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in children, encourages a lack of creativity and a short attention span. Your children have no need to exercise their brains, be actively engaged in play or exercise, or even do any independent thinking of their own when they are sitting in front of a television being fed image after image of silliness, chaos, or destruction as is depicted in most television programs, even those made especially for children. In a worst-case scenario, television even promotes aggressive behavior in children.
Is this Really What You Want for Your Children?
Of course, this is somewhat of a negative view of television, but it is what can happen to your child when there is no thought given to what kind of influence television will have over your lives. There is no doubt that there are quite a few excellent television programs being made for children today, which educate children in a fun and helpful way, teach proper values to your children, and help them to cultivate their higher interests and instincts rather than their lower ones. Look for shows that have a gentle pace and tone, which includes content that will help your child’s development; physically, socially, cognitively and emotionally, shows with positive content, and cultural diversity. More than just finding quality programming for your children, you also need to think long and hard about the presence of television in your home. You need to make a conscious choice about which mode of viewing best
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There are more or less seven different ways in which people interact with television.
Different Ways Of Interacting With TV:
1. No television at all – television totally banned in the household
2. Restricted hours, restricted shows & channels
3. Unrestricted hours, restricted shows & channels
4. Restricted hours, unrestricted shows & channels
5. Children watch television with parental guidance (advice about what to watch)
6. Children watch television with parents present
7. Unlimited, unrestricted viewing
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suits your family. You may decide to not have a television set at all in your house. Or, you may choose to limit how many hours a day your child can watch, but not what s/he watches; the opposite is limiting what your child watches but not how long s/he watches. Experts agree that the best option out of all these seven, however, is number 6, where parents watch television with their children, explaining what’s being shown, and asking questions and making comments about the content and presentation of the show that help your child to make the distinction between fantasy and reality. “Wow, he got hit on the nose, but he’s not hurt. That wouldn’t happen in real life, would it? Because when you hit someone, it really hurts them” is an example of this kind of explanation.
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You may or may not decide to ban television altogether from your household, and this is probably an impractical thing to do in today’s world, but experts also agree that it is best to remove a television from your child’s bedroom, and also set specific hours for TV viewing. One to two hours of television a day is certainly adequate and don’t listen to your child’s requests that “other children watch as much as they like”. Simply explain that the values portrayed on that particular show are not values that you wish to follow in your family, and that is the end of it.
Where possible or available, you can use parental blockers that are available on the market or even ask your cable company or satellite dish provider to block out channels or shows that you don’t want your child to see. Remember that violent and scary television actually frightens young children (and even adolescents) so they may silently appreciate the limits that you set for them, despite their loud protests that you are depriving them of a fantastic experience.
In the end, remember that television is not merely an electronic babysitter; it is a powerful tool that actually programs your children into certain modes of behavior, thought, and emotion. Never underestimate the effect that television can have on your children, and the fact that certain programs can actually be stressful for your children to watch and absorb. It is up to you to control how much television and what kind of television is watched in your household, and although your children may protest for imposing limits on it, they will certainly thank you later.
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