What watching television does to your kids

It is no news that in Nigeria today, no living room is worth its name without a television. In fact, for the rich and well to do in our society today, a television set is ‘necessary’ in every room, including the children’s bedroom. But have you as a parent for once paused to ponder over […]

It is no news that in Nigeria today, no living room is worth its name without a television. In fact, for the rich and well to do in our society today, a television set is ‘necessary’ in every room, including the children’s bedroom. But have you as a parent for once paused to ponder over the effect seemingly harmless television programmes or home videos are having on your children are watching?

It is rather sad that many parents in Nigeria, like their counterparts across the globe, encourage their children as a way of keeping them occupied so that they (the parents) can have the time get some work done. According to media experts, TV consumes more of a child’s waking hours than any other activity with some children spending about 15,000 to 30,000 hours in front of the TV by the time they are 16 years old. Compare this with about 11,000 hours of classroom instruction. This is how most children spend their days especially when they are off from school.

What parents don’t know, or know but tend to ignore, is the fact that children most often than not get exposed to drugs, sex and violence to the detriment of their moral upbringing. It can also affect a child’s physical health (like being overweight), and make learning in school more difficult. It also takes time away from reading, building things, talking to other people. They (the children) have a difficult time coming up with ideas or creative activities. It is very difficult for them to think anything through. They get used to things being laid out in front of them like on TV.

Studies have shown that when TV is cut out or cut down many children experience less fatigue and have better attention spans. And many teachers say that children today seem to have less imagination then they used to. Children need to communicate constantly so that they can have their questions answered, their wrong ideas corrected and the right view encouraged.

What about violence, and drugs? These are the same things that you try to warn your children about when they go to school. Evidence has shown that many children who watch too much TV violence tend to be more violent in their everyday behavior; or are even more tolerant of violence that is inflected by others. Some parents notice that after their child has watched too much TV violence they are unable to control themselves. They constantly whine, and fuss, and seem to regress with almost everything. Even their vocabulary seems to become more violent. Many children often act out what they see on television, by sometimes even pretending to shoot their parents. Many police records indicate that young people who imitate television crimes are far more numerous than many people think. Even a number of sexual assaults carried out by teen-age boys were almost identical to a network television show.

The bottom line is that we have no real control over what is shown on TV, but we can control the types of programs that our children watch. You should not just assume that because it is a cartoon that it is alright for your children to watch. Make sure you thoroughly screen any new cartoon or television programme that your children are going to watch. “What I usually do is anything that my children watch, I also watch,” says Mrs Renee, a stay at home mom who homeschools, and a wife, who has been writing for a number of years on a variety of parenting, and education related topics.

“You want to avoid using the TV as a babysitter for your children. Instead think of it as something you can do as a family. May people suggest that the TV be left off until a certain time of the day when the whole family will sit down together? This will allow for conversation between you and your child. It may seem like a lot of work and take a little more of your time, but believe me your children are worth the extra effort,” she said.

Of course, TV in moderation can be a good thing: Preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet on public television, grade schoolers can learn about wildlife on nature shows, and parents can keep up with current events on the evening news. No doubt about it — TV can be an excellent educator and entertainer. But still parents need to control the use of TV and to teach kids that it’s for occasional entertainment, not for constant escapism.

Also, Steven Dowshen, in an article suggested that “If a television set is in a room, stock it with plenty of other non-screen entertainment (books, kids’ magazines, toys, puzzles, board games, etc.) to encourage kids to do something other than watch the tube.”

He also suggested that television and internet connections should be kept out of bedrooms, turning the TV off during meals, not allowing kids to watch TV while doing homework, treating TV as a privilege to be earned — not a right and establishing and enforcing family TV viewing rules, such as TV is allowed only after chores and homework are completed.

Other things he suggested include trying a weekday ban. Recording weekday shows or saving TV time for weekends to have more family togetherness time to spend on meals, games, physical activity, and reading during the week. Above all he suggested that parents set a good example for their children by limiting their own TV viewing.