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| Yes | 23% | 1154 votes | Total: 5017 votes | |
| No | 77% | 3863 votes |
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Add to FavoritesThe average American watches five hours of television a day according to a 2009 report by the Nielsen Company. Two hours of quality programming is the maximum recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The television is so entrenched in most American households that it would be difficult to expect to raise children without any exposure to television. There are good reasons for parents to let their children watch some television. Dangers arise when a child's television viewing becomes excessive or when parents fail to monitor television viewing properly.
Your children probably attend schools with peers who watch a lot of television. Even if much of that programming cannot honestly be called educational, there is some value in preventing your child from feeling different. Your child is probably better off spending limited amounts of time watching superficial programs than feeling like a social outcast when his classmates are discussing the hit show of the season. Forbidding all television can also backfire by making it so tempting that your child will try to watch more and consume dangerous substances such as reruns of "AfterMASH."
Some television is actually inherently good. PBS offers quality programs such as "Sesame Street" for younger children and "Bill Nye the Science Guy" for older children. With DVDs, you can have quality programming on hand anytime and pick movies and documentaries that match and expand your child's interests.
In spite of your best efforts, your children may sometimes watch a program that you find offensive. Even these experiences can be put to good use by using them to initiate discussions on values and virtues. You can examine the destructive effects of glamorizing violence or provide age-appropriate information on human sexuality.
There are some serious downsides to television viewing. Obesity in children is growing dramatically with almost one in three children now considered overweight or obese. Sedentary lifestyles are a major factor. Balance television viewing with physical activity. Minimize snacking or at least choose healthy foods.
Similarly, television should not be allowed to interfere with academics. Require that homework be completed first. Set a good example by not leaving the television on in the background all the time so you can discourage your children from claiming that they need to have it on while studying.
Unless you are Amish, you probably cannot expect to shelter your children from any exposure to television. It is more effective to focus your efforts on using the power of television for good purposes or at least minimizing its negative effects.
Learn more about this author, Anne O'Rourke.
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No
Raising children without television would deprive them of the innumerable benefits that it has to offer, which in my opinion, surpass any advantage that might be gained from eliminating television from their lives. Television is an integral part of our day to day life, and if the content is monitored and time of exposure restricted, it can in fact, enhance children's ever expanding minds and enrich their lives.
I come from an ethnic background, and my husband and I endeavor to raise our children with a desire to maintain ties to our heritage, language and culture. What better way to jump-start and accomplish that than communicate in our native dialect at home?
Although we wanted our native tongue to be a natural and integral part of our lives, it was necessary that our children be exposed to English on a regular basis, especially before they started school. I am a stay-at-home mom, and the only significant interaction my children had before they attended preschool was with me.
In my experience, television worked like a charm - a perfect learning tool to foster language development. Age appropriate shows exposed my children to an expansive vocabulary in a manner they could appreciate and comprehend. It helped my children learn to communicate in English without us having to compromise our decision to make our native dialect the fundamental way to communicate at home. Television serves as a great medium to promote cross cultural understanding and communication.
Anothe r valuable advantage television provides is positive reinforcement in a fun way that children can appreciate. There is a plethora of shows on television that showcase values most parents strive to instill in their children. My five-year-old enjoys watching cartoon shows like `Franklin' and `Little Bear'. These shows always have themes revolving around 'friendship' or 'giving', or simply that tell right from wrong, basically, values that contribute to being a good human being. Children are constantly told to be 'good', but they seem to understand and assimilate concepts better when they see characters that they can relate to in similar situations.
Televisio n is also unquestionably a wonderful source for acquisition of knowledge. My nine-year-old amazed me one day by relating fascinating facts about reptiles. Apparently, he acquired all this information from watching 'Animal Planet' in one evening. Some of the informative channels on television impart information which can only provide positive stimulation to a child's ever expanding mind.
Another surprising advantage that came from watching television is that it sparked interest in an entirely new sport in my son. A child who has always been interested in ball games gravitates to tennis after watching 'French Open' on Sports Channel! This could apply to any activity or hobby.
Raising my children with television has actually proved to be beneficial for me. Of course, television-watching should not substitute reading which has benefits of its own, or to an extent where it becomes an almost compulsive dependence. In fact, too much television or inappropriate content can be physically and mentally detrimental to children.
But shouldn't the onus for ensuring that rest on parents?
Learn more about this author, Priya Kamath.
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