TV and Films Influence Children More than Their Parents Do

Thank you for your acceptance, swatters. I will begin my first argument. I would first like to point out that the influences to which children are subjected from television and films are not strictly negative. There are education and nature programs that are beneficial to early development in children. Children can learn from these programs just as they can learn from less children-oriented ones. Here I'd like to clarify several definitions, all taken from the Oxford dictionary. Influence: The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself. Parent: A person's father or mother [including adoptive]. Child: A young human being below the age of puberty or below the legal age of majority [15 - 18]. On average, children under six years of age watch approximately about two hours of screen TV a day. Between the ages of eight and eighteen, the screentime doubles to four hours a day. [1] Combined with an eight-hour school day, an average hour or so for homework, and other activities such as bathing, eating, and spending time with friends, this takes up an entire day. There is little time for parental interaction. In fact, watching some television shows on children-oriented channels (Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon, for examples) there is little to no true parental interaction. In the instances where parents are shown or written into the script, they are made out to be spoofs, usually used as a sort of comedic relief--Unless they are being used as tools to punish one of the protagonists of the show. Because children are so influenced by what they see, they accept these types of situations as the social norm and do not seek anything more. Aside from the occasional asking for permission or for some privilege or favor, children often do not spend time with their own family. It was a very terribly enlightening day when a nine year old I babysat observed me interact with my father and asked me afterwards, "Your parents boss you around? That's not right." According to this child (who happens to live with both happily-married parents), parents are supposed to "go to work to make money, then buy you things like food and toys and video games, and then go to bed so they can go to work in the morning again. Sometimes they talk with you about stuff. Like on Dog with a Blog." Dog with a Blog is a Disney Channel program that has a talking dog as one of its protagonists. The dog "writes" about his human family's escapades. I'm unfortunately certain that this one isn't the only kid who thinks the same way, who can't seem to exactly separate reality from the parallel-ish fantasy of the scripted world. But that is not entirely the children or the media's fault. It's the parents who often encourage their children to go watch television. They are tired after a day of work, or aren't feeling too well, or maybe just don't feel up to hanging out with a toddler. This leads to a sort of rift between parent and child. It weakens the relationship. Because of this lack of attention, a child might occupy him or herself with TV or a film, effectively "replacing" the parent(s). [1] - http://kidshealth.org...