Children and adolescence's spend almost 22-28 hours per week watching
television. This is a sad fact because this is the largest amount of hours spent
on any activity in your child's life, aside from sleeping. Television has a
large influence on children's attitudes, ideas, and behaviors. Teens witness
10,000 murders, rapes and aggravated assaults per year on TV, and four out of
five Americans believe that violence on television directly contributes to the
way children view violence. When children watch TV, they see other made up
families, who deal with their problems different from how anyone else would.
Children assume that this is how there life should be. We should teach out
children about the reality of TV because Television can affect the way a child
acts, thinks, and feels about different issues such as violence,
education/morality, and gender/racial stereotypes TV glorifies violence and
weapons, and teaches children that the easiest way of resolving problems is
through violence. Children's programs such a Power Rangers or The X-Men portray
world-saving heroes that children look up to and admire. They assume that if the
strong, invincible heroes are around, the world is a safe place to be where they
are free form harm. When really, they don't understand these characters don't
exist and can't save them or the world from those that would hurt them. Parents
must teach their children that these people are not real, don't exist, can't
save the world, that it isn't possible for anyone to do this on their own, and
that at one time or another, everyone needs someone's help. TV programs such as
these shows also can frighten children too. They may be frightened by the ugly,
strong villains. We must teach children that all villains are not scary,
powerful or ugly but they do try to fool people, young and old. It is very easy
for children to lose their own sense of reality while watching shows that
contain violence. They must be taught otherwise and how to be smart about TV and
what they are watching. Shows like Sesame Street and Mister Rogers Neighborhood
have been around since 1969. Not only that, these shows are very educational
programs designed for children. If children watch these types of shows, they
will also try to portray their favorite heroes such as the Power rangers except
now with no violence. A child's reaction all depends on what they are exposed
to. The age of the child also plays a large factor on how a program teaches
these children. For example, viewing Sesame street at the age of 3-3 1/2 has a
positive effect on a child's vocabulary. Ages 5-7 require vocabulary at a higher
level than what is shown on sesame street. The effects of educational programs
depend on variables such as: a parents education, the family size, the sex of
the child, and parental attitudes. Television also plays a strong role on a
child's developing morality. Children who watch TV programs that affect their
morality such as Jerry springier may tend to have a higher pregnancy or criminal
rate than others who don't watch the same shows. The nature of this kind of
show, and their air times are also problems because then children are able to
watch these shows without parental explanation to what they are seeing. These
show affect adults as well. If an adult can't handle them, how can children be
expected to? When children watch TV, they are strongly influenced by racial
stereotypes. Even though it's changed greatly over the past decades, black
people are usually still depicted negatively, as criminals or as the victims.
This has a great affect on a child of that race. When people of their own race
do not appear on television, these children may feel as though they are not
important in society. They may discover that it is hard to find am appropriate
role model of their on culture, this can result in a negative effect on their
developing self-esteem. There should be people of all races included in TV
programs interacting with each other, rather than show Exclusively of white
people or shows exclusively of black people. Television Also affects children's
gender stereotypes. Males are typically depicted as Being more powerful, a
competent than females. They are also shown in Stereotypical occupations,
whereas women are largely portrayed as sex objects. In order to help resolve the
problems on TV, there are many steps parents can take to avoid them: they can
limit TV viewing by teaching children not to depend on TV as they're only source
of entertainment. Parents should limit viewing to 1-2 hours per day, and teach
them to spend time talking or playing. You can also monitor what your child is
watching, by watching TV and movies with your children and by discussing what is
being seen, Teach your child that violence on TV is not real and explain that in
reality, people, including children are hurt and killed by guns. Children must
be guided into doing the right thing by their parents instead of watching the
violence shown on TV because it shows how it is okay to use force to solve their
problems. TV also gives the impression to children that education is not needed
in order to succeed in life, and that stereotypes are also shown to be
considered that there is no harm in teasing others that are different from
themselves and different from what is the accepted normality of society.