Television is so often criticized as being bad for children that often a valuable piece of information most often is overlooked: certain groups of programs may actually broaden a child's intellectual development. Television has received a bad wrap, if parents got involved in what their children were watching they would see the benefits in using television as a learning device. The main benefits children derive from watching television are education, entertainment and social skills.
Television has tremendous potential to impart education to children. While children are given formal education in schools, the knowledge obtained from watching television is impossible or at least very difficult to obtain through other means. Certain channels like the Discovery channel and the National Geographic channel focus exclusively on content aimed at improving the knowledge of its viewers. For example, there are programs about travel and tourism, which give information about various countries, people and places around the world. The videos, pictures, commentary and music which accompany the shows generate an effect which is difficult to obtain by simply reading a book or listening to someone lecture. There are also programs that deal with scientific issues, which use effective techniques such as magnification, slow motion video, time lapse photography, computerized models and animation. These techniques are used to demonstrate a particular issue which makes learning an exciting experience.
Apart from the educational value that television presents, it also has a great ability to entertain. Children today are subjected to a lot more stress when compared to children twenty years ago. Television brings entertainment almost as a sense of relief which is essential for a child's well being. Young children find cartoon programs most interesting. These types of programs provide children with a sense of escape, an imaginary world if you will, but also teaches valuable skills and moral values.
