1999 Volunteer Leadership Training Guide
Taming the TV
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Objectives
• Main Teaching Points
• Suggested Activities
•
Tips to Help Children Develop Good Television Viewing Habits
• Closing Remarks
Objectives
1. To introduce information to participates about the effects of television
on children.
2. To provide participants with examples of good television habits for
children.
Main Teaching Points
1. Grandparents, parents and babysitters can learn how excessive amounts of
television can affect children.
2. How violence on the television affects children.
3. What are the advantages of the TV Parental Guidelines.
Suggested Activities
At the close of the program, encourage participates to make a list of all the
television shows the family watches during the week and figure how many hours
they spend watching TV, or make a list of how much TV a child watches a week.
Then, make another list of alterative activities that could be done in place of
the amount of time spent sitting in front of the television.
In 1950, only 5 percent of American households owned a television set; 10
years later, the percentage had climbed to 90 percent. Today, most American
homes (98 percent) have at least one television. And many have two or more
televisions in their homes.
Television is here to stay. It entertains and informs us. However, too much
time is being spent on watching television. Excessive amounts of time watching
television can have serious effects on children.
Children in the United States watch an average of three to five hours of
television every day. Children who spend a lot of time watching TV have less
time to play, move, read, draw, pretend and interact with others. Television can
also interfere with the amount of time spent on completing homework, and it can
affect their performance at school. Children often have trouble identifying with
fantasy and reality. Scenes on television are very real to children. They are
not developmentally capable of separating what is fantasy and what is reality.
Another effect of spending too much time watching TV is that it increases
snacking. Researchers have found a strong link between obesity in children and
teens with how much time they spend viewing television programs.
Research on the effects of television viewing on children reveals a number of
possible problems. TV affects social and emotional behavior. Studies on
television viewing show that the amount of violence on TV is increasing. Viewing
violent programs can make children afraid, worried or suspicious and may
increase tendencies toward aggressive behavior. The level of violence in
prime-time television is five violent acts per hour. The level of violence in
children’s Saturday morning cartoons is about 20 to 25 violent acts per hour.
The average American child will see 8,000 murders before he finishes school.
These statistics are scary; extensive TV viewing can be associated with violent
or overly aggressive behavior, poor academic performance, obesity and the use of
alcohol and/or drugs.
Children in the United States have watched an average of 4,000 hours of
television by the time they begin school. Knowing that too much television is
harmful for children, what can be done to monitor what they watch? Parents can
begin by establishing good viewing habits with their children starting at an
early age.
Tips to Help Children Develop Good Television Viewing Habits
– Reduce the amount of time your children devote to watching television.
– Restrict or forbid certain types of programs.
– Keep a record of how many hours of TV your children watch. ( See
Handout 3.)
– Plan with your children what programs to watch. After selecting programs
that are appropriate for children, help them decide which ones to watch. Turn
the TV on when these shows start, and turn the set off when they are over. Don’t
change channels during commercials.
– Watch television with your children and talk about selected television
programs so that family values can be instilled.
– Plan family activities to replace some of the hours spent watching
television.
– Make sure the TV isn’t regularly used as a babysitter. Try to balance good
television with other fun activities for children.
To help parents decide which television programs are appropriate for
children, the entire television industry has developed TV Parental
Guidelines. These guidelines will help parents sort through the huge volume
of programs to decide whether or not their child should watch a certain program.
These guidelines have one objective: to offer parents some advance cautionary
information so they can better supervise the television of children. TV Parental
Guidelines apply to all television programs, including those geared toward young
children. Finding the Parental Guidelines is as easy as opening your daily
newspaper or turning on your television. The guidelines will appear at the
beginning of each program. (Refer to
Handout 2.)
Children who spend a lot of time watching TV have less time to play, move,
read, draw, pretend and interact with others. Refer participates to the
Handout Weekly TV Viewing Log. Encourage them to track how much
television they watch and then choose other activities to replace the hours
spent watching TV. Setting a good example for children will help them see there
are other activities which can be fun and entertaining besides the television.
Closing Remarks
Too much television can be damaging to children, but television can be a
positive experience if monitored by an adult. Spending time with your children
and encouraging them to be active will help them develop fully. Children develop
best in a home environment which is stimulating enough to challenge their
imagination.
Traci Johnston, Assistant Specialist - Child Care
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