Parenting & Pregnancy >
After School
Get a Widget for this title
RSS FeedShould parents raise their children without television?
Results so far:
| Yes | 23% | 1141 votes | Total: 4972 votes | |
| No | 77% | 3831 votes |
Yes
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
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.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
No
Life is experience. We gain experience through all aspects of life. Part of growing up is watching television. I do not believe television should be cut out of a child's life completely. I do agree there should be some limits and some ground rules.
Don't use your television set as a baby sitter. Children need to know that their parents are there for them. They need to know that they can talk to their parents. We are all busy, but we need time to all sit down and talk together and do things together. Just as you set aside television time, set aside game time, or reading time. Get involved with your child, and with the things that they like to do.
Watch what your children are watching. Now days even cartoons are violent. There are wonderful inventions on your TV remote that will let you block out what you don't want your children to see. In order to know what you don't want them to see however will require time on your part to sit down and watch the same shows that your children are watching. I believe that when you see something that is violent or not appropriate, talk to your children about that and explain to them why you feel it is not something that they should be watching. Keep the lines of communication open and honest. Your children will appreciate it in the long run and will be more understanding.
I had an aunt that had several children. She home schooled those children and there was not one television set in her home. She was rather wealthy so it was a choice that she made. But, every time those children were out of sight at someone else's home, they headed straight for the television. Children have a thirst for knowledge, and raised in the right manner, a television can lead as another avenue to learning.
Television is not just cartoons. It is news, which is everyday life. There are shows about animals which will teach them about science and how things grow. There are shows that are heartwarming that will teach them compassion. There are shows with singing, bringing music into their lives.
My child use to watch Discovery Kids when she was very young. One day, I think she was about 3 years old, I found her "saving" her dolls life by giving her mouth to mouth resuscitation and check compressions. Something she had learned while watching Discovery Kids. Now how can something like that be bad?
I'm sure there will be a strong debate on the good and bad of television. It is all a matter of how you handle it in your home. You are the adult. They are the child. Stay strong in what you believe is right or wrong and enforce your rules. You and your child will come to understandings and everyone will be happy.
Learn more about this author, Pamela Folks.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
