Should children be allowed to watch TV? Summary

Should children be allowed to watch TV?
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Should children be allowed to watch TV?
Increased use of the diverse platforms of digital media witnessed in the 1990s gave birth to different contentious issues concerning the use, moderation, merits, and demerits of the same. The widespread use of televisions as one of the mainstream digital media in the United States and around the world, for instance, evoked different points of views and opinions across the social divide pertaining to its effects and influence on the growth and development of children. Children's growth and development is a continuous process with different stages as characterized by both their ages and the diverse growth and developmental processes undergone. Children who are three years old and below, for instance, are at a very crucial stage of their growth and development as it is during this period that the child's brain undergoes rapid growth. Exposing such infants or toddlers to a few hours on the television screens is bound to influence their growth and development significantly. Among the arguments for exposing or rather allowing infants to watch television is that the programs being aired and other video programs function to teach them a thing or two easily. Proponents of the same belief are good for infants' brain development. According to the American Academy of Pediatricians, children below the age of two should not be allowed to watch television, while older children should be limited to between one and two hours of watching quality programs on the television. In essence, children who are three years old and below should not be allowed to watch television while their older counterparts should have moderated sessions of approximately two hours watching quality programs.
Exposing toddlers or infants below the age of three years to television and other video programs threatens their healthy growth and development. Robyn Ritchie (2013) highlights some of the dangers of exposing children within the stated age bracket to include lack of concentration, troubled sleep, passivity, and delays in language development or slowness in language acquisition. Robyn Ritchie argues that exposing children under three years old to television interferes with their brains' development towards enhancing their motor, speech, and thinking abilities. At this early stage of life, children are dependent on their parents and available caregivers or guardians to assist them in the development of the outlined abilities. Exposing children under three years old to television thus denies them the sensual effect gained from social interaction with their parents and caregivers, which leads to delays in the development of language or speech and even the sense of self as a unique entity from other individuals. The author further claims that children are often receptive to different kinds of stimuli during this early stage of life, and it is up to the parents and caregivers to shield them from harmful stimuli to their growth and development. An article by the Urban Child Institute (2016), Infants, Toddlers and Television, echoes the same sentiments concerning the hazardous nature of increased exposure to television on healthy growth and development of children. The article recognizes that studies on the effect of watching educational programs on television among preschoolers lead to positive outcomes in academics at the elementary level. However, the article reiterates the negative impacts of exposing children under the age of three years old, as stated by Robyn Ritchie (2013). The increasing number of toddlers exposed to television and video programs endanger children's healthy development, including behavioral problems that may limit the social and interactive abilities of the child in class. Doctor David L. Hill (2016) also says that increased exposure of toddlers and infants to television denies them the ability to interact with their parents and caregivers, which limits them from learning. Failure to interact with children due to the television may stunt or delay their growth and development as their brains cannot process both the pictures and sounds appearing on the television screens. The article reiterates the negative effects of exposing children below 18 months old, including their reading abilities as well as delayed language development.
Television viewing has also been directly associated with childhood obesity. One way that this happens is through television commercials. Commercials have become targeted, and many of them try to lure and influence both children and adults' choices. Dennison and Edmunds (2008) note that the marketing of high sugar and high-fat foods and drinks has continually helped to influence children's requests and preferences. Adverts from fast-food companies like KFC, McDonald's, and Burger King are known to target children. These adverts are unlikely to help children make healthier choices when it comes to food because they involve fewer vegetables and fruits. In the end, therefore, children end up changing their preferences over what they believe is edible and available. Rosiek et al. (2015) agree with the above assertions and shed more light on the discussion by noting that more children are becoming overweight and obese, especially in developed countries. The researchers note that obesity in children after 2000 increased to more than 20% in European countries. In the U.S., the researchers note that the percentage was more than 35 (Rosiek et al., 9409, 2015). Such figures are quite alarming and help to paint a clearer picture of the danger of exposing children to television for long hours. Hu et al. (2019) have the same conclusion as above as they introduce the development of unhealthy behaviors in children. The researchers note that children who spend more time watching television often exhibit less physical activity. Their main concern is to sit around the whole day and watch whatever is available on television. The disinterest in outdoor activities continues to grow all over the world as more children prefer to sit around watching. Also, there is also the issue of children having less sleeping time because of television (Hu et al., 2019). The researchers note that children who watch television for long hours tend to sleep late and wake early to continue watching. In doing so, their physical activity time is reduced and, in the end, such behavior contributes to them gaining weight and becoming overweight.
Allowing children to spend more time watching television is also associated with increased aggressiveness. It is perfectly normal for children to misbehave. A child can express displeasure in normal ways, for example, crying. However, when children start exhibiting aggressive behaviors like hitting other children and throwing things at other children, parents may need to pay attention to what they are feeding their children. Tanwar and Priyanka (2016) note that while the growth of media is positive, the downside is that it contributes to aggressive behavior in children. The researchers note that children usually consume different forms of violence from the television. These could be in cartoons, the news, or their favorite show. Such shows, as per the researchers, could lead to enhanced aggressiveness that could be exhibited or showcased through violent acts. Ioan et al. (2013) appear to support the above statement as they note that children could become unmoved by violent behavior because of watching a lot of television. There is a need to cap or protect children from the content that the media outlets are propagating. Today, most if not all of the world's media companies are trying to outdo each other in terms of profitability. The content they develop and how much influence that content has on their viewers is not a concern or a topic that many ...