As a researcher and educator, there are times when an issue strikes such an important chord that one feels compelled to step forward and speak personally to parents so that they can make an extraordinary difference in the lives of their children. My parents, like most parents, tried to raise us well, made mistakes, and had several notable successes, but the best thing they ever did for us was to get rid of the television. I came home one day as a twelve-year-old (the oldest), and discovered that my mother had put the television, which we were rarely allowed to watch anyhow, outside on the lawn extension. Someone took it, and that was that – no more television at home. The results were predictable - and not so predictable. Yes, we watched some television at friends’ homes, and we also missed a fair number of references to television characters in our peers’ conversations. But we also read huge numbers of books, played games together, grew closer as siblings, hiked and biked and canoed in the summers, did well in school, played musical instruments, took art classes, traveled the world, found interesting jobs, and had more time for friendships. Two of the four of us graduated from Yale University with honors, one of us is a medical doctor, one has a Ph.D., and one has a Master’s in Art Therapy and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. The fourth is a successful builder and broker. We have remained close and consider our siblings among our most trusted friends. None of us have television at home for our children.
But you do not even need to eliminate television completely to gain many of the benefits that we enjoyed. Conscious reduction of the hours of watching and improving the quality of programs that your children see will bring benefits almost immediately. There are many reasons to reduce or eliminate television in your children’s daily lives. The most important include the following:
1. Conclusive evidence on the links between watching violent programs and aggressive behavior in children, teens, and adults. The average American child will have watched 100,000 acts of televised violence by the time he or she finishes sixth grade . . . The U.S. Surgeon General’s Office, the American Psychological Association, the National Institutes of Mental Health and the Center for Disease Control join in the conclusion that there is a direct relationship between televised violence and violent behavior. (Abelard, 2007).
2. Recent evidence shows that brain wave patterns change, slipping into passive alpha brain waves, as children watch television longer. Television does not require children to visualize or analyze, limiting the parts of the brain in use. San Francisco brain researcher Erik Peper said, “The word ‘zombie’ is the best way to describe the experience.’” (Abelard, 2007; Mander, 1991).
3. The national epidemic of childhood obesity is strongly linked to television watching, which disrupts healthy eating patterns, reduces physical activity, and promotes unhealthy preferences through massive advertising.
4. Watching even a few hours per week takes time away from healthier, more vigorous activities and creates poor habits, interfering with other activities such as family time, productive work, and studying.
5. Poor programming provides bad role models for children’s and teen’s behavior. Parents should consider whether they want their children behaving like the children on the Simpsons or Southpark, and imitating violent actions they witness.
6. Unrealistic expectations of and assumptions about the world. Many children become increasingly fearful, seeing the world as a more harmful place.
7. The frequent, mesmerizing commercials produce consumer behavior focused on material goods and mindless buying. (Mander, 1991: p.79)
8. There is increasing evidence that long hours of absorbing images from the screen can actually permanently disrupt and accelerate the nervous system, producing behaviors associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Parents can make a dramatic difference. Tactics can range from quitting the box cold turkey, as my parents chose to do, to gradual reduction in hours and greater care in finding quality programs for children and teens to watch. The suggestions below are designed for families who want to reduce television’s influence in their homes relatively gradually.
1. Watch television with your children for a week or two to get a grasp of what programs they are watching, and when they would benefit most from a reduction of viewing hours.
2. Put a firm limit on the number of hours they may watch, both on school nights and weekends. Require PBS programs, the History Channel, National Geographic and other educational programs for part of their quota.
3. Discuss their favorite shows, and do not allow them to watch violent or sexist programming that passes your limits, while allowing them one, two, or three favorite programs that do meet your standards.
4. Consider using a V-chip to block objectionable programs.
5. For at least the first four to six weeks, provide interesting alternative activities during the hours that correspond to the programs you have eliminated. You might offer a membership at a gym, a pass to the swimming pool, or rides to the library or friends’ houses.
6. Choose DVD’s or videos judiciously, encouraging them to watch family friendly movies with their siblings or friends.
7. Celebrate the new hours of free time by celebrating your family – go out together to dinner or a picnic at the park.
REFERENCES:
www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_and_tv_violence
www.aap.org/family/tv1.htm
www.abelard.org/tv/tv.htm
http://aappolicy.aapplications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;107/2/423
www.kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html
www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/tv.htm
Mander, Jerry. 1991. In the Absence of the Sacred. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.
See all of Chapter Five, Television: Audio-Visual Training for the Modern World.
Further Reading:
Winn, Marie. 2002 (25 Ann. Edition). The Plug-In Drug: Television, Computers, and Family Life. New York: Penguin Books.
To learn more, see the following FamilyIQ courses: 
Setting Effective Limits
Author Catherine Knott, Ph.D., teaches Anthropology and Sociology for the University of Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula. She has a Ph.D. in Anthropology, Natural Resources, and Education from Cornell University and a B.A. from Yale University. Catherine has worked in International Development overseas and in the United States for many years. She and her three children enjoy the wilderness, as well as gardening, art, and writing, from their rural home in Alaska.
