Máthé Orsolya

Parents’ responsibility: too much television?

There are several research papers about the effects of the media which show that it does have a harmful influence on small children. In their early years, children are very impressionable, so it is crucially important to have a close look at what the children watch on the television, and how much time they spend watching it. The aim of my essay is to show that preventing a negative influence on children’s behaviour because of the violent and aggressive television programmes they are exposed to is the parents’ responsibility.

Watching television has been society’s ultimate favourite past time since ages, but now it is even more: television is the babysitter and teacher for the children (Barkham, 2009, np.). Unfortunately, this seems not to be the correct solution for parents to have some free time. Dr Dimitri Christakis at Seattle Children’s Research Institute found that those children of 8 to 16 months who were watching television learned six to eight fewer words than children who did not spend time in front of the screen. (Barkham, 2009, np.) In another study Jo Salmon stated that “children aged six to 30 months who are watching television have less developed vocabulary, display more aggressive behaviour and have poor attention spans.” (Barkham, 2009, np.) Furthermore, Professor John Murray says that “real-life aggression among children may be activated by aggressive acts on television” (Hill, 2008, np.)

There are many ways for parents to solve these serious problems mentioned above. Parents should give more attention about how much time the children spend with watching television, especially in their early stages. Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman claims that the age from 0 to 3 is the crucial time for developing the brain; this is the time when they need to interact with their parents eye to eye, and not with a screen (as cited in Boseley, 2012, np.) Experts have found that one of the three things that optimise brain development is face-to-face interaction with parents or carers, so it is a more constructive idea to do things with the children where they can see the parents’ face, for example, playing together, instead of putting the children in front of the television. Sigman (as cited in Boseley, 2012, np.) suggests that children should not have screens in their bedroom. It is not a practical solution to watch television before sleeping; instead, parents should read to the children. Some people may think that this is a conservative way of thinking, but while listening to a bed-time story, children can use their own imagination and develop their creativity.

Even if parents decide to watch television, it should happen together with the parents, claims Professor Lynne Murray (as cited in Boseley, 2012, np.). Another important viewpoint is to choose programmes that have an instructive element, an educational component. (Boseley, 2009, np.) Furthermore, parents should not feel guilty if they say ‘no’ to their children and switch off the television. Dr Michael Rich, director of the influential Center on Media and Child Health at Boston children’s Hospital, says that “it’s a battle [the parents] choose not to fight. They have enough battles getting them to eat the right food” (as cited in Barkham, 2009, np.) Parents should learn how to cooperate with their children, because they know that it is for their mental and physical health.

To sum up, television can change the behaviour of the children as well as their mental and physical abilities. The parents are the ones responsible for their children’s health, and it can clearly be seen that if parents care more about their children’s viewing habits, negative behavioural changes can be prevented.

References:

Barkham, P. (2009, October 14). Television – not in front of the children? Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/oct/14/tv­children­harmful­effects

Boseley, S. (2012, October 9). Ban under­threes from watching television, says study. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/oct/09/ban­under­threes­watching-

television

Hill, A. (2008, October 19). TV cartoon mayhem 'not bad for kids'. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/oct/19/television­cartoons­children­education­violence