Capstone: Children and TV

Capstone: Children and TV

Part 1

Children spend numerous hours on the television; this means that they are exposed to a different type of content, which may affect them positively and negatively. Many studies have been carried out to identify the health and psychological impact of such behaviors. Television is virtually like wallpaper for the majority of families with kids. In the course of the week, most of the United States children devote several hours a day watching television; these hours tend to increase on weekends, this category encompasses the preschoolers.

Watching television is linked to several adverse health and school outcomes, social, psychological impacts on children. As a matter of fact, the hours spend on TV a day could be used to do other constructive things in children’s lives, such activities include physical activities, spending time with family, eating with siblings, reading for entertainment or taking part in other school activities. As time passes, the tendency of children to spend more time on television has increased.

The young ones who own television are their sleeping are have a tendency to watch kore, and they have a high probability of becoming obese. According to the report released by CDC in 2007, children who lack television in their bedroom are considered minority. This category encompasses those who are between the ages of 6-17 years. Surprisingly, there is a significant difference across the nation in these statistics: as the highest proportion recorded is 69% in Mississippi, and the lowest case is 24% in Utah. According to the evidence available, the American Academy of Pediatrics commends that the young ones must not spend more than two hours per 24 hours, and the children under the age of 2 years should not be allowed to watch television (Condry, 2017).

The main contributors, in this case, is the parents, they have the sole duty to control the behavior of their children. Most of them are the ones who contribute to the addiction of such behaviors. When a parent purchases a television set for his or her child, such parent is perceived as the root of the problem. Besides, the parents should stipulate rules and guidelines to be followed by children when it comes to doing anything at home. Parents fail to enforce some regulations restricting their children’s behaviors related to the television. The other significant contributors to this problem are the society at large. The society has instilled a belief in parents and children that TV is the best form of entertainment and also a basic need. It is tough to find a home without a television set in the United States. This notion has significantly contributed to the behavior of children when it comes to television. Finally, the media houses are other players in this problem. They have made society believe that TV is the best option for children. In addition to this, they have created numerous programs, including cartoons, as a way of entertaining children.

The first cause of the problem is the advancement in technology and civilization. Unlike many years ago, when televisions were not affordable, TV can be purchased using a few hundred dollars. The other cause is the change in culture. People have acquired a culture of getting entertained by electronic media like television. Some of the traditional forms of entertainment have been neglected. The first impact of watching television is the lack of proper concentration in the classroom as the young ones are used to visuals; this results in poor performance in school. This habit is likewise associated with the health effects of the major one being obesity. Besides, it promotes the development of aggressive or antisocial behavior in children (Cohen, 2017).

Part 2

The first cause of the issue is the parents. They are the boss of the family. Besides, they have control over everything happening around their kids. They can dictate what is right or wrong for the family. Consequently, they are the major contributor to this issue as they are the ones who fund the purchase of the set. Parents have the moral duty to control the behavior of the young ones; they have to instill discipline whenever need be. Therefore, their decision to allow children to spend most of their time on television contributes significantly to the problem. The other major cause of this problem is the society, as discussed earlier; society has played a central role in developing this problem. This is following its tendency to instill a notion on people that television is a source of entertainment for the children. It put more emphasis on television more than it does on other contractive activities like education. Thirdly, the media houses have contributed to this problem; they are the source of most of the content watched by children. Technology has allowed children to access various contents through the television, unlike some times back; people are able to access internet content through the smart television set. This aggravates the problem as children are likely to access content that has not been screened like nudity and pornography as well as violent materials, which may have a significant impact on them. Thirdly, civilization has presented watching of television as a necessity for every home. This means that almost every home in the US has access to television programs. Civilization has indirectly obliged parents to purchase a television set even if they do not need one. Currently, it is illogical for a family to live without a television; this is the impact of civilization. The last group of individuals who contribute to this issue is the children themselves. If they can change their behavior, there would be no problem to deal with.

The significant impact associated with the above causes is a lack of physical activities, which eventually leads to obesity (Zhang et al., 2015). A good number of children in the US are overweight; this present other health risks like cardiovascular conditions and diabetes (Rosiek et al., 2015). Also, poor performance in school is another effect of watching television. Much time is spent doing less constructive things; this time could be used constructively to improve one’s grade. The exposure to ads related to drugs like tobacco and alcohol may promote negative behavior among children. They are likely to experiment with how such practices feel, and this may eventually make them addicts. The study shows that the most advertised beverage on the television is alcohol; such ads are likely to promote the child’s curiosity to try such substances. Finally, children are exposed to violent content, which may contribute to the development of antisocial or aggressive behavior. Also, this may be associated with behaviors like suicide, murder, among others in teens.

In general, the majority of these cases could have been prevented by the establishment of a simple rule: No watching television beyond one or two hours. Unlike other habits like aggressiveness, which are hard to control, watching television is a habit that can be controlled in a single day (Kostyrka-Allchorne, Cooper & Simpson, 2017). The primary player in the development of this issue is the parents; they are the leaders of the household. This means that their decision regarding children and television is the ultimate one. Additionally, the current television sets have parental control functionality that allows parents to control access to specific programs. Further, this functionality may prevent children from accessing television at particular times or hours.

Part 3

The parents can enforce the most important resolution to this issue. They have authority, obligation, and duty to protect their children from any harm. Therefore, the solution to this problem lies within their powers. Parents must start using parental guidance and control functionality on their television. This is important in controlling the behaviors of the children when it comes to watching television. They can control the nature of content to be accessed by children as well as the time when the content is accessed. This may provide the ultimate solution to the problem. The good thing about the proposed solution is that it is realistic and feasible. This solution is practical as it is not hindering children from watching television at all; it is only putting some restrictions. The parents can likewise discuss and agree with children on when to watch television and do other essential activities like reading and cycling.

Both positive and negative impacts accompany this solution. Children may dedicate the hours spent on television doing other important things like reading and interacting with others. Further, their health is likely to alleviate following the adoption of positive behavior like exercising. On the other hand, parents will have an extra responsibility of ensuring that their children are sticking to the established plan. Further, they may incur some financial costs following the purchase of other materials and devices to be used in physical activities and entertainment. Also, their guidance is required in this case to control and facilitate various activities. Some of the children may be opposed to the proposed solution; this may eventually lead to conflict between the two parties. The barriers to this resolution are a lack of cooperation from the children’s side. Also, they may be knowledgeable enough to cram or guess the password to the parental control panel. Further, parents cannot stay all day indoors to supervise children’s behaviors. The advantage of the solution is its feasibility and realistic. The disadvantage associated with the solution is that children may miss educative television programs.