by Kenneth O'Mally

Created on: May 21, 2008   Last Updated: November 07, 2009

On taking my nephew to school we observed two 6th graders approach a third boy, apparently their friend. They asked him if he had seen "Blankman", a new movie that was just released from Disney. The new kid shrugged saying "whats Blankman?" His expression took on a sad tone when his two friends asked him, "What have you been living under? A rock or something? Everybody has seen Blankman. It's on TV almost every day". The expression on the boys face soured quickly because their family did not have a TV at home. Children this day and age have to be raised with a television set. Together with many reasons the TV is a key part of the social element that enriches our lives. It serves as the center-point of information, learning, and entertainment. It is a time-saver, and is the ultimate distractor used

by parents at times when they ought to focus on other things.

The child-focused information that the TV provides for children are priceless. Since children are naturally curious, watching TV reinforces there school education. Television allows delivery of info-tainment such as is in the case of TV shows like Sesame Street. In the show Sesame Street the characters teach children how to spell by singing the letters. This provides additional surface area for your child to learn vocabulary. Sesame Street and other shows like it provide information to kids on an entertainment platform.

Speaking of entertainment, Sponge Bob rocks. Because the TV is "at home", an environment where your children are most comfortable and don't have to worry about saying "yes ma'am" to the movie theater attendant, the entertainment value of home television is significant when compared to other sources of entertainment because the children feel more at ease, and have more freedom to express themselves, making learning easier.

Raising your child with a TV set will mean that information you would have otherwise gathered separately through other means is delivered to you and your children "ready to go". A good example of course would be health related issues that apply to the masses. Would you as the parent (or guardian) have some comfort if the location for your kids flu shots is delivered to you through your TV set when you are having your egg and muffins, or would you rather call around to ten local clinics? The time value that home TVs add for you and your children is significant enough that you will notice it if you where to live without a TV for a week.

Have you ever tried to concentrate on

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