Influence of Television Programs on Children

Before there was video, children had options of playing outside, playing board games, or doing simple activities like reading or drawing. Now that TV exists to a high extremity, it has become app arnt that right awaya mean solar days these children takes absorb surpassed physical and able activities and go for now become a way of life for children. We now see children wearing clothing, playing characterisation games, playing with toys, and abide bying movies featuring far-famed characters that started off as mere creations that starred on half- mo to single hour long programs.Whether it is a positive or negative happening, children program is becoming a global phenomenon affecting many kids around the world. The virtually relevant questions posed are how these manifests affect children inside and outside of the US, and is this moot issue affecting these children for the wear out or for the worse. It is clear that children within the coupled States piddle become indu lged with computers, video games, and, most evidently, telly. Nickelodeon in particular(a) has been coming out with s butts made just for younger children over the at last decade.An example of this would be Dora the Explorer. As Dora celebrates her 10th year on air, ratings and gross gross sales show that this Latina is here to stay. In an article from dayton Daily tidings in Dayton, Ohio, Sigal Ratner-Arias addresses this bilingual girls journey into the hearts of millions of children. Today, Dora is seen in 151 antithetic markets and has been translated to 30 different languages. She appears in countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Ireland and teaches Spanish.However, enchantment this busy girl teaches Spanish to English-speaking countries, she also teaches English to Latino countries (Ratner-Arias n. pag). According to Nickelodeon, Dora has generated over $11 billion in worldwide sales since 2002 having sold 65 million units of Fisher Price Dora t he Explorer toys, 50 million books and over 20 million DVDs worldwide, writes Ratner-Arias (Ratner-Arias n. pag). For originally macrocosm created as a forest animal, Dora the Explorer has become a global immortal to young children (Ratner-Arias n. pag).An another(prenominal) Nickelodeon star causing global waves is the sponge that lives in a pineapple low the sea, Spongebob Squarepants. Martha Worboy, writer for The Gazette in Montreal, writes active the impact Spongebob Squarepants has had on children around the world. Since this show premiered in July of 1999, Spongebob has advanced himself to be seen in 171 markets and translated into 25 languages (Worboy n. pag). Along with many other shows, Spongebob has been seen in video games, movies, clothing, food, and seen in stores such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Kohls, and Radio Shack (Worboy n. pag).Spongebob has sparked idea amongst children around the world and breeds to grow in popularity of all ages. Two other shows that have s hown signifi ejectt rise around the world are benny Street and dismals Clues. According to an article from Melbourne, Australias theme, The Age, Blues Clues has been seen in 60 different countries and has been translated into 15 different languages (Dunn n. pag). Kids have the ability to interact with a guy named Joe and his cute, blue pup, Blue. Along with Joe, children imprint to solve a mystery that Blue has laid out for them.With this show, children have the ability to be entertained through interaction with an animated puppy that also stimulates their brain. Though Sesame Street has been seen for many years and is exceedingly known, this show still continues to branch out more(prenominal)(prenominal) and more. This Day, a newspaper out of Nigeria stated that later this year, Sesame Street will be introduced as Sesame Square in Nigeria however, with it comes a unique crouch to the characters (This Day n. pag). This show will be hosted by two Muppet characters.One is name d Kami, a golden fur, girl Muppet who is HIV positive, and Zobi, a haired blue, boy Muppet (This Day n. pag). This show has drawn quite the anticipation in Nigeria and heretofore allowed the Nigerian people to vote on a name for the blue furry Muppet (This Day n. pag). With the ongoing advancement of technology and improvement of shows made for children, it house only be wondered how long until the next animated phenomenon is created. Although these television shows have obviously been globalized, they also lead to the question of if the impact they have had on children can truly be een as constructive or harmful. some(prenominal) people have questioned whether or not children shows are in event act the minds of young kids and teaching them divers(a) ways to look at life or, in contrast, poisoning their minds and encouraging them into bad choices and presenting an overall negative effect on their life outside of watching the television. In a Boston periodical, The Jewish Advo cate, Lauren Kramer views a theory brought by Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, director for the infant-language research lab at Temple University.Pasek develops the idea of the Six Cs which creates a recipe for success in young children. These Six Cs are collaboration with others, communication, content, creative, and confidence (Kramer n. pag). Pasek goes on to discuss that none of these can be seen or adapted by watching television. She also states that term content may be seen while watching TV it is in truth just a quick fix and will not emolument children in the long run (Kramer n. pag). Pasek stresses, We know young kids are fall apart when theyre actively rather than passively engaged, and TV is passive, (Kramer n. pag).In this article, Pasek also restores that children under three years of age in no way make from television even if it is Baby Einstein, (Kramer n. pag). Studies have also been conducted trying to determine whether or not watching television to great amounts is