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Television and Child Development:
Not so innocent as Barney the purple dinosaur
William E. Bennett IV
Child Psychology
Professor LaLiberte
April 14, 2003
In today’s culture one does not have to worry about what each night will hold for them with regards to entertainment. Back in the good old days before television people had to go out for something to do. ... As long as it does not interfere with “Law & Order,” “Alias,” or “CSI:Crime Scene Investigation.”
Ok well perhaps society on average has not become THIS obsessed with the glowing box most have come to know and love, but when we call Thursday night Must See TV night then that my suggest a sleight addiction. ... As soon as the commercials begin to roll everyone runs into the hallway to discuss what was happening or to complain how “Joe Millionaire” did not end the way we all expected. Unless you enjoy spending your night watching the television with friends you better find something else to do quick, even though you will probably be alone since the odds are your friends will be glued to the tube. ... 77 hours of television a day.
-Over a year this adds up to 52 straight days a year, or approximately 1/7
of a year
-By the age of 65 the total of television watched totals close to 9 years. ... )
Generally, in our culture, we are addicted to the television. The typical school child will watch more television in their school career than actually be in the classroom learning. Wait a minute…that does not sound right. ... With all this exposure to television one must wonder what effect it has on its viewers. On a first glance I would think not since I do not see children walking around living their life as if they are the next “American Idol” or a “Survivor” living life on bugs and dead animals. But television can be, and is detrimental to the development of children from birth on. ... Pediatricians recommend that children under the age of 2 should not view television at all. At this early stage of brain development there is an enormous amount of growth that TV interferes with. ... This window of opportunity is the best time for brain development to occur. ...
Child and parent bonding during the first decisive years can greatly affect the development of a child’s brain and the degree of that child’s potential. In articles in both Time and Newsweek, TV was never mentioned as to be beneficial to the development of a child. Instead it is said to rob children of their own precious playtime and crucial parent-child bonding. Both of these are vital to development of intelligence as well as imagination. Rather than tuning into the dancing purple dinosaur Barney, there are many activities suggested for replacements to ‘the tube. ... Watching television may cause a child to become over stimulated and irritable which may harm their growing neurological systems. Worse than irritability, shorter attention spans and hyperactivity (ADD, ADHD) may be results of television.
Television can interfere with the brains development of intelligence, thinking skills, and imagination. A major thing necessary for intelligence is being able to distinguish what is real and what is not and being able to apply what is learned to new situations. This is something that a school does, but not television. Television presents its story straightforward to a viewer. ... An activity like reading, however, demands more of a child intellectually, which can be extremely unexpected by a child who for most of his life has been spoon-fed information by the television (LimiTv, n. ... When everything is presented in moving pictures nothing is left to the child to interpret. TV does not foster skill necessary to be able to think abstractly, such as about a book, a conversation, or even just what is outside the window.
Television can also interfere with the amount of time it takes a child to learn to read. ... Children hear spoken words from the TV but are not interacting; they are not practicing. ... A child who is read to and directly spoken with is aided in his or her speech development.
Approximate Word count = 3391
Approximate Pages = 13.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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