American children watch an average of three to four hours of television daily. Television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior. Children learn information from television that may be inappropriate or incorrect. By the time of high school graduation, most children will have spent more time watching TV than they have in the classroom.
Time spent watching television takes
away from important activities such as reading, school work, playing, exercise,
family interaction, and social development. Children who watch a lot of
television are likely to:
Watching television increases the likelihood
that a toddler will later develop attention span problems. For each hour
of TV watched daily by a child age 12 months to three years, the risk of
developing attention span problems by age 7 increases by almost 10 percent,
according to a study by the University of Washington. Researchers believe
the rapid change of images on a TV screen over stimulates kids at a crucial
stage of brain development.
Only a handful of television programs
teach children any important skills. Most of the shows that toddlers watch
are cartoons. These kind of shows hand kids all the answers, promoting
passive learning and short attention spans. As a result, kids have difficulty
concentrating and working hard to solve a problem.
2. Turn off the TV. Study times are for learning, not sitting in front of the TV doing homework. Meal times are a good time for family members to talk to each other, not for watching television.
3. Turn off shows you don't feel are appropriate for your children. Soap operas, adult sitcoms, and adult talk shows were not developed for children to watch. Choose shows with your child, try to steer them toward educational programs.
4. Encourage your children to do other things besides watching television. Do an art project together, read a book, or get out of the house and go to the park or a playground. Don't watch life...live it!
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