by Tom Karlin

Created on: May 22, 2007

Parents must allow their children to watch television, especially when living in modern Western society. Now let me qualify this statement. It is important to let children view television, but it is equally important to monitor their viewing behavior. Television does have benefits with certain children's shows being both entertaining and educational. When my son was growing up we enjoyed watching shows together for example like Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, and numerous science and nature programs. The problem with many households today is that parents use television as a substitute for a baby sitter. With so many working families having both parents holding down full time jobs, the television has become, in effect, an inanimate member of the family. Children, as we know, need social interaction to become fully adjusted healthy young adults. Sitting for hours in front of a TV screen watching Saturday morning cartoons does not motivate children to explore the world around them. In fact it might even have the opposite effect by inhibiting curiosity.

Turning on the tube and keeping youngsters entertained, gives mom and dad, some quiet time to sit and relax after a hard day. Unfortunately, it is a sad but true statement about modern society. With both parents having to work so many hours outside the home, children can unintentionally become neglected. Gone are the days when, families would enjoy a traditional meal with one parent, usually mom, preparing and serving dinner. If there was a television in the home, it would be turned off and family members would sit together and eat at the kitchen table and converse with one another. Today, a meal is often hastily prepared or heated up in a microwave oven and served to the family on trays in front of the TV set. We are exposed to so much poor quality programming, that sometimes the line between a good show and a poor one becomes obscured and then anything that advertising sponsors will support is watched by viewers.

There is a good argument for not allowing children to watch television and it raises some important questions. Is it possible that a child's creative ability and critical thinking skills are being hindered by the effects of too much television viewing? Is excessive television viewing one possible reason why we hear so many stories of dysfunctional families, the result of exposure to so much manufactured violence? Is another reason why parents and children find it difficult to communicate with each other

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