by Hannah Curtis

Created on: August 05, 2008

Television should never be used as a babysitter in my opinion; in fact I argue that there is a good case for children not being raised with television at all. Children should be encouraged to play as much as possible; either in the physical sense, namely they play on see-saws, slides, climbing frames, bikes, or in the creative sense, such as role-playing, doing jigsaws, arts and crafts. These all benefit the child, keeping them healthy and their mind stimulated. Children's brains are like sponges, they soak up information, so when they are young television brainwashes them, and does not stimulate their imagination and mental growth.

Allowing children to watch non-stop television is purely laziness on the part of the parents. The more time they spend in front of the television, the less time the parent has to spend time with them. This is wrong, young children need to have interaction, not only at school but at home with their parents and other siblings, even babies require interaction. My friend's baby was eight months old the first time she was sat down in front of the television and she was not happy. My friend was amazed when her daughter rolled around so that she was no longer facing the box but was facing her parents and a few of their friends and she fussed until she was picked up. This happened because she was used to interaction and listening and watching adult interaction with one another and she felt excluded when she was put by herself in front of a talking box. She knew the difference that young, knew that television is not a substitute for human interaction.

Parents should remain in control over the content watched and the hours spent in front of a screen by their children. Movies make this job safer and easier. I believe that it is good to have time placed aside a day for parent and child or siblings to watch something together, whether it is Rosie and Jim, or the classics such as Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast. Every child's activity should be in moderation, for example I believe that it is just as harmful to allow your child do nothing but read all day as it is to watch television all day. Children should have a healthy variety of activities outside of school, some singular, others interactive, some stimulating, others relaxing. There is a great difference between allowing a set couple of hours for a film and
just sitting the child in front of never ceasing television.

As children grow older they tend to be less monitored,

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