychological
Association, watching lots of television violence can have the
following three negative effects:
- Children may become less sensitive
to the pain and suffering of others.
- Children may become more fearful
of the world around them.
- Children may be more likely to
behave in aggressive ways towards others.
For the full text of the article,
go to Children
and Television Violence.
- Television Watching Decreases
Social Interaction Time
Watching television takes away time
that children might otherwise spend interacting with other children
and developing much needed social skills. Make sure your young
child spends plenty of time with real people and not just looking
at a machine.
- Television Watching Can Decrease
Physical Activity
Young children are always on the
move. Movement is part of what has traditionally kept most young
children thin and trim. A 1994 study of pre-school children found
that over the course of the previous two decades, more four and
five-year-old children are overweight. One suggested reason for
this finding is the number of hours that young children are spending
watching television, instead of moving, running and exploring
their environments. (This study, Prevalence of Overweight Among
Preschool Children in the United States, 1971 Through 1994, was
published in
PEDIATRICS Vol.99 No.4, April 1997. )
Even if your child is not overweight,
physical activity is essential for appropriate health, growth
and development. Television is a passive activity and if your
child spends too much time sitting and watching, it may affect
his level of physical fitness. A child's physical coordination
affects his learning ability, so children also need physical movement
to help acquire age appropriate developmental skills.
The possible negative physical effects
of watching television are not mitigated by the quality of the
television show your child watches. No matter how "educational"
the television show is, it is simply not healthy for your child
to spend a significant part of his life sitting and watching a
screen.
I Thought You
Said You Weren't Going To Tell Me To Throw Away The Television!
That's right. I did and I still won't.
Instead, I want to answer the question I asked above: What's wrong
with a little TV? Well, that depends on your definition of a "little
TV." If you are referring to a short period of time, say
less than an hour a day, then probably not much. If, however,
that "little" bit of TV adds up to several hours a day,
then probably a lot is wrong with a little TV.
If after reading this article, you
are concerned that your child is watching more television than
is good for her, take action. For help in making sure that your
child's television viewing habits fall within reasonable limits,
go to: Tips
For Limiting TV Watching: You Can Do It
For more information about television
viewing and your young child, check out the following links:
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