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I don't believe parents should raise their children without television but simply monitor what they watch. Everyone knows all programs aren't meant for certain ages thus the program ratings. Parents thinking of raising their children in a television free world are in for a rude awakening. Since the children will be surrounded by people who do watch television.

Case in point, I didn't want my daughter to watch a certain movie. When I told her of my decision on this particular film she informed me that she had already seen it at a friend's house. Believing I could control her activities away from home would have been a fairytale.

I used the television as an educational tool when my daughter was little. She was allowed to watch Sesame Street, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and programming aimed at her age group from the PBS channel. At naptime or bedtime I would put in a video for quiet time before she went to sleep. These gave her an average of 3 hours of television per day.

As she got older she was able to watch different shows but for approximately the same amount of time. Only after the homework was done. Her choice usually included shows like Full House and Saved by the Bell. These shows dealt with kids her age. As she got older television didn't seem to hold her attention as much. She would find other things to do or find a good book to read. Music had also taken the place of television.

When she got into her teen years I was still monitoring her programs. But I found her paying more attention to the news. She raised some interesting questions about what was going on in the world by hearing different news reports. When we didn't have the answers, she would look it up on the Internet or go to the encyclopedia for the answers.

My greatest surprise was when I heard a commotion coming from the television one afternoon and heard my husband and daughter laughing at the program. When I went to investigate I found them watching The Jerry Springer Show. I never allowed her to view this particular show as I find it repugnant. This is when it dawned on me that she wasn't a little girl any longer and I really had no control over what she watched. Further more she knew already what the subject matter featured on the show meant.

Television, Internet and Media is all a fact of life in the world we live in. A parent may want to raise their child without it but the reality is a child will view it somewhere. Schools use television as a teaching tool. If the child stays with a friend chances are they are watching television there.

I can't say the parents wanting to raise their children without television are wrong, as that is their rights as parents. They must realize that television viewing is not usually the problem in this world it people not monitoring what their children watch and teaching the difference between the programs and real life.

Learn more about this author, Dee Cain.
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