Parents have the power to use 
television as an educational tool

By Peggy J. LeVrier

For more than 40 years, serious questions have been asked about television's impact on children. Parents and psychologists are concerned whether televised violence and the portrayal of the antisocial behaviors desensitize children to real-life violence.

Are the portrayals of women, the elderly, and minority groups encouraging unflattering stereotypes about these groups? Do the commercials distort or exaggerate claims about products? What are the effects of exposing children to a steady diet of sexual innuendo and activity on television?

Should children spend so much of their time passively? Television watching has become the number one activity for most people in the United States - what we do when there is nothing else worth doing. Parents encourage this behavior in their children when they use the television as a babysitter instead of encouraging more active and challenging endeavors.

Children in the United States watch an average of 25 hours of TV a week, which totals to about 15,000 hours by the time they graduate from high school. The time spent in the classroom is 11,000 hours. (Weekly Reader Magazine, May 1988). That is probably a conservative number of hours compared with the number of hours that children watch TV today.

Most young children do not understand that the purpose of a commercial is to encourage them to buy the product. In fact, some children do not distinguish between the program and the commercial. Often, food commercials directed at children are non-nutritious foods. In the course of children's television viewing they may see 350,000 commercial messages. Some of the social messages include sex without affection or regard to the risk of pregnancy or disease, frequent use of alcohol and drugs, unrealistically easy solutions to complex problems and unceasing depiction of violence.

A study conducted for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America concluded that there are 65,000 sexual references a year broadcast during prime afternoon and evening hours on the major networks.

Parents can get a better handle on their children's TV viewing by considering the following tips:

• Monitor and guide children's selections to avoid inappropriate programming.
• Find programs that are entertaining and educational.
• Tape and rent special programs.
• Watch stimulating programs with your children and discuss their content. 
• Keep track of viewing time and negotiate reasonable limits.
• Review TV listings at the beginning of the week to decide on programming ahead of time.
• Direct children toward less passive activities such as reading or playing.
• Remind young children that what they are watching is not real; plots are made up and performed by actors and actresses in a studio using a script.
• Remind children that the purpose of commercials is to sell products.

Even though television is an instrument of social learning, particularly and a provider of information, parents need to be advised that young children, having difficulty distinguishing between fantasy and reality are impressed by the values, attitudes and behaviors portrayed on the television. Children's minds are like sponges that soak up everything in their environment. Be sure that their TV viewing reflects your family's values.

Peggy LeVrier has served as an early childhood educator for 35 years and is the owner and facilitator of Peggy's Positive Parenting in La Porte. For more parenting information, you can contact her at (281) 748-9176 or pjlevrier@houston.rr.com 


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