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Filed under: Opinions
Despite warnings that watching television is bad for kids, parents continue to allow their children to veg out in front of the boob tube, even while they eat.According to an Australian study of 10,000 children from across that country, at least one-third of that number regularly eats a meal in front of the TV. The study also revealed that kids are watching as many as nine hours of television programming each week.
TV isn't the only evil Aussie parents are allowing their offspring to indulge in -- apparently, one out of every 10 parents allow their 7-year-olds to have a computer in their bedrooms. The kids are using their computers for homework, of course, but also to play games and entertain themselves by watching DVDs.
My kid is more tech-savvy than I am sometimes -- you should see her use the track pad on my laptop. And I'm certainly not shy about letting her watch TV, although we tend to keep to PBS and educational shows. Winter afternoons are long on the prairie, folks, and cold, too. We need something to do.
Do I feel guilty about it? Sometimes. Do I turn the desktop and TV off and do crafts and bake cookies, or read? Often. So it balances out.
How about you? Does your kid watch TV and use the Internet? Why or why not?
| Yes, it's the best babysitter in town! | |
|---|---|
| Never, we don't even have a TV! | |
| In moderation, and with supervision |
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-03-2008 @ 9:34AM
Karen said...Both of my children have had a tv and now a computer in their rooms from a very early age. But for some reason, peopel seem to think that means they have unfiltered access. That just isn't true.
It started because we played DVDs for the kids when they were sick. It was just convenient to have them in their beds resting and watching tv. Then we added laptops. My daughter even had very limited internet access, but they didn't use the tv or computer without permission. Just because it was in their room doesn't mean it wasn't completely monitored. It was really easy to block channels on the tv and block internet for younger kids. They didn't know how or even have the desire to get around the controls. It also came in handy for sleepovers. Put the kids to bed, let them watch High School Musical and fall asleep. I found they went to sleep much earlier that way and when the tv was off, they often chatted all night.
Now, the internet is out of the rooms, but only becuase the laptops were really outdated and we switched modems, etc.
Now that my daughter is a teen, and uses the internet for more things, I only let her have the internet in our family room where I can always see what is going on. I am also homeschooling her now, and she is on the computer a lot.
Like everything else, it is all about ballance and monitoring what your children are doing.
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12-03-2008 @ 10:10AM
ttupper said...TV is not evil. Especially with networks for the preschool bunch, like Noggin. It seems like no one knows the saying everything in moderation anymore. Everyone is either totally set against something or completely over does it. My older children from the age ranges of 5-12 only watch TV for about an hour before bedtime during the week and on the weekends only 1 hour in the morning additional. My 1 year old is not all the interested in TV yet. My brother and sister and I watched TV growing up and we are fine and TV is much more educational today.
As far as the computer and internet goes I am dead set against my children having a computer in their room that is under the age of 18. I feel children should be monitored every second they are on the internet.But to anyone who feels differently, to each their own I always say.
Do I feel the internet or computers are evil? No, but the internet is like a gun, only dangerous in the wrong hands. But my children do have their own portable video game devises but they are never allowed to use them without permission, they can not just pick them up whenever and play them. I only allow them in moderation. Again there is that word.
People need to be responsible for what their kids are doing at all times of the day. Not just rubber pad a room and say go at it.
People hear a scientific study and go wild. People need to rely on their own parental instincts more.
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12-03-2008 @ 10:52AM
SKL said...My kids are 2, and I honestly don't see any reason for them to be watching TV, especially not on a regular basis. Their day is full without the TV. Every time I switch it on the kiddy channels, I don't like what I see - behaviors and thought patterns that I don't want to encourage in my kids.
We too live where it's winter for almost half the year, but we do go outside at least once a day unless the temperature / wind chill is way below freezing. I also have active equipment set up in the basement and we go down there 1-3 times a day to blow off steam to some dance music. Their regular play area has pretend toys such as a dollhouse, baby dolls, and play kitchen to keep their imaginations busy, and lots of books and varied music CDs. The rest of their waking hours are spent attending classes / play groups, learning life skills, or helping with chores. I just don't see where TV is needed or wanted in all this. I do have a collection of DVDs which they watch on special occasions or when they fit into a particular lesson they are learning. This is the exception rather than the rule.
The other thing is that I believe one's bedroom should be kept as calm and simple as possible. I don't allow any electronics in their bedroom at all. The only electric item in the room is a lamp, which is only turned on when I need to find something after dark.
I don't think TV is evil, but I do believe it affects the brain's wiring in ways that aren't all good. It also takes away from time that could be spent on hands-on educational activities, exercise, and human interaction. I myself rarely turn on the TV and I find myself a lot happier when I avoid it completely.
The computer is just like a TV in these respects until the kids are able to really interact with it. Even after that, it shouldn't take the place of worthwhile hands-on activities and interactions. And I'd continue to preserve the sanctity of the bedroom as a place of calm and rest, which doesn't include web surfing, blogging, or video games.
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12-03-2008 @ 1:01PM
Karen said...I think the fears of children and the internet are over rated. Younger children do not have the capability or the desire to get around parental controls. Preteens and teens are another story.
My children both learned to type at an early age and they were able to communicate through e-mail with grandmas far away. It wasn't necessary for me to stand over them the entire time. I did monitor it, but the e-mail was set up so they could only access certain people, only certain people could access them, pictures were blocked, IM was blocked, etc.
But electronic doesn't mean hyper or that it is not calm. My son and I had a thing for a while where at bedtime we accessed a planetarium site and watched the night sky on the computer while we talked for a few minutes before bed. That came about because of an interest in space and now his entire room is space, planets, stars, etc. We also watched an animal cam in Africa and even watched a horse give birth LIVE (by accident but it was cool). There is a lot of neat stuff out there. It isn't all scary.
Additionally, an education software program has no more need for supervision than any other workbook, game, etc. That doesn't mean that you don't supervise them and interact with them, but that sometimes it is good to sit your young child down with Reader Rabbit while you call the doctor or make a grocery list, etc.
As others said, you just use common sense and good judgment.
12-03-2008 @ 11:12AM
supraman215 said...This may lead to another discussion. Maybe about the internet and what freedoms you allow your children there.
Comparing the internet to a gun is ridiculous, however I don't want to belittle the dangers. The internet can not kill you directly. As we've seen recently in the news people have committed suicide as a result of things that happened on the internet or even broadcast such horrifying events over the internet. Those are however major exceptions.
I think when they are old enough to go to the mall with friends, no adults, they are old enough to have a computer in their room. However I believe that you should police it, monitoring who they talk to and their should be disclosure that you're doing that.
So much worse can happen to people out in the real world, there are so many dangers much greater than the internet. I think the internet is a dangerous place for anyone however it is LESS dangerous than the real world. They can get into way more trouble a lot faster talking to the wrong person at the mall than talking to the wrong person on the internet. What if you drop them at the mall and they go to some guy's house they met at the mall instead. Lot more dangerous then talking to some guy on the internet. However if you drop them off at the mall your obviously at a point where you can trust them enough to stay at the mall and just hang out with their friends, same should be said for the internet. If you teach them it's a dangerous place and you must be cautious then they hopefully will be, just like the real world.
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