Children Who Watch Television Spend Less Time Reading or Drawing Than Children Who Do Not
Children Who Watch Television Spend Less Time Reading or Drawing Than Children Who Do Not
It has always been thought that family plays the most important role in a child’s life; however, the situation has recently changed, and much influence is made by television. It is hardly possible to find a household without a television; usually there are even more than one screen in a house. Many children have TV sets in their rooms and consider sitting in front of a screen to be much better way of spending time than any other activity. In his article, Hoffman (2003) mentions that “the average American child spends every day about 3 hours in front of television and only 45 minutes he or she devotes to reading”. A six-month old baby can also stare at the screen without understanding anything. Baby’s attention is drawn by a number of changing pictures accompanied by sounds. By the age of seven-eight, watching television becomes more comprehensive; the child is able to realize what is real and what is not. At the age of eleven, the child is able to make conclusions, correlate deeds of characters with his/her own deeds, in other words, to distinguish good from bad and analyze the situation. However, it is necessary to be aware of the fact that if to allow watching television from the early childhood not limiting time, the child will spend the whole day in front of TV. As a consequence, it will be difficult for the child to distinguish reality from television story. Today’s children grow up with a stream of entertainment, and there is no space for reading and drawing. There are emerging concerns regarding time children spend watching television since it can make a huge effect on the development of a child’s perception.
According to David (2013), in 2005, there were 40% of children, who read daily; however, in 2011, the percentage has reduced to 30%. It is caused by the fact that children’s eyes are glued to different devices. Children are no longer interested in reading books. However, we cannot blame them for spending time in front of screen rather than reading a story or drawing. In his article, Shapiro (2013) claims, “parents do not provide children with good reading behaviors, children do not feel comfortable with books”. There is no doubt that if parents start buying books and start reading themselves, this will encourage children. It is also necessary to add that drawing also plays a very important role in children’s development. With the help of drawing, children are taught to express their emotions and become more confident; however, within time, they lose enthusiasm for drawing, so it is vitally important to encourage them to draw. Since parents are usually very busy and do not have enough free time to spend with their children, they are also expected to be busy; thus, this gap is filled with screen time. In her research, David (2013) claims, “children who read and draw for pleasure, have good memory, confidence, greater self-esteem and general knowledge. Reading and drawing build empathy, improve imagination and language development”. In the time of technological progress, parents should preserve the art of reading and drawing for pleasure.
However, even though children spend not much time in front of television, it is necessary to control the quality of the programs. American Academy of Pediatrics (2010) claims that “even innocuous children’s programs use specific effects to concentrate children’s attention”. Usually, children who watch much TV are not able to concentrate since there is often much noise and silly voices on television. While watching television, little concentration is required. However, if you are reading or drawing, it is necessary to maintain attention for a long time. Concerning age peculiarities, children under 2 are not recommended at all to watch television. At that age, it would be much better to explore the world around and socialize with people. Nowadays, children have to teach to be still – to have a still mind and be able to concentrate on a story. The rhythm of life is really fast; as a result, children simply do not have a habit to read or draw. In such a situation, it is necessary to control time children spend in front of television. What is more, it is vitally important that parents review all the programs their children watch. Undoubtedly, there are some educational TV programs that make a positive impact on language development. Owing to this, children enlarge their vocabulary and become able to express their thoughts. It is recommended to stick to 2-hour limit, but it is also necessary to offer children alternatives to watching television. For example, children can be offered listening to music, reading, drawing, or even playing outdoors.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (2010) consider ”amount of time spent on watching tel
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