Effects of Television on Kids
By Tequitia Andrews, staff writer

With the invention of television, life has never been the same. Do you think Philo T Farnsworth, Idaho farm boy and member of the Church, would have imagined the impact his doodlings of the first TV set on the back of his school notebook would have?

Kids and television have been friends from the beginning with Romper Room and Bozo the Clown, Mr Green Jeans and Sesame Street, and now Sponge Bob and Arthur.

Whether it's educational, spiritual or just pure entertainment, how much TV is too much? Is even educational TV harmful for kids? We'll explore what the experts and Church leaders have to say.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states that children in the United States watch about four hours of television per day. In fact, American children spend more time watching TV than they do in school, according to Drs. Sege and Dietz in Pediatrics, October 1994. Excessive TV, experts believe, can lead to poor nutrition or obesity, an increase in violent behavior and/or learning disabilities.

Nutrition & Obesity

Studies show that children who watch too much television are more likely to be overweight. Before television children played together more, played outdoors more and used their minds to be more creative. Excessive television viewing promotes inactivity. Often kids are snacking on junk food while watching their favorite program which contributes to poor nutrition. Many of the

commercials during children’s programs promote unhealthy foods that children can persuade their parents to purchase. According to the AAP, studies show that today's children tend to be heavier than their counterparts were a generation ago, and that over 30 percent of America's school-age youngsters are now overweight. Such an epidemic can lead to Type II Diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Violence

Obesity isn't the only side effect of excessive TV watching. Exposure to unnecessary violence is also associated with too much TV. Children are exposed to television violence at too early an age. Most of which is gratuitous violence that goes without consequence.

Elder M. Russell Ballard states, “Most of us recognize both, the many benefits and the many challenges that come from television in our modern, fast-paced world. Some of the benefits, besides listening to the teaching of the gospel, we can receive by merely touching a button include receiving instant reports of local and world events and updates on weather; watching fantasy; exploring geography; living history; enjoying good theater, dance, and music; and experiencing culture from almost every country in the world… Unfortunately, however, far too much programming is not wholesome and uplifting but is violent, degrading, and destructive to moral values. This kind of television offends the Spirit of the Lord; therefore, I express a word of warning and caution about such programming.” (M. Russell Ballard, "The Effects of Television," Ensign, May 1989, 78)

“According to the Neilson Index, the average American child watches 18,000 television murders before he or she graduates from high school. 2 Other acts of aggression, such as hitting and shooting, are commonplace in children’s shows, where violence tends to be greater than in adult programs. 3” (Larry A. Tucker, “What’s on TV Tonight?” Ensign, Feb. 1988, 18)

What effect does watching violence really have on our kids? Experts say it's threefold.

"The psychological research that has been done in this area over the last 20 years has shown three general effects of watching TV violence," Cyndy Scheibe of the Center for Research on the Effect of Television at Cornell University said. "1) children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, both on television and in real life; 2) children may be more fearful of the world around them; and 3) children may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others."

It is this insensitivity to violence that Church leaders caution against.

Elder M. Russell Ballard states, “The Apostle Paul warned that men can become 'past feeling … [giving] themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.'” (Eph. 4:19.)

In Proverbs we read, “As [a man] thinketh …, so is he.” (Prov. 23:7.)

A mind exposed to violence and immorality cannot escape the negative impact of such exposure.” (M. Russell Ballard, “The Effects of Television,” Ensign, May 1989, 78)

Learning Disabilities

The AAP states that watching TV affects how your child learns. Studies show that children who watch too much television may have developmental delays, suffer from ADD/AHD, and/or have a learning disability.

In "Turned-on Toddlers," Halpern writes about the potential over-stimulation of young children that may result from watching TV. This over-stimulation may tax their still-developing neurological systems, and that may result in a short attention span and hyperactivity.

In fact, it seems it doesn't matter how educational the program is, it's the fast pace of the show that aids in lack of attention span.

"The fast-paced, attention-grabbing 'features' of children's programming (e.g., rapid zooms and pans, flashes of color, quick movement in the peripheral visual field, sudden loud noises) were modeled after advertising research, which determined that this technique is the best way to engage the brain's attention involuntarily," Jane M. Healy, Ph.D., said in "Understanding TV's Effects on the Developing Brain.""Such experiences deprive the child of practice in using his own brain independently, as in games, hobbies, social interaction, or just 'fussing around.' I have talked to many parents of children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder who found the difficulty markedly improved after they took away television viewing privileges."

Excessive TV watching can also damage a child's interpersonal or social skills.

In "Effects of Preschool Television Watching on First-Grade Children," the authors report: (a) that the more preschoolers watch TV, the less well they do academically in the first grade; (b) the more preschoolers watch TV, the less well-socialized they are in the first grade.

Jerome L. Singer and Dorothy G. Singer conducted field studies on children to see if TV can stimulate imaginative play. They subjected four groups of children to different types of classroom situations; two incorporated TV into the sessions, one was a control with no TV, and the last had no TV but an adult present to stimulate imaginative play. The greatest increase in imaginative play occurred with the last group, no TV but an adult present to engage the children.

Desiree Allison (Santa Clara Ward, Los Altos California Stake, USA) mother of 3-year-old Zoe, found that TV hampered her little one's creativity firsthand.

"This winter we went through several bouts of illness and had to spend a lot of time indoors away from other people & children," Desiree said. "We quickly got into a bad TV habit. Zoe would wake up wanting TV and would have vivid dreams about things she saw on TV. In March/April we went to Alaska for a week and watched no TV. Her imagination flourished in an amazing way. She
began telling us stories about make believe friends as well as real experiences. We vowed to not watch TV when we came back, but it is such an easy trap to fall into. We allow a little bit of PBS in the evening as I prepare dinner but nothing else."

