Negative Effects Of Television On Children

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Most small children are glued to the television long before it is time for them to begin school. In fact, Slater (713) state that two-thirds of toddlers watch television an average of 2 hours a day, while children under the age of 6 watch about 2 hours of screen media a day, as well as games and DVD’s. The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. Television and other electronic media can interfere with a child exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others. A close examination of how this interference affects small children positively and negatively will be identified in this research. Atkins (708) explains that most of us are generally aware that television is not the healthiest of activities, …show more content…

The author goes on to say some shows on tv are actually educational and good for kids. There are a number of great children’s television programs that are popular among small children, such as Sesame Street and Blues Clues. These two shows actually engage kids in ways that are good for small children. But, when children watch television regularly, the effects can be harmful. Since the majority of the shows on television, including cartoons, are not what could be considered educational, it has been found that spending more time watching these shows is linked with poorer school performance overall and decreased scores on standardized tests. So, it would seem to make sense that the more time a child spends in front of a television means less time spent on homework or having stimulating interactions with adults or other children. Also, watching TV late at night is a bad habit for children to get into. This habit makes children tired, so that they can’t pay attention in school. Television shares with young kids all the answers, which promotes passive learning and short attention spans. As a result, kids have difficulty concentrating and working hard to solve a

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