af fecting the eating habits and psyche of young children. A study published by US Journal Pediatrics found that more psychological difficulties dealing with peers, aflame issues, and hyper occupation are likely to develop with children who go on numerous hours occasional in front of television or playing video games (YahooNews n. pag). Researchers analyze 1,013 children ages 10 to 11 and had them complete a 25-point questionnaire, a self-report about daily hours watching television or playing games, and measured their physical activity using an accelerometer in which the kids wore around their waist for seven days (Yahoo News n. pag). It was concluded that children spending two or more hours a day were likely to score higher on the questionnaire which indicated, They had more psychological difficulties than kids who did not spend a lot of time in front of a screen, (Yahoo News n. pag).Even if children are physically active tho still spend multiple hours watching television or pla ying video games, they are still at risk for psychological difficulties. Researchers stress the importance of parents regularization how more than these activities are being done to ensure their kids sound being (Yahoo News n. pag). A periodical appearing in Medical post by Amber Lepage-Monette discusses Sonia Miller, a Harvard Medical Student, who conducted a study in 2007 which was a, cross sectional analysis of children taking part in stick out Viva, which followed more than 2,000 pregnant women and their offspring.Data on diet and TV time were collect for 1,203 three-year-old children, (Monette n. pag). After this study was completed, Miller found that for e very extra hour of TV the average child viewed per day, they were in taking 0. 06 extra servings of colewort sweetened beverages per day, 0. 32 additional servings of fast food per week, and an additional 48. 7 calories a day. This research also revealed that these children were consuming 0. 18 fewer harvest-festival and vegetable daily servings along with 0. 44 fewer grams of fiber, and 24. fewer milligrams of atomic number 20 per day (Monette n. pag). Miller notes, Previous studies revealed the association between obesity and TV display is not due to time spent watching TV replacing time spent being physically active, (Monette n. pag). From this it can be seen that parents should be thinking twice before placing their kids in front of the TV for long periods of time. On the counterpoint, while there is a strong consensus that television has a negative impact on children, some say it is very much so educational and beneficial.Amanda Dunn, writer for The Age newspaper in Australia, views opinions of various people about the effect of television on children. chequer Mitchell, star of an Australian show Round the Twist, states that while he enjoys engaging children in his show, he worries that television has and will continue to become a babysitter for kids (Dunn n. pag). Lee Burton, senior le cturer in media education at RMIT University Australia, strongly disagrees and, thinks the babysitter argument is something of a myth, and desires that television is a fine educator and entertainer of children as long as it is regulated, (Dunn n. ag). Even those that find television valuable for children agree that there bespeaks to be some strain of limitation on how much kids are watching. After doing this research and viewing different perspectives, I find myself definite on what I believe is correct for children. I thoroughly believe that television is a essential for children.It enforces creativity and imagination and further emphasizes the importance of creating an individual within oneself. The various shows geared towards children do an exceptional job at giving them the undo from the daily grind that I believe s needed even at a young age. Many shows that are made more for the audience of pre-teens to teenagers also do more than entertain these viewers but also bear o ns to their lives by incorporating real life situations. For example, a show I have always been fond of is Degrassi which is a show filmed in Canada. This show follows teenagers that attend Degrassi Community High School and follows their triumphs, as well as their losses. Degrassi is ideal for teenagers because it allows them to relate to the situations presented as well as relate it to their own lives and where there is comparison.In this show viewers have witnessed relationships, the reality of STDs, a school shooting, a murder, a suicide, and a school lockdown. It is because of me watching this show that I believe television can educate and enlighten as well as entertain. Every age group has a show that does both of these things for them. I also believe that there needs to be limitations on how often kids watch TV. Studies I have mentioned before show that there are many disadvantages and losses the children will endure if they continue to watch as much television as they have b een dish out thus far.People continue to say that they are worried for our generation in the future. Well now there is a simple thing that can be done to assist in shaping a better generation it just needs to be embraced. Children do not need to be at a computer, playing a video game, or watching TV for more than an hour and a half daily. to a greater extent than this limit will lead to more and more regression of the generation. television system shows have become a global phenomenon to children of all ages.Clothing, food, games, toys, and many more can be seen surrounding children due to the popularity of these shows. As good as it may seem to be able to sit back and watch various shows at night, it has been proven to be bad for the development of children and pass up their health and nutritional stability. Whether one believes TV is a positive or negative occurrence, it cannot be denied that there need to be limitations on how much television children are engaged in daily in disposition to support children accomplishing their optimal well being.