Taking Control of the Boob Tube

When used carefully, TV can be a positive tool to help your children learn. Shows like Sesame Street and Blue's Clues can help your child develop reading and math skills. It's parents' responsibility to determine quantity and quality of TV shows.

The AAP recommends that children ages 2 and under should not watch any television. They feel that this is an important time in your child’s brain development that positive interaction with other children and adults would be more beneficial than watching television. Older children should watch no more than two hours per day of quality programming.

Why might parents not set limits on TV? Some parents worry that limiting TV and videos might limit their ability to get things done. Some experts say this is a wrong way of viewing things.

"If you’ve conditioned your children to watch TV so that they leave you alone, it means they haven’t learned how to play independently, " Christine Della Maggiora, consultant to LimiTV.org, said. "It’s a cycle. They are dependent on you to provide entertainment. But if they learn how to find their own activities, they are no longer completely dependent on you (and a VCR)."

Parents are the one in control of their children’s television viewing. Some may think the solution to the problem may be to take television out their child’s life completely.

Elder M. Russell Ballard says parents should, “First, 'Be in the world.' Be involved; be informed. Try to be understanding and tolerant and to appreciate diversity. Make meaningful contributions to society through service and involvement. Second, 'Be not of the world.' Do not follow wrong paths or bend to accommodate or accept what is not right.”

Elder Ballard gives parents this charge as we determine the role that TV should play in our homes and in our families:

“We should strive to change the corrupt and immoral tendencies in television and in society by keeping things that offend and debase out of our homes. In spite of all of the wickedness in the world, and in spite of all the opposition to good that we find on every hand, we should not try to take ourselves or our children out of the world. Jesus said, 'The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven,'or yeast. (Matt. 13:33.) We are to lift the world and help all to rise above the wickedness that surrounds us.”

Setting the Standard
for TV Watching
Here are some tips parents can use to control their child’s television viewing:

1. Set limits. Decide how much television is appropriate for your child and which programs are suitable to watch. Keep the television in a central location where you can see what your child is watching. Do not put a television in your child’s room.

2. Watch with your child. This gives parents the opportunity to discuss what has been seen or said in a program. Use this as an educational moment to counteract any immorality that may have been seen.

3. Buy or rent quality children’s programs. It can help control what and how much your child watches. Parents can also avoid commercials that are inappropriate or enticing to children.

4. Provide options. Have crafts or board games available for your children to play with. This gives them something else to do besides watch television.

5. Set a good example. What isn’t appropriate for children to watch is more than likely not appropriate for parents either. Parents must select wholesome programs and limit their television time as well.

Interpreting TV Ratings
aka TV Parental Guides

There can also be sub-codes on these ratings. These include:

- Center for Research on the Effects of TV

What is the V-Chip?

The V-Chip reads information encoded in the rated program and blocks programs from the set based upon the rating selected by the parent.

All TVs that were manufactured after January 1, 2000, over 13" must be equipped with the V-Chip.

Can TV Be Good for You?

There are some benefits to TV. According to ChildDevelopmentInfo.com, TV has the following benefits:

* Television does provide opportunities for children to learn about all kinds of things, although whether they do so to any great extent depends largely on the specific programs the child actually watches.

* Television can increase a child's range of interest since it exposes him to a variety of activities and topics he might not otherwise encounter-archeology, science of all kinds, architecture, music, etc.

* Television has probably been the most effective of all the mass media in making people aware of a wide range of human problems ranging from pollution to homelessness. It also has increased awareness and acceptance of various kinds of illness, both physical and mental

Mom's Picks for
Favorite TV Shows

Q- 1. What's your favorite shows for kids?

A -Sesame street, Blue's Clues and Clifford.

A - PBS - Arthur, Caillou, Clifford
Playhouse Disney - PBJ Otter & Rolie Polie Olie.

A - Anything PBS especially Caillou, Bernstain Bears, Clifford, Dragon Tales and Sesame Street.

A - Blue's Clues (lot's of educational stuff); The Wiggles (lots of dancing and singing -- kids love that).

A - Sesame Street, Clifford, Between the Lions and Cailou

A - Sesame Street, Zoom (they have a lot of fun game ideas) and Barney.

A - Almost anything on PBS, Seasame Street, Caillou, Blue's Clues, Baby Einstien.

A - Sesame Street- especially Elmo's World and Baby Einstein movies

A - Sesame Street & Barney

A - Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens, Kim Possible, Rolie Polie Olie, Caillou, Dora the Explorer, Arthur

A - Anything on PBS, like Arthur or Between the Lions

A - Dora The Explorer, Blues Clues, Little Bill

A - Cyber Space, Book of Virtues Adventures

Q- 2. What's your LEAST favorite shows for kids...ones you would NOT recommend?

A - Anything that contains violence/scary stuff.

A - Any show with commercials.

A - Anything with violence-hitting, punching, angry words, and name calling.

A - Rugrats (The dialogue and humor are geared towards adults, but the show is marketed towards kids.) Same goes for Power Puff Girls and Sponge Bob.

A - Violent shows and those that seem brainless like Teletubbies and Boohbah.

A - Teletubbies and Boohbah.

A - Rugrats (too much mean language- stupid, brat, shut-up etc.) Anything that doesn't educate.

A - Batman because it's kinda skanky and violent

A - Arthur (shows the way NOT to be in order to teach the lesson)

A - Proud Family, Rugrats, Teletubbies, Boohbah

A - The Simpsons or Teletubbies

A - Sponge Bob, Rugrats, Looney Tunes

A - Rugrats, Simpsons, Cat-Dog