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Growing up, I was told that if I sat too close to it, I’d go blind. If I watched too much of it, my brain would rot. I even seem to recall my grandmother mentioning something about it giving off cancer-causing radiation. It’s a wonder my parents let such a dangerous device into the house. And still, despite the best efforts of my parents to demonize the “boob tube,” I watched WAY too much of it.
As a parent now, I find myself facing the same predicament as my own parents. I have two young children who are fun, creative, imaginative, and energetic. Do I really want them to spend a decent chunk of time each day zoning out in front of the television?
TV’s Role in the Life of an Average Child
TV plays a huge role in the life of the average child. Consider that a child between the ages of 2 and 5 spends, on average, 32 hours per week watching television. That’s almost a full-time job! Kids aged 6-11 spend an average of 28 hours per week plopped in front of the tube. And nearly two thirds of families are eating dinner with the television on. Some kids see the TV more than they see their parents… or their friends… or the light of day.
As kids get older, television also becomes a centerpiece of socialization. At school, children discuss their favorite shows and characters — the child who isn’t watching much TV may feel left out, and increase their watching habits to fit in.
Is Watching All This TV Bad For Our Kids?
I don’t believe that TV is completely without merit in the lives of our children. Today, there are programs designed specifically for young children — these programs engage the kids and teach them new things. They ask the kids to participate, and encourage our kids to be imaginative. I think it’s neat that my kids know some Spanish because they’ve seen Dora.
But there’s an opportunity cost associated with television watching. Every moment our kids spend watching a favorite program is a moment they don’t spend reading a book, or socializing with friends, or exercising outside. It’s a moment they don’t spend practicing an instrument or drawing a picture. If TV is in any way evil, it’s because it’s pulling our kids away from activities that are better choices for how to spend their time.
Finding an Appropriate Balance
So the issue for most parents becomes finding an appropriate balance. Growing up, we went through a lot of different TV rules. For a while, we went without it all-together. We went for another period without cable. Whenever we did have TV, cable or not, there were always special restrictions for weekdays vs weekends. So what do you do in your family? How much is too much for you and your kids?
Gary Byrne
Amanda Bridges
Leanne - Momcast
Selina
I hate to say, but I let daughter watchtv wheni get ready for work, or when I’m cooking dinner. I really monitor what she watches though. I never let her watch “mainstream”, because I want to raise her, not gonna let the media raise her……
It’s a constant battle between watching tv and doing other activities. Hopefuly we can interest children in outdoor activites, when the weather permits.
You know, I’ve always told people “not to let the TV raise your child” and therefore have always been a fan of imposing time limits on the amount of TV a kid should watch, with the idea that time limits should be determined on a kid-by-kid basis.
I (very luckily) never had this problem with my daughter when she was growing up – I always worked hard to engage her interest in other things (crafts, computer games and later graphic design, helping around the house, research, cooking) so I usually found that she’d tire of watching TV and turn to something else. WOO!
Nothing makes me happier than sitting down to tacos for dinner and hearing my kid say “Since we’re having Mexican food I thought I’d tell you a bit about the ancient Mayans, I read about them on the internet at school…” yaknow?