Ana+Editorial

Ana Flores

Beware of Television Television today is a tool that society uses to be aware of what's going on in the world but it is also a media that people use for entertainment. According to [|KidsHealth] article, “How TV affects your child” states, “kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost 2 additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) and playing video games.” Toddlers watch television years before they even enter school and are they really watching educational shows? There are only a hand full of television shows that help children learn their alphabet and how to read or obtain a good helpful skill. Those “helpful” shows are mostly scheduled in the morning. So what are children watching in the afternoon and the evenings? Talk shows. The first few years of a toddlers' life should be considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development, states [|KidsHealth] article, “How TV affects your child”. Television is acting as a barrier that parents can't penetrate in their child/children's life. “Not being able to reach children due to the major factor of television soaking up children's day, preschoolers behave more aggressively than usual in their play after watching any high-action exciting television content, but especially after watching violent television”, said Wendy L. Josephson, PhD. in her article, “[|Television Violence: A Review of the Effects on children of Different Ages.]” Television can influence children and their behaviors. Why should kids under two years be watching TV? There isn't any reason for them to, they should be exploring every sense with family and other activities. Yes, television is helpful but how can toddlers and infants benefit from TV? Imitating violent and repulsive behavior or enhancing their vocabulary with great curse words that are often mention in violent television programing. The government doesn't allow several words to be said on television but there are programs like, Family Guy that you can find on regular channels that bend some of those rules. Television in general isn't bad but I think that parents should reconsider having their kids watching television before the age of two. The University of Michigan Health System's article called “[|Television and Children]”, states that “some studies link early TV viewing with later attention problems, such as ADH D. However, other experts disagree with these results. One study found that TV viewing before age three slightly hurt several measures of later cognitive development, but that between ages three and five it slightly helped reading scores.”