Children are spending more and more time in front of the television. In fact, watching TV is now something most children prioritize over playing with their peers. At the same time, new research shows that children are having increasing difficulty in expressing themselves and verbalizing their thoughts. This leads to frustration and aggression. Is there a connection between these two statements? Is increased television viewing a health hazard or a step in the right direction? Does TV prepare children for their future or does it just give them a false picture of reality? It is not difficult to see the damage to children who spend too much time in front of the TV. I am convinced that excessive television viewing is harmful to children. I can agree that television viewing can stimulate the imagination, but to a certain limit. When it becomes an addiction, when the child, for example, stops hanging out with her friends to the same extent as before, it has gone too far. One should consider the research, that it is harmful with too much television viewing for children, very seriously.
In the morning when I get up, usually around 6:30, it is not uncommon for my little sister to have already been watching TV for an hour; the first thing she does when she wakes up is to run down and turn on the TV. When she comes home from school she sits in the same place as in the morning, whether she is alone or with friends. I am quite sure that Geordine can recite a big part of the TV tableau by heart. When you call her name she reacts, if you're lucky, after the third time. I myself remember when I was little and watched cartoons in the morning. It was as if hypnotized - I forgot about the time and place while I lived in the TV fantasy world.
It is certainly a relief for many parents to put their children in front of the TV for a little while, just to get some peace and quiet. In my case, my parents were pretty hard on that and I would not watch that much TV when I was a kid, maybe it's why I do not watch that much TV today.
