TV: How Much Is Too Much?
By Jeanne Sather |
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/elementary/default.aspx?article=toomuchtv
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As
a child, I watched hours of mindless TV shows with my brother and sisters. I
also argued, whined, moaned, pouted, sulked, and complained bitterly when our
mom finally made us turn it off after nearly a half-dozen hours of nonstop
viewing.
And
still, I like to think I turned out OK. After all, I rarely watch TV now--maybe
only a couple of hours a month.
If
I wanted to play devil's advocate, I'd say we parents just worry too much about
our kids. Our kids work hard in school, so in the evenings, on weekends, and
when they're home from school for the summer, what's wrong with a few hours of
downtime in front of the tube?
"A
few hours a day is too much TV," says Yale University psychologist Dorothy
Singer, co director of the Yale Family Television Research and Consultation
Center. "Use the summer to read, play outdoors, hike, catch up on hobbies, do
crafts, visit interesting places, and just spend some time daydreaming."
What
the research shows A
quick summary:
The
average U.S. household has at least one TV set turned on for about seven hours
a day.
The
average school-aged child spends 27 hours per week watching TV (some
preschoolers watch much more).
Over
the course of a year, children spend more time watching TV than they spend in
school or participating in any other activity except sleep.
Children's
TV shows contain about 20 violent acts per hour.
A
high percentage of a child's viewing time is spent watching shows intended for
adults: 40 percent of a 6-year-old's viewing time, and about 80 percent of a
12-year-old's viewing time.
The
average American child will have watched 100,000 acts of televised violence,
including 8,000 murders; by the time he or she finishes the sixth grade.
Contrast
these numbers with the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation that a
child watch no more than one to two supervised hours of TV a day.
The
result? It is generally accepted that all this TV watching has three main
effects on children: They become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of
others, they become more fearful of the world around them, and they are more
likely to behave toward others in aggressive or harmful ways.
In
addition, that entire sitting around makes them fat. American kids are in worse
physical shape than they've ever been.
Getting
control of the remote 1.
Don't have a TV in the house.
I've always admired those parents who solved the TV problem by simply not
having a TV. You can't watch what you don't have. If that seems too extreme,
consider getting rid of the box for the summer. Or for a week. "We weren't
exposed to violence on TV," says Jim, a 30-year-old man who grew up without TV,
"and we know that if you hit someone, it hurts!"
"We
were also very well-read kids, and I learned to play games, work quietly alone,
and I developed a vivid imagination. Today, I am not a TV addict. I'm fine
without a television--although I'd miss Star Trek!"
2.
Limit the number of viewing hours. I've
used this strategy with my two sons for years. Their limit is one hour a day.
If one child chooses to watch a different program than the one his brother
wants to watch, he has to leave the room during his brother's TV time. Many
days, my children watch no TV at all. I don't allow them to carry these hours
over to the next day, but I will bend the rules to allow them to watch a
two-hour movie on the weekend.
3.
Limit the programs your kids watch.
Decide with your children what programs they can watch during the week. Oregon
mom Karen Hoskins allows her three children "pretty much unlimited" viewing of
the local PBS channel on summer evenings.
More
ideas 1.
Move the box.
Get the TV out of the living room or family room. Don't allow TV watching
during dinner.
2.
Post a warning label.
Tape a sign on the TV: "Caution! Too much TV leads to violent behavior and
obesity." It's a daily reminder of TV's dangers.
3.
Be a good role model.
Don't watch TV yourself just because you don't feel like doing anything else.
Don't leave the TV on for hours. Kids do what you do, not what you say.
4.
Make viewing special.
Make watching TV a special event, not a daily habit. One year, my sons and I
set aside Friday nights to watch old black-and-white horror movies on video,
complete with pizza. Over a couple of months, we watched
The Mummy, The Invisible Man,
Frankenstein,
Dracula, and other classics.
Karen
Hoskins says she does something similar: "We have a special time set aside
every Saturday night where we rotate through the family and the person whose
turn it is gets to choose the movie, or choose a family game to play.... We've
done this for a few years now. The kids so look forward to it."
5.
Watch with your kids.
Consider a "no TV unless a parent is watching" rule--not forever, but maybe
during holiday vacations or a week during the summer. See what happens.
6.
TV-free Fridays.
Consider making TV off-limits on certain days of the week. Be sure to warn your
kids in advance. Hoskins says TV is off-limits for her family during the
daytime in the summer. "We had a conversation with the kids and said it will be
off during the day," she says. "Fortunately, I was home most of the time so it
could be monitored."
7.
Read to them instead.
Be willing to read to your kids if you're trying to reduce their TV time. Or
play Scrabble or another favorite game.
8.
Offer alternatives to TV.
Keep a drawer supplied with inexpensive, fun things to occupy your kids. Think
water balloons, balsa airplanes, origami paper, colored pipe cleaners, and so
on.
Dover Publications offers dozens of inexpensive activity
books, including stickers, paper dolls, mazes, and crossword puzzles.
If
you have a well-stocked drawer like this, you'll always have a reply to the
age-old complaint, "But there's nothing to do!"
About
the Author
Jeanne
Sather is a Seattle-based writer and editor and the mother of two sons, who
provide inspiration for (and criticism of) much of her writing. In addition to
writing for several Web sites, Jeanne is working on her first book.
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