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Television can be a positive influence and, if used with discretion, a valuable tool to rely upon when raising children.

The television medium can provide learning experiences and desirable role modeling to a child. The parents must oversee what their child is watching, however, to insure the quality of the viewing experience. Time spent and content viewed must also be monitored and geared to the age of the child.

Like books, television can expand a child's experience far beyond the parameters of his/her own family and community. Examples are the discovery channel and the travel channel.

Some of the children's channels, like Disney and Nickelodeon, are very good at mingling educational opportunities into their entertainment programing.

Children's programming displays diverse groups of children from various ethnic backgrounds and teaches our children that differences are a positive. Children's television is also less apt to display gender bias and child viewers have the opportunity to absorb lessons about equality.

Preschool children's shows are beginning to address the epidemic of obesity in our society by incorporating exercise into their programs. This is responsible television at it's best.

Television can be a great resource to foster family togetherness. The Hallmark channel features movies the family can watch together. PBS and the history channel are informative, educational and entertaining.

Watching television together as a family can motivate conversation, debate, and the instilling of values through discussion. Many important life lessons can be learned by incorportating conversation about the content into television viewing.

There is a downside to children watching television. Too much is harmful. Television is not the babysitter. The parent must be vigilant at all times and diligently monitor even the cartoon channels for often violent content creeps in. Parental discretion is always advised.

We can voice our displeasure with questionable programming by sending a message to the commercial sponsors, or simply by refusing to watch programs with inappropriate content.

We do not have to capitulate to poor judgement on the part of sponsors of such programs; we can be proactive for our children's well being.

Use the "three M's" of television viewing as a parental guide:

* Model

Be an example of moderation for your child. If you limit your own television viewing to a reasonable amount, and role model to your child the other pleasant and entertaining activities life has to offer, such as reading, outdoor activities, hobbies and the art of conversation, your child will learn not to center his life around the television.

* Manage

As the parent it is your job to manage your child's television viewing. The modern day practice of having a television in every room of the house isolates the family, and makes managing what is viewed more difficult. It is more family oriented to position the television in a group gathering area, giving the parent easier access to viewing management.

* Monitor

Content and time spent with television is always the parent's responsibility to supervise. Guiding your child into a more discriminating quality of television viewing will influence his life in a positive way.

It is possible for parents to have peace of mind about raising their children with television. Properly managed and monitored, television can be one more educational resource parents can rely upon to assist them in bringing up healthy, happy, well-informed children.

Learn more about this author, Carol Gioia.
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