TELEVISION
– A POSITIVE INFLUENCE?
Television is an inescapable part of modern life and it´s here to stay • Watch a programme yourself before
whether we like it or not. It is generally agreed and understood that you decide to let your child watch.
too much television can have a negative effect on our children and Remember, programmes are created to
many parents have felt uncomfortable, or even guilty at times about achieve a specific result. Consider if the
the amount of television they allow their child to watch. message that the creater is sending out is
something that you agree with?
We realise that watching TV is not the best use of a child´s time and are aware of the • Choose programmes that are
potential consequences of excessive viewing, such as short term memory loss, attention developmentally appropriate – even if
difficulties, sleep problems, health problems and violent tendencies. However, there is a they seem slow and boring to you.
possibility that television can be a learning tool, rather than a menace, with appropriate • Consider programmes that educate
planning and management. rather than just entertain, programmes
that ask questions, explore new
Television can offer benefits to children in the following ways: ideas or promote curiosity.
• It can provide children with a window to the world, to places that they have never • Watch with your child and model
been, may never go or could never go – outer space, pre-historic lands, other countries interactive watching. Get involved in
or eras. counting, singing, clap your hands, your
• It can raise a child´s awareness of other cultures and people, break down stereotypes child will probably join in too!
and encourage empathy. • Talk to your child about what they
• TV can introduce children to new potential hobbies or extend their knowledge are watching. Explain the dinosaurs
of something they are already interested in, ie, watching their favourite author´s work are now extinct, tell children when
being adapted for the screen. something is fictional or real, comment
• Television can develop a child´s social skills and manners, reinforcing the message on the behaviour of characters – realise
they receive from parents and care givers, when a programme presents characters as that your child may take what they see
positive role models. literally.
• Certain programmes have been found to improve vocabulary, where high levels of • Be aware of violence, even in the
word repetition and use of nursery rhymes or simple songs were present. most unlikely of programmes. It could
• Television can improve basic academic skills such as learning the alphabet or take the form of characters being
counting skills. restrained, threatening behaviour,
good versus evil scenes or more obvious
How much TV is enough? fighting. Consider if your child
A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation suggested 43% of children under understands the right and wrongs of
the age of two watch TV everyday. The majority of specialists agree children under what he/she is seeing before he/she sees
the age of two should not watch television at all, suggesting that at this early stage of it. If they are at an age when you are
brain development, vital connections occur in the brain shaping how a child learns, working hard on teaching them the
interact and responds. Bright, fast changing images, on the screen for usually less difference between right and wrong and
than 8 seconds before changing, do not allow for learning to take place and that these are finding their behaviour challenging,
connections require the child to experience concrete interaction with the surrounding consider that this may not be a good
environment (playing, touching, tasting, exploring) and from interaction with parents time for them to see fighting on TV –
and care givers. If this general view is correct, perhaps we should totally avoid television a short scene from a TV programme
for babies. could undo all your hard work that
The same study revealed that children under the age of six were spending an average day in encouraging positive behaviour
of 2 hours a day watching television. Advice varies regarding the amount of TV a pre- from your child. Be aware of the more
school child should be exposed to, but a shared suggestion is “little but often” with 20 traditional cartoons, still very present on
mins – half an hour a day preferable to “binge viewing” at certain times of the week. our screens. Many consist of one violent
For older children an absolute maximum of 2 hours at any one session, is commonly act after another when the chase is on
advised. between characters – and send out a
message to young brains that a hit on the
What should my child watch? head (or worse) makes a funny sound,
Unsurprisingly, once the amount of time a child is exposed to TV becomes sends us dizzy for a moment, before we
appropriate, left then to manage is the choice of programme: then recover and carry on as normal!
• Limit TV to pre planned programmes and don´t have it on as background to meal
times or play times. Switch off as soon as the planned programme is finished. Written by 1st for Schools in collaboration
• Keep TV sets out of children´s bedrooms and don´t allow TV to be the last with Bibiana Vargas and her staff at
activity of the day before bedtime. Chiqui Tin nursery, Fuengirola. Many
• Don´t be too eager to teach your child how to turn the set or use a remote control! thanks for their valued contribution to
• Model limited viewing yourself and never watch adult programmes in the this article.
presence of your child.
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