Silence that idiot box – the distraction of excessive TV

 

The television is a big source of distraction for our children.  They are attracted by the bright colours and sounds that it captures all their attention.  The problem is that they cannot focus on other tasks like doing their homework, art, music, craft and even eating their food.

The main problem is in moderating how much they sit in front of the idiot box.  We have numerous interesting programmes for children on Disney channel, National Geographic, Discovery channel, and cartoon channels.  Children can learn a lot about science, art, craft and general knowledge through these programmes.  But in this process they are glued to the set and miss out on games, books and other activities.

At home, I used to restrict TV time to one hour so that my child could find time for lot of other interesting activities , games, music etc.  To encourage this, spending some time together with the child helps as you could do an activity together with them like playing board games with them or building a project together .   The purpose it to divert their attention from the idiot box.

Also children should not be allowed to watch shows with excessive violence and unsuitable content.  There are also harmful effects of consumerism and advertising that targets children.  Children have another bad habit of watching TV from a close range and this significantly increases the risk of myopia.  Some children need a snack like potato chips to constantly munch while watching  TV and this increases the risk of obesity in children.

This verse by Roald Dahl in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate factory’ just about sums about all what we have said above in a humorous way:

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/television/

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