Community Magazine August 2006

 ”  32 Community Magazine Psychologist David Levy, who has determined that television was a primary factor in causing problems for a number of his patients, says that in more extreme cases, TV addicts don’t even have friends. “Kids who spend hours in front of a television each day have little time to cultivate friendships or form the social skills they will need to succeed later in life,” he said. Adding that, “The heaviest TV watchers often become social outcasts. This contrib- utes to their development of serious psychological problems later in life.” Undoing the Damage A majority of parents admit that they allow their kids to watch too much TV, but they don’t know what to do about it. “TV is cheap and very entertaining, so it’s very difficult for busy parents, to resist using it as a quick means to keep nagging kids occupied quietly,” Dr. Levy points out. “But in the long run,” he says, “parents ulti- mately realize that TV is like smoking, the less you use it or the sooner you quit, the better off you’ll be.” But cutting down or eliminating TV is easier said than done. Principal Hagler advises, “Parents have to be selective. It doesn’t need to be a big deal in your house. They don’t have to watch the things you don’t want them to.” Placing blame squarely on the enablers who should know better she asserts, “There are no prob- lem kids, only problem parents.” Leah David, executive director of Ohr Halimud, condemns the use of TV as an ‘electronic babysitter’. “Parents should be selective. But it’s a hard medium to be selective of. The values on TV are limited,” she says. Another challenge is that parents are simply unable to monitor what their kids are watching at all times and according to a study published in Pediatrics, 44 percent of children and teens report watching different programs when their parents are not around. Conceding that “there is no weaning off of it,” she submits that parents might be left with little choice but to “throw out the TV as it gets out of hand.” Restricting certain programs can even backfire. An article from January 2005 in American Behavioral Scientist described a study in which parents who imposed programming rules reported their children watching more television and imitating negative behaviors. Nevertheless, experts say programming rules can be useful if combined with time rules. Any attempt to eliminate or reduce TV time is going to require that some other activity fill the void previously occupied by the television. Experts suggest constructive after school activities, like sports programs or piano lessons. Educators are also rec- ommending that parents set an exam- ple by reading in the house regularly, in lieu of watching television. "In the end," concludes Dr. Levy, "parents need to realize that the level of exposure their kids will have to TV is a choice they must make – it's not an automatic entitlement or an unavoidable fact of life. Parents need to act like parents and take charge of their homes – because if they don't, some other influence will." CM For more information and tips, see: mediafamily.org; aap.com; tvturnoff.com ; .parentstv.org 'ANZ 'ROSS !DV n .9 & ) 8 4 5 2 % 3 s & ! 5 # % 4 3 s ( ! 2 $ 7 ! 2 % s 4 ) , % 3 s ! # # % 3 3 / 2 ) % 3 ',,) 9ed[o ?ibWdZ 7l[dk[" 8heeabod" DO ''()& -'. -.-#'&&& s >ekhi0 CÄ J^$ /Ä +0)&" Ikd$ '&Ä* LWb[j FWha_d] s 7ffe_djc[dji M[bYec[ s mmm$^ec[WdZijed[$Yec <eh W a_bb[h i^Wha" ]e je 9ed[o ?ibWdZ$ <eh W YbWii_Y i^em[h" ]e je 9ed[o ?ibWdZ 7l[dk[$ 3HARK" 7?#OMMUNITY-AG(ALF0G INDD 0-