Effects on TV Viewing On Children

If you are the parents of young children, you've probably yelled at your kids for watching too much television. Your reasons were quite logical: it's a distraction from homework: it has too much gratuitous violence for impressionable young minds - and so on. Now there is a more serious concern. Television viewing can be injurious to health. Aric Sigman, an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society, reviewed 35 academic studies for a report on the health risks of TV viewing. He came to the conclusion that watching too much TV poses 15 heath risks to children; including obesity and premature puberty. Sigman said spending hours slumped into front of the small screen was 'the greatest unacknowledged health threat of our time'. He wants official daily viewing limits, with youngsters under three not allowed to watch any TV at all, and parents to banish sets from bedrooms. Television over-indulgence leads to an increased risk of obesity and heart disease from higher cholesterol, caused by the lack of exercise. Other risks include poor concentration, as brain cells governing attention span are impaired; and learning problems, as a result of poor intellectual stimulation. It can work the other way too. Some types of television programs - and video games - overstimulate the senses; and can upset sleep patterns. Meanwhile, the light from sets can suppress the key hormone melatonin, raising the risk of cell DNA mutations, which can cause cancer. Low levels of melatonin are also linked to premature puberty. At a conference in Westminster, Sigman told MPs that TV viewing should be rationed with a system of 'recommended daily allowances'. According to his recommendations, children aged three to seven should be limited to 30 minutes to one hour a day. Seven to 12-year-olds could be allowed an hour daily. This would be upped to 90 minutes for 12 to 15-year-olds and two hours for the over-16s. Good luck with that! This is pure conjecture, but I would be surprised if the good professor has young kids of his own. Perhaps more disturbingly, the report by Sigman points to a higher risk of autism, linked to a lack of social interaction - and Alzheimer's disease, which has been linked to heavy viewing. Eye damage and a slower metabolism may result from staring at the screen; while children can be more vulnerable to type 2 diabetes, from eating high-calorie food while watching television.

Altered hormone levels may also increase body fat, while waves emitted by sets are linked to changes in skin cells. What is more alarming than the scary conclusions above is that there is really not a lot parents of young and teenage children can do about it. To start with, many of the older folks are couch potatoes themselves, so they are hardly setting a good example. Secondly, television, video games and websites like YouTube have become such an integral part of young peoples' lives, that cutting them off from it would almost like severing an umbilical cord. As parents down the generations have learnt the hard way, laying down the law to your kids rarely works. One can only hope that good sense will prevail - eventually.

Today more and more parents are becoming dependant on the television to babysit their children or keep them entertained so that they may have a break, not have to deal with them, or get stuff done around the house. This can lead to negative adverse effects in your child. The Department of Education stated that children living in the United States watch an average of three to five hours of television each day as stated in an article published by the University of Maine on how television can affect children. Statistics also indicate that the average American child views 12,000 violent displays on a television each year. Violence has been linked to television on more than one occasion. Children are imitators of others as they are growing and learning, children who view violent shows while their brain is still developing as they grow tend to display much more aggressive behavior. Poor school performance and grades also are linked to too much television. Those who have the television on while they are trying to do homework seem to have a much harder time doing it efficiently and as quick and well as they could do without it on. Limiting the amount of television your child watches and what they watch could increase their grades in school as well as several other areas. Social skills are important to develop for a child, for having friends and easily making friends can increase their self esteem as well as help them in the business world later in life. Obesity is highly linked to too much television viewing as a child, when your child becomes a couch potato it can and should be a concern. Children are not engaging in as much physical activities as they used too to develop their brains and bodies as they should be. Having sexual activity too soon can be encouraged by viewing the mass amount of sex appeal as well as the

amount of premarital sex on television today. The sexual hints and references even on commercials in between your children's shows can make them feel bad about their bodies at a young age. The amount of drug use and references on television is also out of control, encouraging children to believe that drugs are cool. Allowing a television in a child's room is one of the worst things a parent can do without even realizing it. It makes it harder to monitor what they are watching as well as how much they are watching. One third of children from age two to seven and two thirds of children age eight and up all have televisions in their bedrooms. Sleep problems as well as school problems have been linked to having a television in the child's bedroom. Having the television turned off when parents are not around, the child is doing homework, and during meals can be very helpful in several areas. It can have a negative long term effect to use the television as a reward or having it taken away as a punishment, as so many parents do, making the object seem much more important than it really is. Reading to your children is key. Reading can be extremely helpful in many areas in the child's life and encourage them to do better in school as well. Encouraging active recreation can help get them away from the television and develop their social skills, athletic skills, and help prevent obesity. Babies and toddlers have also been subjected to too much early on-set television. Interactive activities with your little one such as talking, playing, singing, reading, and even cuddling together can promote healthy brain development and help you bond with your child on a higher level. Set limits to how much television your child is viewing, participate in television viewing with them, monitor the shows to make sure they are age appropriate for your child, and lead by example. If your child sees you sitting in front of the television all day as a gaining weight couch potato, they will most likely mirror that. If your child sees you out and doing activities or reading they will lean more towards that. It is all in the parents hands.

