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| Yes | 23% | 1149 votes | Total: 5002 votes | |
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Add to FavoritesPromise not to write me off as crazy before you read on. I was raised in a home without television....and I am not old, and my parents are not weird or Amish or anything like that.
For multiple reasons, my affluent, (and very cool) parents decided we would not have a television in our home. (Now I will admit, Dad did keep one up in the attic in case there was a national emergency and we needed to see what was happening, but it was not plugged in or attached to an antennae.) My parents were both raised in homes with Television sets, but when they had the 4 of us children, they began to reevaluate what a home life should look like. (You notice all the shows on TV rarely show families actually watching TV.)
They decided that a healthy home life requires interaction, communication, chores, outdoor activity, some family discussions, a few games of monopoly, ...I could go on. The point is, though television is not bad in and of itself, free 24 hour entertainment in the living room of a home is almost impossible to resist. News and weather reports are always available on the radio. Entertainment with moral or interactive value is easily found when there is no television around to compete for our attention. And there is something else that develops...a keen awareness of what we put in front of our eyes.
Medical research supports that every word we hear, every sight we take in, actually enters our brain and lodges itself in our physical memory. We may not think we are listening or that what we see will affect us, but for better or worse, we have already taken it in and let it become a part of who we are.
My parents chose to demonstrate wisdom and sacrifice. They taught us about self denial, family communication, and integrity. Without a television to tell me what we had to have, I grew up without the need for Barbie dolls and the latest Nike tennis shoes, no Strawberry Shortcake bedroom ensemble or desire to dress like Daisy Duke when I grew up. Now, as an adult, going without television hasn't made me a better person. It has made me conscious of what I watch and aware of the shallow life it portrays.
Today, in my apartment, a television sits in the center of the room. Continually, I fight the urge to waste another evening being a voyeur into the fictitious, hilarious world it promises to give me. When I do turn it on, I can avoid dealing with the awfulness of life. I can deny my mind the worries and cares of the day, and issues needing decisions, and friends needing called, and journal entries needing written. It keeps me from feeling lonely. It offers fashions and trends I should try to keep up with. It's all foolishness! My parent's decision to go without has profoundly affected me.
There is no reason we all should throw out our televisions, or forbid ourselves from watching. I just think the attic is a great place for them to be stored. I am committed to remembering all of this when I have my own home and children one day. Life is just too short to waste on trivial entertainment.
Learn more about this author, Tennessee Grace.
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No
If used with discretion, television can be a positive influence and a valuable parenting tool to rely upon when raising children.
Time spent and content viewed must be monitored and geared to the age of the child. If parents oversee what their child is watching to ensure the quality of programing, television often provides learning opportunities and desireable role models for a child.
Here are a few of the advantages of television:
* Like books, television can expand a child's experience far beyond the parameters of his/her own family and community. Good examples of quality educational viewing are the discovery channel and the travel channel.
* Some of the children's channels, like Disney and Nickelodeon, are adept at weaving educational opportunities into their entertainment programing.
* Children's programming displays diverse groups of children from various ethnic backgrounds and teaches our children to be all-inclusive and view differences as a positive. Children's television is also less apt to display gender bias and child viewers have the opportunity to absorb lessons about equality.
* Preschool children's shows are beginning to address the epidemic of obesity in our society by incorporating exercise into their programs. This is responsible television at it's best.
* Television can be a great resource to foster family togetherness. The Hallmark channel features movies the family can watch together. PBS and the history channel are informative, educational and entertaining.
* Watching television together as a family can motivate conversation, debate, and the instilling of values through discussion. Many important life lessons can be learned by incorportating conversation about the content into television viewing.
There is a downside to children watching television. Too much is harmful. Television is not the babysitter. The parent must be vigilant at all times and diligently monitor even the cartoon channels for sometimes violent content creeps in. Parental discretion is always advised.
Parents will also want to monitor the commercials featured with their child's favorite programs. Sometimes the program is quality, but the inappropriate commercials negate the positive aspects.
We can voice our displeasure with questionable programming by sending a message to specific show producers, corporate sponsors, or simply by refusing to watch programs with inappropriate content. We do not have to capitulate to poor judgement on the part of writers and sponsors of negative programing; we can be proactive for our children's well being.
Use the "three M's" of television viewing as a parental guide:
* Model
Be an example of moderation for your child. If you limit your own television viewing to a reasonable amount, and role model to your child the other pleasant and entertaining activities life has to offer, such as reading, outdoor activities, hobbies and the art of conversation, your child will learn not to center his life around the television.
* Manage
As the parent it is your job to manage your child's television viewing. The modern day practice of having a television in every room of the house isolates the family, and makes managing what is viewed more difficult. It is more family oriented to position the television in a group gathering area, giving the parent easier access to viewing management.
* Monitor
Content and time spent with television is always the parent's responsibility to supervise. Guiding your child into a more discriminating quality of television viewing will influence his life in a positive way.
It is possible for parents to have peace of mind about raising their children with television. Properly monitored and time managed, television can be one more positive resource parents can rely upon to assist them in bringing up healthy, happy, well-adjusted and well-informed children.
It is possible for parents to have peace of mind about raising their children with television
Learn more about this author, Carol Gioia.
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