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Television - Asset or Liability for Children

The parental dilemma of choosing good programming

As a parent I was not very pleased with TV for my children. PBS offers a wide variety of great programming as do some of the cable stations however parents today are faced with more and more programming on prime time that is not age appropriate for young children. In response many have moved to videos and DVD's to provide the quality programming they seek for their children. But there are other issues about the use of TV that go beyond just the content.

Today TV is being blamed for the many children in America that are over weight. It is being blamed for children having short attention spans. On and on the claims go to berate TV and its value for children. Some of the accusations I think are unfair. TV, after all, is part of the life of nearly all children in the country on a daily and even hourly basis. TV can be and is a valuable tool that parents can use.

Parents are always looking for “good programming”, which is programming that their children will enjoy and from which their children will receive some benefits. Parents are bombarded with advertising about how wonderful all these products are. From the mass marketing of Disney and Barney to a wide variety of other video products that all have claims that they are “educational” and watching the video will “make your child smarter.” What's true? Where do I find the best entertainment with educational content for my child?

I asked myself these same questions when my children were younger. There are products that claim, “Children will become geniuses” by watching objects or by passively listening to music. Passive TV, mesmerizing TV… I'm not sure I believe that it will help make anyone smarter. If parents want to use products that keep their children's attention and in essence, baby-sit them for a while, allowing them time to accomplish other tasks… I really don't have a problem with this. It makes the TV an electronic mobile to entertain and mesmerize their child. It gives them time away from their child. However, I'm not sure that visual/audio products with limited studies on rats and college students are the answer.

I believe that involvement is an important part to learning. A hands-on, movement oriented and multi-sensory approach gets my attention. If you tell me I will forget. If you show me I might remember but if you involve me I will learn what Confucius taught over 2000 years ago and I think holds true today. I also believe that TV can be used as a much more interactive and involving medium that turns viewers into doers.

We Sign offers a different approach to TV use for children. We don't seek to have children become smarter and learn more just through passive viewing. We sign offers programs for children, parents, teachers and caregivers that encourages active participation, active learning, active involvement, active use of Multiple Intelligences. We encourage parents to use the videos as active educational entertainment that not only can allow parents to attend to other tasks, but also provides everyone with a participatory activity that can be performed with or without a TV. That's right, what other videos tell parents to shut off the TV and participate in the songs they have learned.