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Is it important to know what your kids are watching? Of course it is. Television can expose your child to things that you have tried to protect them from, especially violence, drug abuse, sex, etc. In addition to the actual television show, your child can also be influenced by what she sees during the commercials.
You can begin to choose proper shows for your children to watch by learning about television guidelines or using a V-Chip, but that may not screen out all inappropriate shows. Even television with a rating of 'Y' for all children or 'G' for general audiences may not be totally free of violence.
To help parents protect their children from the negative effects of watching too much television, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that they 'limit children's total media time (with entertainment media) to no more than 1 to 2 hours of quality programming per day.'
What are some of the negative effects of watching too much television?
- One study, Television-viewing habits and sleep disturbance in school children, found that watching too much TV during the day or at bedtime often caused 'bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, and anxiety around sleep, followed by shortened sleep duration.' [Pediatrics 1999 Sep;104(3):e27]
- Another study, Television viewing and aggressive behavior during adolescence and adulthood, found a 'significant association between the amount of time spent watching television during adolescence and early adulthood and the likelihood of subsequent aggressive acts against others.'
- Many studies have found an association between kids watching a lot of TV, being inactive and overweight.
It doesn't take a research study for parents to discover how TV can affect your child's behavior. How do kids act after watching the Power Rangers? You will find most boys jumping around, hitting and kicking. That doesn't mean that the show will make your child violent, but if he is already aggressive and has problems hitting others, watching these types of shows will likely not help matters.
And if your child is inside all day watching TV, then he can't be outside playing and being involved in more physical activities.
Still, there are many good shows on TV that are not violent, which can teach your child positive values and which have good characters that find healthy ways to resolve conflicts and solve problems. Some good picks for younger children include:
- Sesame Street
- Barney & Friends
- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
- Bob The Builder
- Bear in the Big Blue House
- Arthur
- Dragon Tales
- Clifford the Big Red Dog
- Rollie Pollie Ollie
- Blue's Clues
- Dora Explorer
- Thomas the Tank Engine
- Spongebob Squarepants
Older kids will likely enjoy:
- Bill Nye the Science Guy
- Wishbone
- Beakman's World
The most important thing to remember is that just because a show is a cartoon, it doesn't mean that it is good for your child to watch. You wouldn't let your younger child watch SouthPark or the Simpsons, would you?
Shows that you may want to avoid, especially if your child is under age 7 (most of these have a rating of TV Y7 anyway), include:
- Power Rangers
- Digimon
- Ed, Edd n Eddy
- Johnny Bravo
- Power Puff Girls
The only real way to know if a show is appropriate for your child is to watch a few episodes, either before you let your child watch, or with your child, and then ask yourself some questions:
- What are the characters doing?
- What is the main story or theme of the episode?
- Do the characters fight a lot?
- Do the characters make fun of each other?
- Are they doing anything illegal or that with an adult theme?
- How does your child act after watching the show?
When deciding what shows your family should watch, keep in mind that the TV Parental Guidelines and/or the use of a V-Chip does not substitute for your responsibility to guard your children from the influence of inappropriate television shows. Some tips to protect your children include:
- Limit television viewing to 1-2 hours each day.
- Do not allow your children to have a TV set in their bedrooms.
- Review the ratings of TV shows that your children watch.
- Watch television with your children, and discuss what is happening during the show, discuss alternative and more acceptable things that characters could have done for inappropriate behaviors and actions, and teach your children to be critical of the messages that the media sends through their programming.
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