Its obvious that a lot of what is on television is filth. It seems like swear words are out of control, images, sexual content, and violence are saturated in the current television shows and commercials. Whats even more concerning is the fact that television shows for children have subliminal messages that the adults may find entertaining. Most moms with young children are in control of what the kids watch, being a nanny i have had similar experiences with this. I know that there are some shows that i absolutely will not watch. They are just far too obnoxious or annoying. But there are some shows that i know the kids will like and i will too because they throw humor in there that can be entertaining to me as well.
This is just in kids shows alone. There are certainly times when children are in the room when adults are watching their shows, which may just be shows such as Seinfeld or The Office.
Its easy to excuse that the "adult" humor will just go over their heads or that they are too young to understand what it means...but how true is this??
I think kids are like sponges especially those that are ten and younger. They absorb everything that they see and hear.
The littl
e girl that I nanny for is 8 and she was playing with one of her little friends. They were playing barbies and the little girl wanted her barbie to be a lesbian because she saw two girls kissing on TV and of course boys have cooties. It was amazing to me that an 8 year old even knew the word lesbian or what it meant.
e girl that I nanny for is 8 and she was playing with one of her little friends. They were playing barbies and the little girl wanted her barbie to be a lesbian because she saw two girls kissing on TV and of course boys have cooties. It was amazing to me that an 8 year old even knew the word lesbian or what it meant. I think that as much as parents try to protect their children and keep them blissfully ignorant, television is breaking down that wall and "enlightening" them to reality faster than necessary. I know that i learned a lot about adult topics through television at a very young age when my parents thought i was too naive to know what was going on. I think kids are smarter than we give them credit for and its not hard for them to put together the pieces.
My question then is: Do adult images and messages on television really impact the young minds of children or are the concepts too mature and abstract for them to really grasp?
And if the answer is Yes... What can parents do about it? Should they stop and address the topic every time a child sees or hears something that is inappropriate?
22 comments:
I think that TV definitely influences children and they do soak up a lot more than we think or hope. I also had the experience of being a nanny, and I was shocked at some of the things that were included in "kid" shows. I think that parents need to be aware of what their kids are watching and not just assume that if it's on a "kid channel" that it is appropriate. The moral standards on television are sometimes much lower than what we would want our kids to ascribe to.
I think the fact that the child that you nanny for knew the word lesbian is also a product of the overall decaying society around us. A generation ago there was rarely any gay or lesbian characters if any at all.
YES! TV influences children, and they can learn things that parents think they are completely skimming over on not only tv shows but movies as well.
I was a babysitter for about 3 years in high school. One of the only ways to get all of the kids to sit and be quiet was to take them to a movie. One of the movies I took them to was, The Cat in the Hat, this isn't a particularly great example, but their are a few acronyms used such as S.H.I.T. that two of the three kids connected to the cuss word.
Also, parents can help by somewhat controlling the shows their children are watching. The channels they are watching however, may be easier to control.
I definitely believe adult images and messages on television impact the young minds of children. I mean, some of the concepts may be over their heads, but they can pick up on the negative things going on.
I felt like my parents did a decent job at keeping me ignorant to the "filth" on TV as a child. We didn't have cable growing up, they hardly ever watched PG-13 movies, and they made sure we didn't see them until we were 13. I remember in elementary school I had no idea what the curse words were, until a friend told me by whispering them in my ear when I asked her to, and even then I couldn't remember because I had never heard them or caught them before. I don't remember my parents addressing anything negative when I was little, because I honestly don't think I was exposed to that much of it.
I think when children come across things they shouldn’t be seeing or hearing on television, it is the responsibility of the parent to first, teach the children to turn it off, and second, explain why it’s not acceptable for us to view and hear those things. We should explain that being in those situations can affect our own behavior and personal judgment, and we should also explain that others may believe and act in a way that really isn’t acceptable. We should teach them to listen to their instincts in knowing what is really o.k. vs. what’s not.
I think children are definitely impacted by what they see on TV, even if they don't understand it all. It is even more worrisome when they don't understand it and start bringing those things they see into their daily conversations and actions. Television can be a great learning tool for children if the shows they watch are monitored by parents or adults. I think it is definitely a parents responsibility to make sure that their child is not watching inappropriate television shows. I would hope that parents recognize this. I also hope that parents see that while television can be a positive thing, there are many other better learning tools available to kids today.
As a child I watched and enjoyed a lot of films--kids shows even. And now I'll go back and watch them, remembering how much I enjoyed them, and be appalled. I wonder to myself, "How did I miss so much?!! How did I not SEE that." But the truth is, there were a lot of things that went over my head. Parents often use this as an excuse to allow their children to watch anything. But I think this is dangerous, because they are allowing their children to make bonds with these movies/shows that they, like me will probably go back and watch. And they are also underestimating how much of what's their their children really see. Our generation is not the same as this one. I think a lot of things went over our heads, but this generation is fed a stream of these ideas and themes on a constant basis. Sooner or later things are bound to soak in. With those children growing up today, I'm more inclined to think sooner rather than later.
