“The average high school child has watched over 22 000 hours of over-sexualised and exploitive relationships, abusive language and huge amounts of violence. There are 25 violent acts per hour on cartoon shows and the average child witnesses 50 acts of violence on TV daily, including violence using handguns. The average US child has witnessed over 200 000 acts of TV violence, including 33000 attempted or competed murders”. – This statement from John F. Taylor of Helping your ADD Child, certainly says it all!

What is the negative impact of too much television?

  • Children spend more time in front of the television set than time with their parents or attendance at school.
  • Television replaces the act of reading as a leisure activity.
  • Robert Shaw, a child psychiatrist, claims that every hour that a child spends watching television, the chance of them developing attention deficit increases.
  • The child’s physical and mental activity is replaced by passivity.
  • The influence of valueless mass media has an effect on children who already have numerous difficulties with friendships, social judgement and intimacy.
  • Television portrays a warped view of sexuality by glorifying promiscuous, shallow and exploitative relationships, without portraying the consequences of such activities.
  • Children become more accepting of aggression.

What is the solution?

  • Encourage children to engage in play activities when friends come over.  Don’t allow them to watch television.
  • Make one day a week a family day.  On this day, the television should not be turned on.
  • Limit television to 2 hours per day.
  • Choose programmes wisely and have clear rules (and consequences) about forbidden programmes.
  • Set an example and limit your own viewing.
  • Try to watch television with your child as much as possible rather than leaving them unattended to watch for extended periods.
  • Discuss undesirable content of programmes with your children.
  • Make watching television a deliberate choice rather than a habit.
  • Never allow a television in a child’s bedroom.

Contact Gwen or Dr. Johan Meyer for a free assessment and educational advice on: Boksburg: (011) 917-1230

For more information on what your child’s learning style may be or for more tips to successful studying contact us on (011) 917 1230.