...Why Television is OK for Children Why Television is OK for Children Tonia Boyett Grand Canyon University English Composition II 106 February 19, 2011 Why Television is OK for Children The views about children and television all seem to point to television being bad for children. According to Rose Bachtel text “Television: Destroying Childhood”, watching television does not allow children the exercise that they need to keep their bodies in shape and can lead to health problems (Bachtel, 2010). But also according to two visual sources, watching too much seems to be the main problem with childhood obesity because children eat bad foods as they watch television (Giany, 2010), (Perez, 2006). But if parents monitor more of their kids’ television time, maybe obesity would not be such a huge problem. In the text by Bachtel, it was an essay in which she describes that “times have changed” (Bachtel, 2010). Back when she was younger, and when most of us were also, we played outside most of the time. But today with so many types of entertainment, for example, TV, video games, and computers, kids do not want to go outside. Many kids today are considered latch key kids so when they get home from school they have to stay indoors. So of course they are going to watch television. Then as they are watching TV, they are going to want to eat a snack. This in turn is causing less exercise in children, which can cause obesity. The essay also states that if there were no televisions in...
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...Cause-Effect Essay: Effects of watching too much TV. The television is commonly called the 'idiot box' by critics. It is a box of sorts that produces a variety of entertainment programmes. It has been around for decades and nearly every household there is at least a television set to be found. Today, hundreds of television channels available and millions of people around the world spend a lot of time watching them. Many people view television as a tool of education. However studies have shown that excess television exposure is unhealthy, waste of time and brainwashing through lots of advertisements. Researchers found that the more hours a person sit in front of the television, the higher chance of he getting heart disease. This is because human body evolved to move, not to sit still for extended periods of time. Additionally, when a person watching television programmes, he will tend to eat more and eat unhealthy snacks due to advertising and other foods shown in television. Soon or later, the body weight will increase with no doubt. Besides, watching too much television is bad for the eyes, especially in a dark room. Most expert agree that staring at the television won't cause permanent damage to a person's eyes, but focusing on television too long can cause eyestrain, an irritating problem. Another obvious result of watching television is the time it takes away from doing other things. There is always something on the television for everyone. There are cartoons for different...
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...114 episodes of Lost in 5 weeks means she will be watching about 2.5 hours of the television show per day. To me, and probably to most of you, this doesn’t sound so bad and most of us have probably done this before. As much as I would like to side the Lost-obsessed daughter, I can’t. The father is actually right. Watching that much television affects the body and the mind and there are many reasons why we do it. We have become a society of zombies, sitting in front of our screens for hours at a time watching television. This is binge-watching. Point one- What is it and why we do it Binge-watching is defined as watching two to six episodes of a television show in one sitting. 50 percent of Adults identify as binge-watchers. Netflix has become...
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...Television and Children COM/172 "Children who watch a lot of television are likely to: have lower grades in school, read fewer books, exercise less, and be overweight." (Children and Watching TV., n.d.) Based on research, there are many more negative effects that television has on children than there are positive effects. While there are a few positive effects that television watching can have on children, the negative effects seem to outweigh the good. Television can affect children socially, psychologically, and physically and each of these aspects are equally harmful to children. Television takes the time away that is needed for children to develop language and social skills. A child's language and social skills are developed by interacting with people, talking, and listening. Language and social skills cannot be developed or improved by listening to a television. Children who watch too much television are also at risk for developing anti-social behaviors; these behaviors include: stealing, bullying, and fighting. “The fifteen per cent of five-year-olds who spend at least three hours in front of the television each day are at a slightly higher risk of anti-social behavior by the age of seven.” (Collins, N., 2013) Although bad behaviors can be learned from television, there are also studies that show good behaviors can be learned from television too. Television has positive effects on children when they are exposed to positive role models. When children watch...
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...phrase more times than I care to remember over the last couple years. We do not allow our 5 year old to watch television that much, but when we do, he completely tunes out everything and everyone that is around him. I asked my family doctor about how much television is bad for children. He gave me some ideas, but basically left it up to me to research the issue and draw my own conclusion. After some brief research, I was fascinated on what I found. Even though there are television shows that help develop children, watching too much television is bad for children because television takes away from developmental time and studies show that too much television help lead to obesity in young adults. Children two years old and younger When my first child, Cooper, was born, we, like most first time parents, had no clue on what to do. It’s not like they sent an instruction manual home. I would come home from work and would sit on the couch with him while he had his bottle and we would watch NCIS. It appeared to me that he would be mesmerized by the television. He could not take his eyes off of it. I have since learned that at that age he could only make out shapes, and could not see what was on the television. I have also learned that toddlers less than two years old should not watch any television at all. Having the television on, even if you are not watching it, could slow your child’s development. It could slow your child’s language and reading development, as well...
