Children and the Media

My views on children and the media are that I think that most television shows and video games are inappropriate and offer exposure to situations and behaviors that effect children in negative ways. I am constantly amazed at the things that I watch on television with my children and the many shows that are age appropriate but have inappropriate information. My daughter watches Jon & Kate Plus 8 and during the commercials, there was advertising for a show about people that killed other people and took the law into their own hands. My daughter wanted to know what it was because the music that played in the background was attracting her attention. I was discussed and have not let her watch any shows or commercials without my being present.

I think that children should be allowed to watch television around age two, but only educational programs or programs that offer a positive message that can be discussed between the parent and the child. I think that television viewing should be limited to one hour a day at the most so that it is seen as a treat or a time to sit down with parents and their child. Television, Internet and video games can be monitored by not allowing their use without a parent present, by having channels locked out so that they cannot be accessed by children, and by allowing children to have access to a computer that is set up for their age appropriate activities only.