Hello shadcrest parents! I need an enormous favor. I have a school project, and I need to interview parents. Please, Answer in the comments! 1. What shows do you let your child/children watch and why? 2. Do you think television influenced your child/children? 3. Do you think advertisements on TV are misleading towards children? Please, help!
I'm a mom with five kids who are almost all grown up now. 1.My children never watched TV at all. They did get to watch movies which were carefully screened for values and entertainment. We cared about 'the message' in most movies of which there are many. Hollywoods' values are crystal clear and often conflict with those of most responsible adults. Actors make horrible role models. So we chose movies with good messages, that were uplifting and or beneficial. As they got older, we watched many movies that might have been rated R even for the violence, yet the stories were important and needed to be told. We discusssed these with them. We also watched other movies knowing they had conflicting values to our own.. and discussed what we all thought about it. This was to help them be more aware of the underlying messages of many movies. Movies like The Great Escape, Fiddler on the Roof,October Sky, The Greatest Game Ever Played, the Inn of the Sixth Happiness, and even Schindler's list.. have intrinsic value. They watched plenty of Disney.. but we were picky. Now they watch what they like but still we watch many together. We watched movies that were historically based or based on true stories. October Sky and Iron Will are amazing ones for teens. Of course adventure movies were high on the list too. They watch TV on Hulu and get to skip the commercials. xD Shows like Psyche, Sherlock, Once Upon a Time, Foyles War, Band of Brothers, any nature shows and even the Office ( blech.. lol) are the tv shows on my young adults list at present. Why? Because in our opinion, TV is junk food for the brain. If we had let them, we felt they'd have been likely to play outside less, do less school work, and we felt they would have been less creative. Our kids were never bored because they weren't used to being fed mindless dribble from a machine half the day. We took a 30 day trip in a van cross country (kids ages 10-18) and there was not one complaint about the lack of cell phones, movies, or computer games. We didn't just limit their movies but also their computer time. They read tons of books for fun. They played games, took photos, and chatted. Today, they thank us for having been so strict. They said their public school friends are so amazed at their problem solving abilities and creativity. But they all believe it was because they had to think up their own fun and couldn't get it vicariously through a tv set or computer. Our biggest concern was the moral impact of what was shown. With movies we could pick and choose. Now they are young adults and do watch some tv shows but the impact is negligible because their moral values are set. They don't necessarily hold the exact same values as ours.. but still.. they know what they believe and why.. and aren't swayed by commercials, political views, or immoral standards. They're old enough to make informed decisions. Young children are not able to filter as well as teens and young adults. A study has been done on the impact of TV watching on children. There is a severe and direct correlation between time on the tv or computer and the ability of kids to make mental pictures from the words they read. My kids all tested off the charts in reading and writing. Now, 24 years later, one is a Russian and Pashto translator for the Marines, another is graduating with a Psychology degree, the third is a Research writer in downtown Houston, the fourth was a National Speech and debate winner multiple times and top speaker position for the state of Texas in the NCFCA league. The youngest is a musician and just signed up for dual credit classes. He tested 98 on reading and 99 on writing on the Compass entrance exam. Little did I know what the results of our no-TV experiment would be. But the results are in.. and I'm glad we said NO to mental junk food. 2. No, it didn't because we never gave it a chance to do so. But yes, it influenced both of us as kids which is why we avoided it with ours. 3. Yes I do.. not only for children but for adults as well. Commercials tell us what to buy and what to think, what to aim for as goals for our lives and 99% is based on fallacy and illusion and breeds a certain level of discontent. It gives children impossible goals to live up to whether in terms of values, friendships, appearance, or 'how to be happy'. The reason is simple.TV ads are aimed to sell and to do so subliminally. They create a 'need' and then fill that need with an empty solution. You should read some of the history behind our culture first started being affected by advertising. The same guy who masterminded our advertising campaigns in the US .. counseled Hitler on how to 'reach the masses' in his own country. The power of advertising on all of us can hardly be comprehended. I can't find the youtube video that was so helpful in demonstrating this idea.. but you can read all about it in this article. http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297a/World War II and Propaganda.htm Hope this isn't too much Abdullah and that it helps. Donna C. Rodgers (AnndoynS)
Not too long.. maybe 20 maybe 30 since I had to look up the link to that article. It's a topic close to my heart as I'm sure you can tell. I really have no idea. I didn't have to 'think' too much.. it just all was on my mind.
XD Im not a parent yet, but my view is similar to Anno's. If we time this right, we will have a kid in about a year, and I do plan on strictly regulating what they do. Now I wont be as strict as Anno in the no TV policy, but more encourage them to watch educational things. I know that while I was growing up, i watched alot of history and discovery channel, but only when not watching the science channel. I'll be encouraging my kids to read alot as well. Expanding their horizons is important to me, so when mine finally come along, they will still have TV and video games, but each time they find something to be curious about, rather then deny them, i will do it with them and talk to them about it, but always encourage them to read as well. When I was in the third grade, I was reading books like the lord of the rings, I robot, Don Quixote, and the count of Monte Cristo while my classmates were still reading books i'd come to abhor. Thats the route I will be urging my own children. Towards advanced and intellectual media above their expected level, but media on all levels, not just a few. Though this is probably useless for your project since I'm not technically a parent yet. XD
Ever since I hatched from my egg, my parents have always brought me fish and taught me to respect all of the other lady penguins. I wasn't allowed to leave the ice berg after dark too.
I love this dodokono and yes all my kids read those books. I encouraged curiosity and helped them explore.. But we also wanted to protect their innocence while they were young and not let them get to the point where they spent so much time on the electronic stuff that they lost that curiousity and drive to learn and to read. You'll be a great parent. I'm sure.
No need to reply ann answered for all of us. Mostly our girls watch the Disney Channel and some netflix which we have nerfed. Yes very much so. Our youngest is very outgoing and tries to immitate the girls of Disney alot. If course commercials are deceptive thats what they do. They lead you to believe that their product is the cure all be all.