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...terrible tiring day at work. The first thing he does, after taking off his tie and shoes, is plop down on the couch and turn on the television. Does this sound like a normal routine? It should, because Mr. Stevenson’s action is repeated by millions around the world. People use television to relax and forget about daily troubles. However, what started out decades ago as an exciting, new type of family entertainment is currently being blame for problems, especially in children. Many researchers now claim that too much television is not good for kids. They have a point; watching too much TV often does have negative effects on youngsters. One negative effect of TV on kids is laziness. Nowadays kids do not think that outdoor activities are as entertaining as a TV show can be. In the commodity of the couch they can pass hours and hours without moving even a finger watching TV. On the other hand, if they go to play outside it requires physical activity and a little bit of imagination; it can be too hot or too cold. Staying inside watching TV is not a hard option. Attention, imagination, or physical effort is not a requirement anymore if you they want to pass a good time. It is very simple, just stay home, lie on the couch and with a remote control in hand, hours and hours will pass without even noticing. Another negative point about TV watching is that it may cause children to have difficulty distinguishing between what is real and what is not. Movies and kids’ shows are...
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...The harm of Television How many hours do you think a child should watch T.V.? if you say 2 hours or more you're completely wrong. The problem is that parents use the T.V. as their own personal babysitter for the child. And although television can be fun to watch especially in this day and time but it can also be harmful to children. In other words when children are watching television they can start to learn and see provocative things, they can can start to become lazy,and develop bad behavior. Children watching to much television can cause them to become lazy which can cause many health issues. When I mention health issues children can develop high blood pressure and obesity. As stated in this article “just two hours of T.V. a day doubles risk of child obesity”,...
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...term prisoners to watch television. In today's society long term prisoners have the privilege to watch television. There are good things about watching television and there are bad things about television. Television can turn one into many things, a good person or a bad person. Some advantages of watching television are that it can have a spiritual impact on ones life and we can learn many new things like cooking and things that are happening around the world. Some disadvantages of allowing long term inmates to watch television are that they might watch TV shows that can make them act out of character. Another disadvantage is that it will cause the inmates to procrastinate and it will also cause fights and arguments. Allowing long term prisoners to watch television can have a spiritual impact on their life. Allowing them to watch inspirational movies, shows or series can impact them tremendously. These movies and shows can provide them with the truth, the right path to take and what steps to make in order to change ones life. They can watch church whereas they can learn about Jesus Christ and how He died for us, how He sacrificed his own life to save us. They can get healing just by listening to the pastor preach and realize that it's time to make a change in their life that no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes and disserves a second chance. Another advantage of allowing long term prisoners to watch television is that they can learn many...
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...Children have become much more interested in cartoons over many years and it has become a primary action to some lives. Typically, children begin watching cartoons on television at an early age of six months, and by the age two or three children become enthusiastic viewers. This has become a problem because too many children are watching too much television and the shows that they are watching cartoons have become violent and addictive. The Children who watch too much cartoons on television are more likely to have mental and emotional problems, along with brain and eye injuries and unexpectedly the risk of a physical problem increases. Education • According to a report titled "The Effects of Cartoon Characters as Motivators of Preschool Disadvantaged Children," cartoon characters stimulate interpersonal behavior, learning and social growth. Children associate with cartoon characters more readily than adults in many cases and tend to retain the lessons imparted more readily. If a cartoon character conveys an educational or moral lesson, then it can help speed up the learning process in children. Violence • Many cartoons depict scenes of violence or danger, yet whitewash the effects of that violence. For instance, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle may beat up a bad guy in one scene, only to see that bad guy appear unharmed in the next scene. Without proper lessons to counterbalance those effects, children may grow up aggressive and eager to engage in violence...
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...How TV Affects Your Child Television watching is becoming more prominent in America culture. Children are being plugged into the television at younger and younger ages. Each day after school, thousands of kids sit in front of their T.V. sets at their homes and kill their precious time watching T.V. programs when they should be active or doing homework, etc. Parents will want to get work done and the television is a very convenient “babysitter.” Parents do not have to pay the television to keep their children pre-occupied. However, too much television can be detrimental and I believe television viewing should be used in moderation or as a privilege. There are many reasons why parents should limit screen time for their children. One important reason is that watching a lot of television can lead to childhood obesity. Part of the problem is that the child is not moving when watching. When children spend their free time lying around watching TV, they don't get the exercise they need. It's hard to exercise in front of the TV set. The other part is all the food commercials aimed at kids. TV commercials advertise candy, soda, and sugary cereals, encouraging children to eat high-calorie junk food. Even if they don't get the food on the commercial, it will probably lead them to the kitchen, looking for a snack. Often, children eat junk food while watching TV and are unaware of how much they're overeating. Down the long run, childhood obesity can lead to numerous health problems...
