TV Programs Violence Effects On Children's Creativity & imagination

Introduction

Many parents, providers, and educators are expressing a concern about the amount of television and the type of programming to which children are being exposed. Studies show that too much television viewing can have adverse affects, such as more violent, creativity and imagination, poor school performance, obesity, early sexual activity, and drug or alcohol use. Children aren't engaging in the activities they need to help them develop their bodies and brains when they watch television. Young children need to explore, move, manipulate, smell, touch and repeat as they learn. Studies have found that watching television does not increase attention, promote social skills, or foster creative play.

Discussion

TV viewing takes away the time that your child needs to develop important skills like language, creativity, motor, and social skills. These skills are developed in the kids' first two years (a critical time for brain development) through play, exploration, and conversation. Your kid's language skills, for example, do not improve by passively listening to the TV. It is developed by interacting with children, when talking and listening is used in the context of real life. TV viewing numbs your kid's mind as it prevents your child from exercising initiative, being intellectually challenged, thinking analytically, and using his imagination (Phillips, pg.387-397).

How stimulating is it to just sit there with eyes glued to the television screen? It's not The brain and body need to keep active on a on going basis and in most cases this is not the fact. While watching television children have put off things to do such as paying bills, dishes, yard work, even going to the washroom for fear they will miss something and due to this children have become zombies where the televison is involved. Then there is the immoral explicit sex that airs on television (Van, pp 34-227). Why have X - rated movies when you can watch it on prime time? You see just about as much as you would see on an X - rated movie. Children are exposed to this type of programming and the fact is there are many parents that do not supervise or police the channels their children watch. The violence that is on televison today subjects children to a certain mind set. When something violent happens you can hear out of the mouths of babes, Wasn't that cool? or Awesome.

Toy Commercials Example

The month of December is not only filled with holiday spirit, but also holiday advertising campaigns, toy commercials, and an overall heightened commercialized culture. Trying to protect children from the influence of advertising and the media is not an easy task during the holiday season, or throughout the rest of the year. It is up to parents, teachers, and caretakers to find creative ways to minimize exposure to the marketing campaigns aimed at children and to the negative effects of media with forms of children's entertainment that encourage critical thinking, awareness, imagination, and creativity (Rupured et al, pp ...