RESOURCE SHEET #39 Canadian Child Care Federation

Does your preschooler balk at bedtime because he insists on watching "just one more show?" Do you have to serve dinner between your daughter's favourite programs? Are you noticing a steady decline in your children's abilities to solve problems peacefully and to play creatively? If so, it could be that television watching is getting out of hand in your home. Programming content has long been a concern and today the focus is very much on the negative effects of TV violence on young minds. Research shows that repeated viewing of TV violence makes children less sensitive to the pain of others, more fearful of the world around them and increasingly aggressive toward other people.

Evidence now suggests that children's mental and physical health are at risk through extended television viewing. A 1991 report by the Ontario Medical Association indicated that watching television is a major contributor to sleeplessness, depression and hyperactivity in young children. In addition, children who are avid TV watchers are less physically fit because they aren't running, jumping and doing other large-muscle exercise while they sit glued to the "plug-in drug." In fact, in North American society, physical fitness begins to decrease at age five.

The adverse effect of television on a child's nutrition is another big strike against TV watching for children. It has been estimated that a quarter of all advertising targeted to children is for food, but nutritious foods are rarely displayed. Most ads are for sugary, high-fat, salty foods such as pre-sweetened cereals and packaged snacks.

Clearly, it's time to manage the television for young audiences.

Watch TV with your child: don't use it as a babysitter.

Control what your children watch.

Establish a daily or weekly TV allowance and stick to it.

Plan alternate recreational family activities (picnics, library visits, park play, swimming).

Avoid violent newscasts and protect children from programs that frighten them.

Pre-record programs and movies for special viewing.

Alert children to manipulative advertising techniques.

Use TV topics to encourage conversations within the family.

Plan TV for purposeful viewing, not background noise.

Help children understand what is real and unreal on TV.

Parents need not consider themselves helpless on the issue of children and television. As well as controlling the use of your home TV, parents can influence television programming through the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission, Citizens Against Violence on the Screen and the Alliance for Children and Television.

Encourage your children to make critical choices about the television they watch and praise them for their wise selections. Programs, such as Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, have been shown to improve thoughtful behaviour in children and adults who view them.

Television is a powerful medium for teaching children, but so too is your own example. Let your children see you reading for pleasure. Show them that you are selective in your own viewing and eager to interact with them in imaginative play with games, crafts and stories. Serve meals in front of the TV as the exception, not the rule. Take charge of TV viewing in order to unleash its creative and entertainment potential.

Written by Barbara Coyle with files on media effects on children from the Canadian Child Care Federation and special reference to Crisis, What Crisis? Making Television Work for Young Children by Wayne Eastman, Ed.D., Canadian Children, Vol. 20 No. 2, The Canadian Association for Young Children, Fall 1995. For information on purchasing or reprinting this material, please contact the Information Officer, Canadian Child Care Federation, 30 Rosemount Avenue, Suite 100, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 1P4. Tel: 1-800-858-1412 or (613) 729-5289; Fax: (613) 729-3159.

This document was published by the Canadian Child Care Federation, Spring 1997.

Posted by the Canada Child Care Federation, July 1997.

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