Control the TV remote

Monitor children’s television viewing by setting a timetable and filtering violent shows
theSun, Tue, 23 Feb 2010


We know that too much television take toddlers away from exploring, playing and interacting with their caregivers – activities which are important for their physical and social development.
School-age children will also lack exercise and have less time for reading, homework, playing with friends and interacting with others.

However, watching television is not entirely bad for children as long as there is a limit to the time spent watching and the type of shows they watch. In this day and age, it is hard to prevent our children from exposure to the television and other media such as computers and the Internet, unless you ban these items from your home.

Even if you go to such extremes, they are bound to find them at their friends’ homes, and at school, as television and computers are considered necessities these days. It is therefore important for parents to monitor the content and set viewing limits.

Here are some tips to help keep your child’s TV viewing in check:

» The TV is not a babysitter

More often than not, despite knowing the consequences, we conveniently use the television to occupy our children while we work on other things at home. The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) recommends that children under two years old do not watch any TV at all and that older ones watch no more than one to two hours a day of quality programmes.

» Check the content of the programmes

Preview them if possible. Young children can be easily influenced by what they watch and learn.

Certain so-called role model characters in shows may depict bad or risky behaviour such as smoking, drinking, use of foul language, and violence.

Also, educate your child on junk food and toy advertisements. Help them realise that the advertisers are merely trying to get people to buy their products and that no matter how appealing and convincing some of them sound, they are not as good as they seem.

Make sure your child does not watch scary or violent shows that may cause nightmares or emotional disturbances.

» No TV in your child’s bedroom

This prevents your child from being holed up in his room, and not participating in family activities. It also discourages him from studying, doing his homework or keeping to his bedtime schedule.

» No TV during mealtimes

Adults sometimes tend to eat and watch TV at the same time. We need to change this habit and set a good example to our children. (The same goes for reading the newspaper or a book during mealtimes.)

Mealtimes can be used as family time together to catch up on one another’s day, share stories, problems and ask questions.

» Watch TV together

Select family shows or educational programmes that teach good lessons and family values. TV viewing can be a ‘date’ you set with your family members as family time together. This allows you to keep the content viewed in check and provides opportunities to discuss what you are watching.

While these tips may sound easy to follow, the reality is that they can be rather challenging, just like any other issue on parenting.

You as parents need to keep reminding yourself that the rewards are worth the effort. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to shape our children’s TV viewing habits.