Television Has Its Good Side
Television Has Its Good Side
Television has become an important tool of entertainment and education for children. But is television really bad for children or the other way around? Or maybe both? It depends, it’s what programs and how many hours a day parents allow their children to watch that decide if television affects the child positively or negatively. Television is not necessarily bad for children as many parents and experts argue; there are plenty of educational programs out there such as
PBS that help young children prepare for school both mentally and socially. In other words they tend to do better in school than those who are restricted to watch any television at all by their parents or than those who watch the “wrong” programs for their age. Television has a positive effect on children who watch age-appropriate channels because they learn good things from them. Television can be educational if used correctly by parents and won’t affect children physically or mentally in a negative way. According to the American Medical Association children who watch more than 10 hours of television per week are “more likely to be overweight, aggressive and slow to learn in school”(Springen 293). That doesn’t mean television is a negative influence on children, in fact watching age-appropriate channels and at least an hour of physical activity a day will keep them from obesity and being slow learners. Letting children under the age of 3 watch television can harm their “reading comprehension and short-term memory” as a study by Seattle researchers shows(Stanton). The same study shows that children between ages 3-5 can improve some of their “cognitive abilities” by watching television more than 3 hours a day, this children tend to score high on the reading recognition part in tests they take when they are 6-7 years of age. Children can watch television without missing out on daily physical activities and still be smart kids.
Television has become an important tool of entertainment and education for children. But is television really bad for children or the other way around? Or maybe both? It depends, it’s what programs and how many hours a day parents allow their children to watch that decide if television affects the child positively or negatively. Television is not necessarily bad for children as many parents and experts argue; there are plenty of educational programs out there such as
PBS that help young children prepare for school both mentally and socially. In other words they tend to do better in school than those who are restricted to watch any television at all by their parents or than those who watch the “wrong” programs for their age. Television has a positive effect on children who watch age-appropriate channels because they learn good things from them. Television can be educational if used correctly by parents and won’t affect children physically or mentally in a negative way. According to the American Medical Association children who watch more than 10 hours of television per week are “more likely to be overweight, aggressive and slow to learn in school”(Springen 293). That doesn’t mean television is a negative influence on children, in fact watching age-appropriate channels and at least an hour of physical activity a day will keep them from obesity and being slow learners. Letting children under the age of 3 watch television can harm their “reading comprehension and short-term memory” as a study by Seattle researchers shows(Stanton). The same study shows that children between ages 3-5 can improve some of their “cognitive abilities” by watching television more than 3 hours a day, this children tend to score high on the reading recognition part in tests they take when they are 6-7 years of age. Children can watch television without missing out on daily physical activities and still be smart kids.
Cited: 1. Stanton, Carina. "TV viewing good and bad for kids, Seattle study says." 5 July 2205.The Seattle Times.25 Sept. 2008 <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002357593_tv05m.html>. 2. Springen, Karen. “Why We Tuned Out”. To the Point : Reading and Writing Short Arguments. New York: Longman, 2008. 3. Marks, Alexandra. “Will Kids Tune In To Watch Quality Television?”. Christian Science Monitor 31July, 1996: 3. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. San Diego State University 25 Sept. 2008 <http://web.ebscohost.comlibproxy.sdsu/edu/ehost/delivery?vid=12&hi...> 4. “Television Programs Get Kids Ready For School”. Reading Today Aug./Sept. 2006: 42. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. San Diego State University 25 Sept. 2008 < http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.sdsu.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=4&hid=107&sid=dec088df-9624-4dc4-8fe4-7f7d7a394a6f%40sessionmgr104>