Many of us as adults, will remember how television affected our lives when growing-up. Television can inform, educate, entertain, teach and do many other things. But realistically, in

today's society, television can be very bad for your children humane development as it often display undue violence against people, illegal drug use, explicit sexual content, among others. Therefore, we must know that too much television viewing can lead to aggressive behavior in kids, less outdoor physical activities, use of drugs, and many more unwanted events in the lives of the children and parents. Too many times experts in children behavior and development will tell us that what kids view on television (TV) can adversely affect their real life actions. Violence on TV are simply copied by kids not equipped with the mind to discern right from wrong. They will simple practice what they see, and in turn may cause serious bodily harm to themselves and other kids. Some even go further and commit crimes, intentionally or accidentally. So what they see, without proper adult supervision (or parental discretion) can really change their lives for the worse, if they are not monitored. Today in many places, like on the internet, mobile phone, portable hand-held video and the television, there are so many explicit sexual contents, kids are sometimes confused as to how they should react. Sexual activities are not for 7, 9, 12, 15 year olds, and so on. These are children who are still learning about life realities but are not mentally and physically (in most cases) prepared to deal with adult-like sexual activities. And this is essential whether the kids are from the middle class, poor background or the very rich heritage. No child should be left alone my parents to just watch the kinds of explicit TV and adult diverse lifestyle video activities that are prevalent in today's society. Parents, relatives, baby-sitters, and others must be conscious of this danger to kids and double check to ensure that they are doing their part to protect children form unwanted abuse, pregnancies, exploitation and mental break-down. Taking or trying drug by kids after watching others do this on television is not amusing to anyone. The smoking of cigars by "movie stars" in the 50's and 60's was not considered acceptable by most parents as the kind of activity they wanted their children to copy from viewing television. In the 21st century, this has not changed. But now not only cigars are not acceptable, but all forms of illegal drugs. Those who have experienced or seen a relative or close friend die from exposure to drugs as kids and then got "hooked" for life, will more likely understand this point. But all parents, relatives, neighbors and responsible adults, must know the dangers of kids modeling others smoking on television. Heart disease and cancer in particular, are real. And they kill from a young age. Keeping children away from smoking and taking illicit drugs through watching too much of the wrong television programs, must be a critical priority for all adults.

We are very ware from reality that too much television viewing by kids can adversely affect their weights. They tend to be inactive and hence gain too much weight. While there are other reasons why children gain too much weight, this point is valid. If growing children do not spend as much time running, jumping, stretching, and getting the sufficient exercise they need, they will become overweight, especially if they eat a lot as they usually do. Realistically, children often do not see healthy foods advertised on television that they will ask their parents or guardian to buy. Instead they will see too much candy, snacks, sugary cereals, drinks and such alike, that are unhealthy. They then try to persuade their parents/guardians to buy those unhealthy foods. Some parents give-in too often and so the kids are exposed to being overweight in light of the other points stated above. This is not good for any child and the parents are not doing the child a favor when they do not monitor this kind of reactionary behavior from watching too much television. A very critical point about watching television is that it affects how children learn. We are often told that high-quality, nonviolent children's shows can have a positive effect on learning. Preschool children, for example, who watch educational TV programs do better on reading and math tests than children who do not watch educational programs. So television can be very effective in giving kids the right start in their learning and development when used in the appropriate manner. Parents can get better information from their kids Pediatric Professionals about the best age to expose children to television. Some say it is best not to expose kids to TV before the age of 2, while for those older than two years, 1-2 hrs per day of quality educational TV viewing are sometimes stated as beneficial. Parents/guardians, with the advice form there kids doctors, teachers and State/City officials, will need to make the final decision, but hopefully in the best interest of the children and their development. END.