Kids and TV

All this talk about the tough time parents have of it reminds me of a recent article I ran across that tries to prove that TV doesn’t harm kids. That’s a tough row to hoe, as the saying goes, since the American Academy of Pediatrics issues a pretty severe warning about television for children.

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
My first instinct was to reflect on my non-TV childhood. Suffice it to say I was mesmerized by the those six hour Saturday mornings every couple of months at my grandparents where the networks geared up solely for the mission of entertaining me and my little brother. In a nutshell, the Muppet Babies scared me, I was convinced He-Man was of the devil, and I determined to be Smurfette when I grew up. The greater reality of it all is that I am a much different person than I would have been if TV had been my constant playmate. The obvious thing is that I don’t know the names of all the Care Bears and I can’t remember the words to the Punky Brewster theme song, unlike most of my peers. The more important difference is that I had to learn to use my own imagination for entertainment, and for that I am grateful.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor
My next thought…what about kids today and the Internet? The most dangerous thing I could’ve done with TV as a kid would’ve been to order my Mom a bunch of those awesome knife/scissors that cut through pennies and come with the bonus gift “Greatest Polka Hits of the 70s” eight-track and a money back guarantee if you’re not completely 100% satisfied. Nowadays (as if I’m 80), the Internet provides boundless territory for anyone. Even with parental security settings, it’s still alarming to think what’s available to innocent surfers.

What to Do?
All the more reason I think we need to teach self-control in lieu of policing a list of rules. With today’s fenceless technology culture, you’ll never build a list of rules long enough.

Flashback
FYI - recently Ninentyandnine featured an article on parents and TV choices. Check out "The Terror of the Tube."