6 of 445

No

Write now Article Tools

This is the same question as asking 'Should children be allowed to surf the web unsupervised? The patent answer is no. However, The Internet and television are essential informational tools for our modern society. We must merely remember that as informative and as helpful as they may be, they can also represent a harmful influence if not utilized and supervised properly.

When we deal with children, we must understand who they are. The average young persons mind is a sponge; soaking up information from whatever and wherever they can access it. It is up to us, as adults, to set the ground rules, no matter how difficult that might become at times.

We have all experienced disturbing programs on the television, which, to even our seasoned eyes, can be frightening and unsettling. It is incumbent upon us as adults to protect the younger members of our society from being exposed to harmful material, no matter what the source.

To ban Television altogether would, on the one hand, deny the beneficial aspects of what can be a very beneficial medium, but more importantly, it could lure us into a false sense of security in thinking that we have done all that needs to be done to protect our youngsters.

Television and children's access to it (I would argue), is essential for several reasons. In allowing our children to see the world as portrayed on screen, we can show them how to discern fact from fiction. In a consumers world awash with advertising, it is sometimes difficult for our young people to separate the truth from the fictional world.

It is essential that we see what our children are watching and talk openly and honestly about the more difficult subjects. The box in the corner can expand the imagination but it can also disturb, distort and frighten. We cannot hide a medium, which is so influential in the modern world and pretend it does not exist. To do so would be tantamount to fooling ourselves. More sinister however, would be the fact that stopping our children from seeing what goes on around them would leave them open to peril from outside the home.

At least when all is said and done, if a disturbing issue is raised on the television screen, our children should be able to turn around and know that in the home, they are safe and they can ask any questions they wish. In this way they can grow and learn without fear.

Learn more about this author, Damon Jay Forbes.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Should parents raise their children without television??
We want to hear your view. Write now!