Television is a fact of life that cannot be wished away. These days, you cannot think of a home without a television, and it is rare to find families that don't watch television. Television is no longer considered a means of entertainment only; indeed, it can be informative, educational and uplifting. Nevertheless, there is no denying the fact that most of what is shown on TV is pure nonsense, if not cheap and obscene. As parents, your concern about what your child watches is justified because most of the time it portrays behavior that is quite unacceptable in most social circles, and presents it as normal, or even desirable behavior.
Another consequence of excessive TV viewing is that it consumes quality time that would otherwise be spent in physical activity or social interaction. Watching television makes lazy viewers of active doers. Instead of playing games in the playgrounds, children become passive spectators. It adversely affects healthy social behavior and turns active children into obese ‘couch potatoes’.
That television influences behaviors is evident from the billions of dollars spent on advertisements. It is the sheer repetition of it that works on the minds of people and comes to surface at the time of making choices.
If parents could have their way, they would probably want to throw the TV out of the window, but that will not solve the problem. So, look at the problem in the face and do something to limit your child's exposure to it to reasonable amounts. Here are some suggestions:
1. The best place to start is from here and the best person to start with is you. Take a fresh look at how much time you are spending in front of the television screen. If you spend 4 hours a day watching soaps, you can’t blame your child for watching too much TV. As a parent, you are required to make some personal sacrifices only to set the right example for your children. Remember, children learn by examples not by sermons.
2. If not TV then what? First for yourself, and then for your children, find alternative activities that are healthy and pro-social. The obvious ones are taking up some sports or hobbies - football, hockey, swimming, karate, dancing, painting, scrap-booking, collecting stamps, coins, or butterflies, model railways, woodworking or cross-stitch - the list is endless. But, yes, you actually have to DO something to make this work! If you really just want to relax and chill-out - what about reading a good novel, or even a graphical novel (aka comic book) while listening to your favorite music?
Your local recreation center or the adult education center will have many programs and classes to offer at any time of the year. You can make a deal with your child that if he attends one of his favorite activities, you will offer some incentive.
3. Television watching timings will have to be regulated. You can speak to your child and mutually agree to avoid watching TV at specific times, such as before school, or after 9 pm, or during meals. Fix a day of the week as a regular TV-free day and dedicated to outdoor activity.
4. Another way is to opt for pre-schedule television, which allows you to watch only what has been pre-booked. This way you won’t spend time in channel surfing and the family can together decide what is worth watching.
5. Use television time as a reward for other activities, such as completing household chores, or getting homework done. You will need to draw up some sort of chart to keep track of all this!
6. The best way to monitor your child’s television watching is to watch together and then talk about what you viewed. Initiate discussion on the program or its values, its quality of acting and scripting. You can even discuss the commercials that will help your children to be less naive and gullible when it comes to advertising. Take practical examples and show them how some of the toys and foods don’t live up to the hype when you actually go and buy them.
7. Don’t turn off the television abruptly. Give sufficient warning, and try to time it with the end of the show.
8. Cancel your expensive cable and satelite subscriptions and use the extra money either for other activities or else to rent movies. This discourages aimless channel surfing and, instead, encourages you, as a family, to go out, choose a movie, and watch it together - without ads! Combine this with a home-cooked pizza or nachos and you have the makings of a special family night instead of the usual couch potato routine.
As with all things, moderation is usually the key. Be selective. Find the good programs and watch them. The rest of the time, do something more active or more sociable. Within a month or two you will wonder how you (and your kids) ever found the time to watch so much of it.
