“Mom please change the channel my cartoon program is going to start now.” This is a common scene in everybody’s house. Gone are the times when children used to love to go out and play. The times are changes and so are children’s choices. They like to devote most of their time to idiot box. But have you ever thought what does your child actually gets after watching television?? How detrimental it can be for them sometimes?
Children are very fond of watching television. They will not miss any of the cartoon programs. Children love watching television because they get to enjoy cartoons, movies, songs. Channels like ‘Animal planet’ and ‘Discovery’ act as best source of providing knowledge about different places and adventurous things to children. While on other hand, programs like ‘Mad Art’ and ‘Art Attack’ instill lot if creativity among the young ones. These shows are the most loved ones among the children they faithfully watch them.
But what about channels like Cartoon Network and Disney……what purpose are they serving??? Earlier there were specific slots where cartoon programs were aired, but now we have special cartoon channels which run 24 hours a day. How this is entertaining all the time?
Effects of Television on Children
- Television eats up playing time of the children. If you go to see, watching television is nothing but sedentary pastime for children. It is making children less active, lazy and obese; they prefer wasting hours in front of the idiot box rather than going out and play.
- The first few years of child are very important for brain development. It is important to keep television viewing to minimum as it can restrict brain development and hamper social interaction with others. Behavioral changes are observed in many children. They get fussy and irritating if you don’t allow them to watch television.
- The kind of violence that children watch during their cartoon shows and movies can make them aggressive and irritable, while some children tend to be fearful and quiet.
- Children sometimes try to emulate many things from what they watch on television. They want to dress up like their favorite characters, want to look like them etc. and sometimes even try their hands on drinking and smoking.
