disadvantage of television**

The television has a lot of advantages, but like all scientific inventions, while it provides a lot of entertainment and knowledge to us it also has some disadvantages. The main disadvantage of television is that by providing indoor entertainment to people it has decreased the level of social interaction between people. It has especially adversely affected family ties, because while in earlier years when there was no television, children and parents spent more quality time together, now they are just glued in front of the television and don't give a lot of time to each other. It can also influence kids in a bad way if they watch the programs full of violence and crime, but then that can be monitored by the parents and they can see to it that they do not watch anything that influences them negatively. As I see it, the major disadvantage of television is that it has weakened family bonds.

*** It can cause you to gain weight



It's pretty intuitive that spending the evening parked in front of the T.V. doesn't burn a lot deal of calories. In fact, sitting quietly in front of the television set burns a paltry 68 calories per hour. Not exactly a formula for good health and fitness. Combine that with the high calorie snacks most people consume while watching that suspenseful television sit-com and you can see how watching T.V. can quickly pack on the pounds. One smart move not many people make is to exercise while they watch television. If more people parked an exercise bike in front of the T.V. instead of a recliner, the world would be a healthier place.

***It wastes time

Television watchers should keep a log of the hours they choose to sit in front of the "boob tube". After they experience the shock of realizing how much time they've wasted, they could then make a list of ways to use that time more productively. Some suggestions might be: spend time with family, friends, and pets; start a part-time business; meditate or pray; play a sport; or pick up a hobby. They just might discover there's more to life than what's happening on the latest reality show. You can bet when people come to the end of their life they don't regret not having watched more T.V.

***Effects of TV on Children***

videos - Developing the imagination of our youngest generation
During the ages of three to six years, children learn and acquire important social skills and values which will shape the person they become. Television and videos are a part of many children's lives and we know that early childhood television viewing experiences have long term implications for children's development.

To fully understand the impact of video viewing on young children in Australia, Disney commissioned a 'world first' independent study of the television and video viewing habits of children aged between three and six years.


The study found that Disney videos encourage children to be 'active viewers', frequently incorporating events and characters into their 'pretend play'. Pretend play is one of the most essential activities during childhood. Through pretend play, children develop language skills, imagination, creativity and the ability to take another's perspective.


Disney videos promote positive social messages by showing children the importance of honesty, trust, loyalty, fairness and friendship. Dr Skouteris found that when watching Disney films, the majority of children recognise the difference between good and evil and value certain characteristics such as bravery and a sense of humour.



Repeated viewing of animated Disney videos (five or more times) was also found to be an extremely common and positive experience. Repeat viewing is associated with greater enjoyment, greater appreciation and understanding of the storyline and children wanting to partake in more frequent pretend play.


Dr Skouteris maintains that co-viewing (parents watching the videos with their children) and repeat viewing of videos facilitate children's understanding of the storyline. With a greater level of understanding, children are more likely to pretend to be characters, recite lines, and sing songs from the video, all of which make watching a video an active rather than passive experience. Co-viewing has the added benefit of providing close family time where parents can make a point of discussing the various themes presented in the videos and answering any questions children might have.

To further understand the impact of Disney videos on early childhood development, Disney has commissioned a phase two study to be conducted by Dr Skouteris, the results of which will be available in mid 2003.
Disney is committed to bringing its special type of magic to Australia's youngest generation. The Walt Disney Collection titles are the epitome of healthy viewing and will bring entertainment and delight to both young and old alike.

How TV affects the child??

Most kids plug into the world of television long before they enter school.
*two-thirds of infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of 2 hours a day
*kids under age 6 watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day, primarily TV and videos or DVDs
*kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost 2 additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) and playing video games.

The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development.

As kids get older, too much screen time can interfere with activities such as being physically active, reading, doing homework, playing with friends, and spending time with family.

Of course, television, in moderation, can be a good thing: Preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet on public television, grade schoolers can learn about wildlife on nature shows, and parents can keep up with current events on the evening news. No doubt about it — TV can be an excellent educator and entertainer.

But despite its advantages, too much television can be detrimental:

*Children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching TV are more likely to be overweight.
*Kids who view violent acts are more likely to show aggressive behavior but also fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them.
*TV characters often depict risky behaviors, such as smoking and drinking, and also reinforce gender-role and racial stereotypes.

Effects of Television on Children

Television has become a "member" of almost every single family on our planet. And not just an ordinary member, but a very important one, because the time spent next to it exceeds the amount of time spent together with any other family member.

Children are mainly exposed to television, television violence and television culture at home. Thus parents play a vital role in helping children to make sense of what they see on the television. These days television influences the lives of young children and it is only going to get worst with each passing year. It is very challenging for young children to make choices of what programs they should watch. Because of the lack of experience they need more help from adults. Pulling children away from television programs is a challenge.
Some Horrifying facts about media violence in children's lives:-

*By the end of elementary school, the average child will have seen 8,000 murders and 100,000 other violent acts in the media.


*Children's cartoons and action programs average more than 20 acts of violence per hour, compared with 5 acts per hour during prime-time hours.


*The sale of Mighty Morphin Power Ranger products (based on the extremely violent TV show) surpassed $1 billion in 1994.


*More than $3 billion of products related to the Star Wars movie have been sold worldwide.

You can develop TV rules for home. Please make sure that as a parent you follow them as well and be consistent. You can come up with some rules as for example, TV only on weekends, no TV before school, no TV after dinner, no violent shows, etc. This plan of action will be more effective if you develop these rules with your child because she/he will feel that her/his voice is heard. The more meaningful and understandable a rule is for a child, the more likely it will work.

Help the child understand a true meaning of hero-that the real heroes are those who work hard and make a world a better place for example, parents, teachers, doctors, firefighters, etc. are real heroes.