I believe its true that adult / mature television influences children in negative ways as it expresses concepts that children are either not ready to deal with, or are not prepared to deal with by their parents. It is probably a good idea to overestimate how much information children are capable of absorbing rather than underestimating and regretting it later. As far as what parents can do, its probably better to shield really young children from mature content, and when children become older, sit down and speak to them about content on television. I think this is a good way parents can teach their children correct principles and help them make correct choices instead of trying to act like a super-filter for mature concepts. That said, for young children, as I mentioned earlier, its probably better to help them avoid viewing some kinds of programing outright until they reach a certain age.
Even if children don't understand the content, they see the adult's reaction and questions start to form in the head about what these things mean. Any parent that does not want to address those subjects with their children at a young age should not be watching that sort of content themselves and then they would have less of a problem to address. The children may still find content in other places but they will see less of it and recognize that it is not something their parents endorse.
I think television can definitely give kids the wrong ideas about things. I also think parents should limit what kind of media they allow their children to watch. It should never get to the point where they have to stop and explain anything.
I think TV has a huge impact on children, even if adults try to look past it thinking the children are too naive. I think it is better for parents to try to monitor what their children watch, rather than letting the child hear something and then have to ask the parents. Though it is virtually impossible to monitor everything a child sees or hears, it is better to try to control is somewhat rather than thinking, "oh well, they'll find out one day anyway."
TV influences children, and so does everything else around them, but parents can have a huge impact on mitigating the negative effects media can have on a child. They can teach whenever a child is introduced to a new concept. Instead of allowing the media to dictate what they think, they just allow media to introduce the subject, then correct what was improperly taught.
Media, especially TV, are massive socializing agents. Many young people learn normative assumptions about how the world works through the lens of the television. With that comes mis perceptions of how the world really is.
However, it is parents who are the ones who are allowing their children to spend time watching TV instead of taking the opportunity to be a positive socializing agents in their children's life.
We live in a world that certainly does not have the same standards as we hold. There are unavoidable images and subjects that we and our children will eventually come across. That is why it is important to follow the admonition of our church leaders to live in the world but not be of the world. If parents teach correct principles to their children, they can help them find their way in a world full of terror and smut.
i remember when i was little and watching movies that at the time i thought were so good and innocent and i had no clue they were cracking sexual innuendos in every scene and making other crude jokes. it wasn't until i was older and went back and watched these shows that i realized all the inappropriate content in them. so i think kids to a certain extent really are just oblivious to things like that.
Kids definitely can learn about adult subjects from television, however, that understanding obviously gets developed as one grows older. I think television is not inherently bad, but it can be a bad influence. I think that nothing should ever replace quality time that parents spend with children.
I completely agree. Children mimic the world around them. When they hear a swear word on TV, you can bet they will start saying it even if they don't know what it means. Parents need to start teaching their children themselves instead of relying on television to do it for them. Sometimes I feel like exposure to the media is robbing the innocence of youth.
Yes, children do learn a lot from TV and do soak it all up like a sponge. My niece is the very same way. And I think the best thing to do as a parent is to consciously remove those things that teach harmful things to children. Not that we have to shelter our children from the world, but that we control their learning where we can. We can use the young ages to teach correct doctrine and principles. And we can make sure they aren't seeing us laugh and enjoy something that is inappropriate.
I think that as members of the Church, we can set good standards for ourselves, even as adults, and not have to worry about children. There are things that I would have never understood at a young age that my younger siblings know about. I think kids today are smarter than we were and pick up on things more easily. This gives us reason to be even more careful about what we are watching.
I agree, children are sponges and are much more observant than we think or give them credit for. I saw this very evident when my brother was little, even in adult conversation, just the things he would pick up, then use out of context with his friends. (Obviously this was the same with television.) TV is definitely becoming very borderline for the young audience, so I think the best thing parents can do is actually watch TV with their kids, know what they are watching so they can turn off certain shows or further explain things, so the children will not later use it out of context or inappropriately.
I think TV most definately influences children's minds. It is amazing how young children today are de-sensitized from what is on TV. They are just use to it. It is an interesting dilemna. Parents need to protect their children, but they don't want to shelter them too much. Teachings correct principles and letting them govern themselves may be a good approach
TV definitely influences children. It create a infatuation with guns and leads to toy guns and violate games on the playground. I don't think that we can blame the rise in violence on TV. I think that other factors play into our societies rise in violence.
I think that TV and images can definitely have a huge impact on children. They may not fully comprehend the situation, but kids are generally smarter than we think. They absorb and are influenced by everything. As parents you either need to block bad things on your television and/or keep an open line of communication between you and your kids so they know they can get explanations and guidance on the things they are watching.
Post a Comment