FREE ESSAY ON CHILDREN AND TV

CHILDREN AND TV

Children and TV Children and adolescence's spend almost 22-28 hours per
week watching television. This is a sad fact because this is the largest amount
of hours spent on any activity in your child's life, aside from sleeping.
Television has a large influence on children's attitudes, ideas, and
behaviors. Teens witness 10,000 murders, rapes and aggravated assaults
per year on TV, and four out of five Americans believe that violence on
television directly contributes to the way children view violence. When children
watch TV, they see other made up families, who deal with their problems
different from how anyone else would. Children assume that this is how there
life should be. We should teach out children about the reality of TV because
Television can affect the way a child acts, thinks, and feels about different
issues such as violence, education/morality, and gender/racial stereotypes
TV glorifies violence and weapons, and teaches children that the easiest way
of resolving problems is through violence. Children's programs such a
Power Rangers or The X-Men portray world-saving heroes that children
look up to and admire. They assume that if the strong, invincible heroes are
around, the world is a safe place to be where they are free form harm. When
really, they don't understand these characters don't exist and can't save them
or the world from those that would hurt them. Parents must teach their children
that these people are not real, don't exist, can't save the world, that it isn't
possible for anyone to do this on their own, and that at one time or another,
everyone needs someone's help. TV programs such as these shows also can
frighten children too. They may be frightened by the ugly, strong villains. We
must teach children that all villains are not scary, powerful or ugly but they do try to
fool people, young and old. It is very easy for children to lose their own sense of
reality while watching shows that contain violence. They must be
taught otherwise and how to be smart about TV and what they are watching.
Shows like Sesame Street and Mister Rogers Neighborhood have been
around since 1969. Not only that, these shows are very educational programs
designed for children. If children watch these types of shows, they will also try to
portray their favorite heroes such as the Power rangers except now with no violence. A
child's reaction all depends on what they are exposed to. The age of the child also plays
a large factor on how a program teaches these
children. For example, viewing Sesame street at the age of 3-3 1/2 has a
positive effect on a child's vocabulary. Ages 5-7 require vocabulary at a higher
level than what is shown on sesame street. The effects of educational
programs depend on variables such as: a parents education, the family size,
the sex of the child, and parental attitudes. Television also plays a strong role on a
child's developing morality. Children who watch TV programs that affect their morality
such as Jerry springier may tend to have a higher pregnancy or criminal rate than others
who don't watch the same shows. The nature of this kind of show, and their air times are
also problems because then children are able to watch these shows without parental
explanation to what they are seeing. These show affect adults as well. If an adult can't
handle them, how
can children be expected to? When children watch TV, they are strongly
influenced by racial stereotypes. Even though it's changed greatly over the
past decades, black people are usually still depicted negatively, as criminals
or as the victims. This has a great affect on a child of that race. When people
of their own race do not appear on television, these children may feel as
though they are not important in society. They may discover that it is hard to
find am appropriate role model of their on culture, this can result in a negative effect
on their developing self-esteem. There should be people of all races included in TV
programs interacting with each other, rather than show
Exclusively of white people or shows exclusively of black people. Television
Also affects children's gender stereotypes. Males are typically depicted as
Being more powerful, a competent than females. They are also shown in
Stereotypical occupations, whereas women are largely portrayed as sex
objects. In order to help resolve the problems on TV, there are many steps
parents can take to avoid them: they can limit TV viewing by teaching children
not to depend on TV as they're only source of entertainment. Parents should
limit viewing to 1-2 hours per day, and teach them to spend time talking or
playing. You can also monitor what your child is watching, by watching TV and
movies with your children and by discussing what is being seen, Teach your
child that violence on TV is not real and explain that in reality, people,
including children are hurt and killed by guns. Children must be guided into
doing the right thing by their parents instead of watching the violence shown
on TV because it shows how it is okay to use force to solve their problems. TV
also gives the impression to children that education is not needed in order to
succeed in life, and that stereotypes are also shown to be considered that
there is no harm in teasing others that are different from themselves and
different from what is the accepted normality of society.