Tv and Their Effects on Kids

On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center crumbles to the ground, billions of people watch on their television sets, many of them children. As the children sit around with their parents they see planes crashing into buildings, innocent civilians jumping from windows, and later on, they see firefighters and volunteers sifting through the rubble, pulling out bodies. The children try and comprehend what has happened but they have virgin minds that are undeveloped and inexperienced. Just as they are about to ask a question, their parents shut off the TV and say, "It's time for bed."


What parents don't realize is that the TV plays a big role in a child's life. It teaches them new words and shows them things they have never seen before. Television surveyor A.C. Nielson, says children under the age of five watch about 23.5 hours of TV in a week. Most teenagers have watched approximately 15,000 hours of TV and have been exposed to over 350,000 commercials by the time they have graduated. (Waters, 1977, p.41) Without any control or guidance of what children see, it can lead to psychological problems of distinguishing reality from fiction. Besides the parents, television is starting to play a significant role in how children behave, act and respond to the outside world.


Watching too much TV isn't good for anybody, but it creates a more dramatic effect on children since their brains and bodies are not fully developed. They should be out playing sports or inside reading a book. Children should not be exposed to


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violence on TV such as the terrorist attack that happened on September 11, 2001 which Laura Bush said in a statement: "parents should not be letting young kids watch the coverage of the aftermath of the terrorist attack on New York and Washington." (Vancouver Sun, 2001, p. A24) Parents allowing their children to watch the aftermath should watch it with them to answer any questions that they might have. Sara Weintraub, of...