by Heidi Peaster

Created on: July 11, 2010

Oh, the television!  The combination of baby-sitter and demon that people love to hate.  No matter how much talk there is about how bad TV is for kids, studies show that they are spending more and more time in front of it. 

Of course everybody knows why.  People are busy, kids are home, it is easy to plop them down in front of the TV, turn on an educational program and be consoled that they are learning something.  But there are a lot of reasons why that is not such a good idea.

* Sedentary kids.  In days gone by, kids came crashing in the back door from school, threw their books on the kitchen table, grabbed a snack and were back out into the fresh air until dark.  Now, with a predator seemingly lurking around every corner, kids have to be supervised even in their casual play outside.  The result is that children are becoming more and more obese, having high blood pressure and diabetes at younger and younger ages.  As much trouble as it is to monitor kids’ outdoor exercise and play, it is essential for them to get it. 

* Bad eating habits.  Kids will eat in front of the TV.  Everybody knows it.  So, not only are they sitting still and not burning calories, they are grazing unconsciously while they do it, adding to the fat load.

* Not reading or pursuing other interests.  Kids need to read.  Books can open the world to a child and fire the imagination like no TV ever could.  Kids need to have old-fashioned hobbies like rock-collecting and star-gazing to incite their curiosity.  They need to draw and paint to unlock their talents.  TV can enhance an interest, but it can't make them go out and grab it themselves.

* Bad influences.  No one can monitor every commercial, movie trailer, or show preview that will flash across the screen during the hours kids spend in front of the TV.  They will see and hear things that would make most parents shudder.  Even mild, kids’ shows have children being bratty to adults, being cruel to younger siblings, and laughing at nerds.  The music videos are awash in sexual content and violence that, even if it can be shrugged at for a fifteen-year-old, it is appalling for the six-year-old sibling who is also in the room.

* Marketing.  Big time vendors target kids shows for the very things that parents are trying hard to tell their kids are not good to have.  The sugariest cereals, the most expensive electronics, the most cutting-edge clothes are pushed into fifteen second flashes and hawked as must-haves to children.  If even adults believe what they see on TV as the gospel truth, then of course kids will believe it. 

* Short attention spans.  Kids watch TV to be entertained.  To keep kids entertained, TV shows bounce from one short sound bite to the next.  The shows keep getting faster in pace, louder in decibel levels, and rowdier in content to try to top each other.  Children are having harder and harder time concentrating for any length of time in school.  Is this being helped along by TV?  The possibilities are good that long attention spans are not being fostered, at least.

Of course kids are going to watch TV, just as previous generations have done.  Of course they are going to have their favorite after-school time when they flop down with a snack and chill out in front of the TV.  It all boils down to balance.  You want the ruling influence in your child’s life to be you as the parent.

And you want your child to get the most out of their fast-flying childhood.

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