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By Melissa Tennen, HealthAtoZ writer
The average child watches about 40,000 TV commercials a year and sees 8,000 murders on television by the end of grade school. Research shows a strong link between exposure to violence on television and aggressive and violent behavior in children and teens.
Your child can be harmed in other ways by watching too much television. Such children are more likely than others to be overweight because they are spending less time outside playing. They are also exposed to commercials and programs that hawk junk food, leading them to snack more during television-watching. Children spend an average of 35 hours a week either watching television or playing video games.
Television robs the family of time together. Children need to explore their world and develop relationships with other children and family members. Too much television keeps them from these things and robs them of their imaginations.
Your child's attitudes towards drugs, alcohol and sex can be influenced by television, which doesn't always show the consequences of substance abuse and usually fails to show safe sex. Television glorifies risky and dangerous behaviors.
Television is a powerful influence in a child's life - second only to family - but you can control its power. Here's how:
- Choose the best. Not all television is bad. Some programs are high quality and nonviolent. Preschool children who watch educational television do better on reading and math tests than children who don't.
- Try not to allow children younger than 2 to watch television. Your child's brain is growing at an amazing rate. Children develop best when they are interacting with other children and adults. This is when their language and social skills begin to build. Having interaction with others is extremely important.
- Limit time spent in front of the tube, including playing video games and watching DVDs. Limit television viewing to one or two hours a day at most. Instead, work with your child on homework, go for a walk after dinner or play a game.
- Watch television with your child. Talk about what you see. Explain the differences between real life and what television portrays.
- Help your child understand what commercials are and how to resist them.
- Choose high-quality educational DVDs. Check reviews online and in newspapers and magazines.
- Set a good example by limiting your own time in front of the television and choosing quality programming. If your child sees that you turn off the television to read or go for a walk, you send a powerful message that the world offers enriching, rewarding experiences away from the television.
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External Source
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The American Academy of Pediatrics
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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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