Psychological Effects of TV on Children Kids spend more time watching television every day than on any other single activity, aside from sleeping. Since the first television sets appeared in homes, in mid-twentieth century, television has grown into a phenomenon found in almost every household. In the beginning, there were only three principal broadcast networks; today, there are hundreds of channels available. There is no doubt that television has an impact on all of us, especially on children, so that it came to be accompanied with criticisms and concerns.
Children love watching cartoons and movies, but too much of it during developmental years can have a significant negative impact on them. To minimize the potential negative effects of television, parents should be control TV watching and substitute it with healthy activities. Television viewing is a major activity and influence on children and adolescents. People complain that certain TV shows are having negative effects on their children.The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) both feel that TV does influence the behavior of children as young as one year old.
From their studies, the AACAP states, “Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see” (as cited in Wilcox, 2004) This speaks to the impressionable mindsets of young children, who are still learning control of their minds and bodies, and are likely to mimic what they see, as it seems quite normal to them.Everything that children see or hear in the media early on in their lives affects them in some way. Violence, sexuality, race and gender stereotypes, drug and alcohol abuse are common themes of television programs. The Academy of Pediatrics says “More than one thousand scientific studies and reviews conclude that significant exposure to media violence increases the risk of aggressive behavior in certain children, desensitizes them to violence and makes them believe that the world is a ‘meaner and scarier’ place than it is” (as cited in Tompkins, 2003).
Young children are impressionable and may assume that what they see on television is typical, safe, and acceptable. If children begin to think that this type of violence is normal behavior these thoughts are often said to be difficult to change later on in life. As a result, television also exposes children to behaviors and attitudes that may be overwhelming and difficult to understand. To investigate whether television viewing might have effects on children's behavior, the researchers surveyed the parents of 689 students in the second and third grades.Children who watched more than 4 hours a day showed more delinquent and aggressive behavior than those who watched 2 or less, according to the report in the September issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (Hancox, 2005).
The more television a child watched, the more likely he or she was to exhibit social problems and delinquent and aggressive behavior. It’s doubtful that parents can easily stop children watching television, but if they don’t take measures to prevent harmful consequences, the risk for future society to carry out undesirable disorders will only grow.Children’s TV watching should be limited and monitored in order to prevent kids from being harmed by its duration or content. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recommends parents to select individual programs that meet the developmental needs of a child, instead of long blocks of programs and to set certain periods when the television will be off (AACAP, 2001). The advantage of limiting is that it will contribute to schedule meal and study times.
While watching, parents are advised to control and participate in children’s television watching, by performing actions like: pointing out positive behavior, such as cooperation, friendship, and concern for others; making connections to history, books, places of interest, and personal events; asking children to compare what they are watching with real events and talking about the realistic consequences of violence – the advantage from these measures is that it will lead to better and build relationships within the family and between parent and children.However, continuous monitoring requires time and patience, which are, according to Della Maggiora, consultant to LimiTV, the most cited subjects by parents in dismissing such recommendations (Maggiora, 2011). Another disadvantage, if over parented, children may not like feeling themselves controlled and dependent, which will lead to disobedience or quarrels. Finally, with proper guidance, children can gain positive experience from watching TV.
Substituting television with other healthy activities could be possible solution if parents are not able to participate in TV watching all the time.Children can stop watching TV all day and entertain themselves in other ways, like reading, playing outdoors and creating projects. The advantage of frequent reading is that children tend to do better in school. Besides being educational, reading is also relaxing for both parents and children. Magazines such as Highlights and National Geographic also entertain children with their games and brightly colored pictures (Price, 2011).
Books and magazines that capture a child's attention will help him stop watching TV. Encouraging children to play outside will help them keep organism healthy and developing.Advantage of physical activity is that it helps prevent obesity and improves a child's gross motor skills. Children will stop watching TV if they are playing a game with their siblings or friends.
One more advantage is in board games, because they encourage children to think in a strategic manner, using their problem solving skills. Many children would rather not watch TV if they can build creative projects without too many restrictions, therefore arts and crafts supplies would be useful Washable markers and crayons work well for young children who may color on the walls and furniture.A parent would be surprised to learn of the conversations that can develop when children stop watching TV. However, children who are completely devoid of television are often complaining that they are not able to join in the conversation when other kids are talking about cartoons or films (Maggiora, 2011). This kind of obstacle can develop in children social complexes or feeling of loneliness.
Another disadvantage, if a child gets used to actions which are usually performed in loneliness as reading, drawing or building, it may result in future as difficulties in communication and interacting with people.Subsequently, children will not couch all day, if parents would demonstrate to them that watching TV isn't required in order to have a good time. In conclusion, television is the part of worldwide culture and it will always have influence on people, which is not always desirable, especially with children. Neither government, nor producers are as responsible for preventing negative effect as parents, so that solution of problem totally depends on them. All things considered, it would be most proper solution if controlling and substituting TV watching were combined according to parents’ work pressure.
This will solve the problem comprehensively and minimize the risk that child will grow abnormally. Reference List AACAP (2001). Children and Watching TV. Facts for Families.
Retrieved on November 13, 2001 from http://www. aacap. org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_and_watching_tv Hancox R. J.
, Milne B. J. & Poulton R. (2005). Association of Television Viewing during Childhood with Poor Educational Achievement.
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 159:614-618. Maggiora C. D.
(2011). Why Parents Say They Don’t Limit TV. LimiTV. Retrieved on November 22, 2011 from http://www. imitv. org/parents.
htm Price N. (2010). How Can I Get My Child to Stop Watching TV? Conjecure Corporation. Retrieved on 13 November, 2011 from http://www. wisegeek.
com/how-can-i-get-my-child-to-stop-watching-tv. htm Tompkins A. (2003). The Psychological Effects of Violent Media on Children.
AllPsych Journal. Retrieved on 15 November, 2011 from http://allpsych. com/journal/violentmedia. html Wilcox B.
(2004). TV’s Effect on Children’s Behavior. Effects of Cartoons on Children. Retrieved on November 14, 2011 from http://www.
bgsu. edu/departments/tcom/faculty/ha/tcom103fall2004/gp9/
