by Priscilla Benfield

Created on: July 12, 2010   Last Updated: August 19, 2010

Most of us grew up watching television and have fond memories of some of our favorite shows. Television is not a bad medium, but for children, it should not be used as their only form of entertainment. So why should parents find alternative entertainment for their children? Television is a form of entertainment that almost becomes meditative. One can sit there mesmerized for hours and what good comes of that? It is good to relax, we all need to no matter what our age. We also need to develop the ability to teach ourselves how to relax without TV. Depending on one form of entertainment is never good. Variety opens up more opportunities to reduce boredom.

Children are impressionable as are some adults. Think about the insomniac who is watching hours of infomercials. After a while, the products begin to sound like a good deal. When children are watching cartoons on channels that are geared towards them, they are bombarded with commercials for everything from sugary cereals to the latest action figures based on their favorite cartoon character. They can be easily swayed into wanting something just from seeing it over and over on TV. Watching television often is not interactive. You are being entertained by whatever you are watching and after entering into a relaxed state, you stop thinking for yourself. A child needs to find entertainment that helps to stimulate their thinking.

Reading a book for example will encourage a child to use their imagination to visualize the characters. TV does all the imagining for you. Children are like sponges and they absorb what they are exposed to. Learning how to use their imagination and entertaining themselves through play is more valuable to their growth. Watching an occasional cartoon is not a bad thing but when that is the only entertainment that they have, they lose the ability to expand their abilities. They do become numb. Giving a child an empty box can entertain them for hours because they are allowed to come up with their own possibilities. They will create their entertainment instead of having it created for them. This simple play allows them to become better problem solvers, gives them the opportunity to interact with each other and overall lets them just be kids. Children need to learn how to entertain themselves and parents should introduce them to different ways of doing that. It is all part of the growth process that parents should be teaching their children.

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