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 the home, there would be no choice to get outside more and would not be able to just sit around and eat junk food (Bachtel, 2010). Another text article from the GCU library researchers say children who watch televisions for 2 to 4 hours are more likely to develop hypertension (Howe, 2008). But hypertension is not the only problem with too much television, but also obesity. The American Academy of Pediatrics say children should only watch less than 2 hours a day. All these health problems are cause for concern for today’s children. In the two visual sources, they were articles from the web with pictures of children sitting in from a TV eating food. The articles describe that so much time in front of a television increases childhood obesity and a lack of physical activities, which is vital to kids and adults health. Children usually have a bad choice in foods when it comes to watching television. The foods are usually pre-packaged and high in sugars and fats, and are accompanied with a soft drink. If children were watching educational shows and eating healthy snacks like fruit and vegetables, obesity may not be such a problem (Perez, 2006). Parents need to get more involved on how much their children are watching and what they are watching. Set aside a night to have a “no TV” night and have a family night. The difference in the types of persuasive strategies used was the way they were created and where the articles came from. The text was just a plain essay and came from a book. It was based on her research and her opinion. There were no cited references. Cited reference could also have helped in showing that the research came from important, reliable sources. There were also no pictures. The essay was written very well and stated very important information, but if there were pictures added showing what the essay was about, it would have caught the eye of the audience more.
The visual articles had pictures added to them and came from reliable websites based on children’s health issues. Reliable sites are important for any article. It usually means that the information is true. Both articles talked about research being done about TV and childhood obesity. These sites usually do not need references because they are the ones that did the citing. The articles with visuals give a more sense of the childhood obesity being a problem. The creators of these articles knew they would capture the audience. I find that the more effective way to capture the audiences’ attention is to have a very attractive article or visual source. To me, visuals get my attention because it tells a lot about what the article or the website is going to be about. With the two articles that I choose with pictures, the fact with obese children sitting on a couch eating chip and ice cream watching TV grabbed my attention. I wanted to read them to see what I can do to change the way I might be able to change my kids habits. My kids are active in sports, but I think I could change the way we do things around here a little more. Television does seem to be bad for childhoods due to the fact that children are not outside playing and enjoying their childhood the way the way they should be. Today’s families are so busy that parents are finding ways to keep their kids happy. And with so many electronics out there, that is not hard to do. Many kids are home after school alone and watch TV until their parents get home. Parents can monitor what their kids watch when they are not there by setting controls on the televisions and how much they watch when they are home. Keep healthy foods in the house for snacks and get out of the house when everyone is home and have more family time. That can keep the childhood obesity down in today’s children.

Works Cited

Bachtel, R. (2010). Television: Destroying Childhood. In J. Mauk, & J. Metz, The Composition of Everyday Life (pp. 635-636). Mason: Cengage Learning.

Giany. (2010, July 28). Food + TV = Bad Eating Habits? Retrieved February 28, 2011, from The Children's Aid Society: http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/blog/2010/07/28/food-tv-bad-eating-habits

Howe, D. K. (2008). Too Much TV . American Fitness , 17-19.

Mary L. Gavin, M. (2008, October). How TV affects your child. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from Kids Health: http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html# Perez, R. (2006). How can you help your child fight obesity? Retrieved February 19, 2011, from ÄSU: Treatment and Prevention:
http://www.asu.edu/courses/css335/TreatmentandPrev.htm