theSun, 17 June 2008
Parents must ensure their children learn the good, not the bad, from watching television
HOW many times have you told your child to switch off the television, only for the child to beg for one last show? And if you give in, the conversation will likely repeat later and end in another tug-of-war.
Children under two years old should not be given any ‘screen time’ at all. "Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," says a Chinese proverb. The same goes for children and television, I have discovered. Teach a child to watch TV and she will watch for a lifetime ....
We cannot deny that it is quite difficult to live without TV at home in this century. Some homes even have one in each room! The TV has become more than just a medium for information and entertainment. It is also a medium for education and communication – not all that bad actually.
My daughter learnt about healthy foods, animals, children’s songs and stories from the TV. I, too, learnt some things I had forgotten when I watched those programmes with her!
In moderation, watching TV can be a good thing. According to KidsHealth, a leading website providing doctor-approved health information about children, "TV can be an excellent educator and entertainer", adding that preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet, while "grade schoolers can learn about wildlife on nature shows, and parents can keep up with current events on the evening news".
Television only becomes bad when we do not monitor or guide our children. Some programmes are not appropriate and could influence or teach the wrong things such as bad language, violence, and negative values.
Television viewing is a sedentary activity thus reducing a child’s involvement in healthy activities like exercise, outdoor games and sports. Research has attributed the increasing number of obese children to several unhealthy lifestyle habits including TV viewing.
According to guidelines by the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP), children under two years old should have no "screen time" (TV, DVDs or videotapes, computers, or video games) at all.
A child’s first two years is a critical time for brain development and TV can hinder learning, exploration, interaction and playing with parents and others. These are important for their cognitive, physical, social and emotional development.
This actually sounds restricting to me (I have to admit my daughter learnt her alphabet before age two through VCDs) but the no-screen-time is indeed good advice.
Active Healthy Kids Canada, an advocacy group that promotes the importance of physical activity in children, recommends parents keep children away from television and video games when they can, and encourage free play time.
Exercise that is centred on video games that involve physical activity should also be avoided.
Some ideas I have read about include keeping the TV out of your child’s bedroom and making a house rule that the TV must be turned off during meals.
Don’t allow your child to watch TV while doing homework and set a good example by limiting your own television viewing.
These may be easier said than done but we should work on them. Watch TV with your child and talk to him about what he sees, and share your own opinions and values about it.
Encourage your child to think and discuss what you have watched together. Make watching TV a fun, educational and meaningful family activity.
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