What’s the intention?
There use to be a time when kids learn what’s right and what’s wrong by observing the world around them and being inquisitive about events that force emotions upon them, when this happens the kid seeks an adult he feels is trustworthy and wise to try and help him explain how these events make him feel and to know that it’s ok , that an emotion , a feeling that arises as a result of witnessing an event is your body’s way of telling you how you feel about it , mixed emotions that should be discussed and put into perspective to help this kid express him or herself , because confused emotions could lead to many complexes and future mental obstacles.
It use to be the parent’s job or the teacher’s at school, but in today’s world it’s the ever entertaining house hold’s most treasured member of most families the Television !
I know what you’re thinking! I know you probably heard about the effect of TV on children at one point or another and parental control and all that stuff, like the report from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) that states: that most kids plug into the world of television long before they enter school.
Under the age of 8 years, most kids don’t understand that commercials are for selling a product. Children 6 years and under are unable to distinguish program content from commercials, especially if their favorite character is promoting the product. Even older kids may need to be reminded of the purpose of advertising.
So when a big telecommunication company puts an add about a boy, that is attending a foot ball game and sees that the game is going slow and suddenly decides to slip through security (cops) and enter the field as the security (police) shout out to him to stop and run after him to stop him and he completely ignores them and race to kick the ball only to be man handled (dragged by both cops from either side of him by holding his arms) out of the football field and a message is displayed on the screen : something like “take the challenge !”Ok challenge who? The authorities! Break the law if you feel like it, people will cheer for you if you disregard the rules and break the law, and if cops are preventing people from entering a location you are some sort of hero to outsmart them and slip past them? I’m sorry, I really don’t’ get it , it’s just a cheap way of getting people to send SMS messages to collect money with no regards to what sort of example are they setting for children.
With that said I’ll recommend that you talk to kids about what they see on TV and share your own beliefs and values. If something you don’t approve of appears on the screen, you can turn off the TV, then use the opportunity to ask thought-provoking questions such as, “Do you think it was OK when the boy broke the law and ran passed the police men and didn’t stop when they told him to do so?’’ Or “Do you think it was OK when those men got in that fight? What else could they have done? What would you have done?” Or, “What do you think about how those teenagers were acting at that party? Do you think what they were doing was wrong?” If certain people or characters are mistreated or discriminated against; talk about why it’s important to treat everyone fairly, despite their differences. You can use TV to explain confusing situations and express your feelings about difficult topics (sex, love, drugs, alcohol, smoking, work, behavior, family life).
Thank you for reading, I wish you and your family a safe and healthy upbringing.
