News today is that TV should be banned for children under 3 years old. This worries me! It worries me that one day after mo studying science might suggest that we all get rid of our TVs. Now personally I'm not one of those people that sits in front of the TV for hours on end! But imagine life without TV!
I cant even begin to think what might have happened had i never watched an episode of M*A*S*H! or how i could have turned out if i had never chuckled along to open all hours on a cold and dark winter Sunday evening! I know there must be bad things to come from TV, but i you actually think about it you learn so much from watching TV! Even the odd Soap I'm sure helps somebody somewhere! Doesn't it?
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I do agree with the news about children's obesity levels hightening due to the amount of food ads on the television, but i dont agree with banning it altogether. I do think that television has gone downhill for kids since we were little (i'm making myself feel old!!) but maybe the answer is to change whats on the television for them, rather than banning it altogether.
I think it could also be an issue of parental laziness/increasing work hours. If in doubt - put the kid infront of the TV. It can be a parental device that distracts children.
I think another issue is what's being watched by children on telly. Cramming educational programmes in children's viewing hours has become more and more common, but I feel the innocence of children's entertainment has been lost somehow.
You'd think that in today's health-conscious nation, parents would do anything to get their children outside and away from the TV, but apparently it takes some scientists and maybe even the government to convince them....!
Television, television, television!!! As a psychologist i have to agree with the opening statement made by the masses ... to much television at an infant age is damaging to a humans cognitive development. Studies have shown on countless occasions diminished attention spans and longitudinal studies conducted on infants through their lives have even shown an increased age at which maximum learning for numerical subjects such as primary math can be achieved. This would indicate a diminished effect to the left cerebral hemisphere.
However it has also been shown that the effects of television on the right cerebral hemisphere can actually have a very positive effect. Conducting primary right cerebral hemisphere advanced functions such as mental imagery have been shown on electroencephalographs or (EEG) that the brainwave activity is severely increased when mental imagery tasks are performed by infants who have spent longer watching television when at a primary care age … (0 – 3 years)
Therefore I believe that the idea of cutting television altogether is abhorrent to that of a child’s best interests! A controlled diet of Tele Tubbies, Rosie and Jim, play school and sesame street amongst other mentally stimulating activities is exactly what an infant needs to achieve maximum learning and cognitive development!
On a slight tangent I also theorize that depending on the early television watched a parent could actually manipulate the child’s decisions in future career moves. If a child is brought up watching mainly fireman Sam the child will strive to become a fireman… same with postman pat and Rosie and Jim the child will either want to deliver other peoples mail for a living or sail down a canal in a ridiculously thin boat. Obviously this theory ends at programs such as Barney and Watch with mother because the child would have to go under several very painful and humiliating procedures to turn itself into a purple dinosaur or be the world most avid botanist and become a talking sunflower in a pot that says flobabblobalobalob a lot.
Anyway enough of my rambling :D
How exactly will they enforce this? But I do agree...Children under 3, or of any age, really ought not to watch TV too much. You can buy DVD's these days made especially for this age group in mind and I think that if a parent really needs a few minutes to themselves this is much better. A child just sitting staring a TV screen is a very uncomfortable picture for me, the parent needs to interact with the child whilst watching TV, keep their minds active etc.
On another note I highly doubt they will ban TV for the general public...too much money to be made :)
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