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...Television and Children NaTasha Buggs Com/172 January 9, 2012 Melissa Glossup Television has made a big effect on our children today by having attention disorders, obesity, and many more. Learning the negative effect, positive effect , and knowing how to monitor our kids viewing habits will help parents see what effect television has on children. Television causes a negative effect on children. Research shows that television can cause attention disorders and emotion disorders that lead to trouble on down the line. Attention disorders have been a big concern in children today. Studies show that a big result from attention disorder comes from children watching too much television. “Watching television leads to a developmental disorder in the part of the brain, which is responsible for language skills” (Oak, Manila Para 3). This tells us that kids are learning their language skills not just from parents, but from television as well to much of unsupervised television could cause children to develop the wrong type of language skill. The brain develops rapidly between the ages of one and five years watching television over a certain amount of time a day could cause attention disorder. “ Researchers have found that every hour preschoolers watch television each day boosts their chances by about 10percent of developing attention deficit problems later in life” (organic consumers...
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...Television gives children bad role models that they are likely to follow. The television shows that our children watch can contain characters that are in the role of protagonist and looked up to by kids that teach them bad values, morals, and what is normal behavior. With a merging of mature content and animation Family Guy shows us a prime example of bad role models. The main character Peter Griffin is a mindless, disrespectful, and shameful dad whose escapades get his family, himself and others into dangerous situations. Peter Griffin has no respect for authority and throughout the series writers of the show use his characters to trash other show and people with little respect for anyone. The bad examples continue into shows like Breaking Bad a television show watched by millions upon millions in which the main character Walter White is a science teacher with a small family who goes from suburban life to leading a life in the drug game after getting diagnosed with cancer. Walter White teaches bad morals to people and even if children don't watch it directly, the message has gotten in to pop culture so much so that children are being dressed up in Walter White halloween costumes. An example of a childrens show format merging into adult content is in the show Brickleberry created by a comedian who strategy is to shock by any way possible, he turns a lovable looking animate bear and cast of other harmless looking characters and insults to insult. This comedy sends the wrong message...
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...How Does Reality Television Affect The Minds of Young Children? ENG 122 English Composition II Larissa Purvis April 7, 2013 How Does Reality Television Affect The Minds of Young Children? Reality television affects the minds of all who watch it, but has a big effect on children because it inhibits social interaction and it is not always intellectually stimulating. In my research paper, I will explain the lack of activities reality television has on young children, and how reality television causes too much drama. I also will explain how reality television affects the minds of young children. “All children in industrialized parts of the world are exposed to television from birth onward, and they begin paying attention to it quite early. When they are between 2 and 5 years old, they form some basic conceptions about the representational nature of the television medium and begin to understand how the content shown on television is related to events in the real world.” (Wright, Huston, Reitz, & Piemyat 1994) “On average, children watch at least four hours of television a day. By the time they graduate from High School they will have spent more time in front of the television than they have in a classroom. If television is used right it can have an educational value, but too much television portraying improper values can harm children.” (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2001) Watching reality television is like being addictive to drugs. Once a children...
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...Too Much TV Can Be Harmful Watching hours of television is a powerful factor that is harming the minds and behaviors of children living in today’s world. That is why parents need to take action and be more in control of the programs their children’s watch so they can grow up to be happy and healthy children. Watching television can be fun and entertaining for only a few hours, but children in today’s world watch an “average of 17 hours a week” (Lawrence). The worst part is, instead of watching educational channels, such as the “History Channel”, children watch non-educational channels, such as MTV, which harms children with the numerous amounts of programs with violent scenes. In August 1994, a report by the Center for Media and Public Affairs “reported that in one 18-hour day in 1992, observing 10 channels of all major kinds of programs, 1,846 different scenes of violence were noted, which translated to more than 10 violent scenes per hour” (Children, Violence, and the Media). A very popular program that children enjoy, but is very harmful, is “Beavis and Butt-head”. This program shows how the two cartoon characters “torture animals, harass girls, sniff paint thinner and set fires. They commit petty thefts, shoplifting, auto theft and credit card fraud” (Lawrence). By watching too much programs with violent scenes, children will “not yet have the capacity to separate what is real from what is not” and will try to reenact them in to the world situations (Lawrence). In an...
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...ENG 120 Children and television: A lethal combination? Many people believe that television can be good for young children and it helps to develop their mind before they attend school. While this may be true, it may also has an overall negative effect on children. Television can be lethal because it teaches children and culturally structures their mind. If a program on television shows a person eating spaghetti with his hands and a child watches this, then the child with think that it can be ok to eat spaghetti with his/her hands. In the developing stage of a child’s mind, everything that is being exposed to them is going to have a profound effect on them. We could say that only certain programs are carrying positive messages whereas the negative impact of television may be dominant. Overall, the television exposes the child to violent/deviant behavior, children build some of their morals and ethics from television and television also causes sleeping defects, obesity and other illnesses. Television can promote certain behaviors to children at young ages, for example if a child is exposed to violence on television, then that program is promoting aggressive behavior and the child can then begin to act more aggressively. Many researches show how television programs negatively affect children and their behavior from a process called imitation. Moreover, children, who are exposed to television programs showing violence, are more or less likely to affect their...
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