Television and Kids
Have you ever been concerned that your children are watching too much television? American households have their TV’s on an average of 7 hours a day. As a result children are watching from 3 to 5 hours of television each day. By the time they turn 13, they’ve witnessed 100,000 acts of televised violence, including 8,000 depictions of murder. Thousands of studies have been done on the effects of T.V. on our kids.
Consider:
- Children who watched violent television shows, even just “funny” cartoons, were more likely to hit playmates, argue, and disobey.
- Children often identify with certain characters, victims and victimizers on television and imitate the violence they see.
- Watching televised violence has been found to be the single greatest factor contributing to aggressive behavior in children.
- Children that are heavy viewers put less effort into schoolwork, have poorer reading skills, play less with friends, have fewer hobbies and are more likely to be overweight.
What Can You Do
Actually, quite a lot. I recommend not having a television in the house. This will create all sorts of opportunities for family interaction, reading, games and if you have a pre-teen, debating!
Short of this measure I recommend:
- Set limits
- View the programs your kids choose
- Disapprove of violence in front of your kids
- Resist advertising pressure
- Structure viewing time, keep the T.V. out of your child’s room
- Keep a time chart.
