TIP 16. TELEVISION VIEWING
Effective parenting plans should include a strategy that protects young minds from inappropriate television programming. Many parents express concerns about the content that is being put on TV these days. It is paramount that we as protectors of their innocence, take the time and effort to ensure that our children are not being exposed to unsuitable shows. Whether it is suggestive ads for 'adult' programs later that night or any of the many programs displaying attitudes and behaviour that would undermine your own efforts to guide your children, we need to be vigilant and set clear guidelines for TV viewing.
These guidelines should include the amount of time the children watch TV, as well as the content viewed. To ensure that our children continue to grow up in a healthy mental state, we need to protect them from many of the events that are current in the news.
Whether it be graphic depictions of war or murder, or any of the many other unsavoury topics that we see daily on the news, we as parents need to shield young minds.
The trouble with TV is that once the image has been flashed upon the screen, it is housed within the child's memory. If the image is brutal or shocking then that image will stay with that child throughout life, and depending upon the individual child's personality, may have an adverse effect upon their lives. The result of these images being imprinted upon young minds can only be guessed at, but without doubt they incite fear and worry in many children.
There is a worrying trend growing across our nation, where TV's are being placed within children's bedrooms. This unfortunately often leads to unrestricted viewing, both in content and time. Children initially do not have the experience or wisdom to decide for themselves what they should or should not watch on TV, it has to be taught them by their parents. If most kids had the option between eating chocolate or vegetables, nearly all would take the chocolate, but we know that eating too much chocolate may attract health problems. In the same way our children have no way of knowing what ill effects they may experience by watching the wrong shows on TV.
Watching TV in the morning before going to school is another unhealthy trend that is limiting our children's intellectual growth. Our children need to face each new day in the best possible mind set, and not carrying around mental baggage from the shows they've been watching.
Dads' Call To Action:
Set some clear guidelines about both the times and the content that your children are allowed to watch on TV. Protect young minds from disturbing images on the news.
(Matthew 6 v 22-23)
"The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!