Evening star., 1938-04-25

Some Radio
Programs
Harmful
Wise Parent Will
Check Children's
Entertainment.
By ANGELO PATRI.

ny ANuLLo Al Hls
THE radio in the home has brought
its problems with it. The pro-
grams are varied in kind, quality and
influence. There are some that, I
agree, are not good for children to
hear. BY children mean those under
IL years, roughly grouped. Shooting
. man should never be presented as
a light matter. Murder should never
be presented in the light of sport
Gun play of any kind ought not to
be presented to children as highly
entertaining game. The children are
likely to accept such implications and
act upon them, tragically.
Entertainments that strike horror
into the hearts of children are not
good for daily fare. An occasional
ghost story, told to group of Sc
lected children, usually above the
age of II, may do no harm, but you
cannot give series of ghost tales,
blood-curdling horrors, dark mysteries
suggestive of worse to come, day after
day, without damaging the nervous
systems of the listening children.
Programs that make bad manners
funny are not good training for chill
dren. To make them automatic takes
a long period of teaching and practice.
One exhibition of bad manners made
funny is enough to undo lot of hard
work on the teachers part. and the
result is not funny at all. Bad man
nered children are made to suffer the
If. as is likely, these bad manners, with
their questionable ethic. are carried
into maturity, the unfortunate one is
likely to find himself isolated and
despised.
Parents ask what they are to do
about such programs as these they
deplore. My idea of it is to turn
off the Objectionable program and
tune in one that is better. That
is one lovely thing about radio A
movement of the finger invites pro-
gram in or turns it out. There are
good programs, entertaining programs.
on the air, suitable for children to
hear, and which they enjoy.
Some parents make the mistake of
choosing programs suited to adult
audiences. Symphony orchestras give
us the best kind of music, of course,
but children of IL and under rarely
Nke to listen to it more than few
minutes at time. 1t is too much
:or them. Let them listen to some
Of the lighter music. Why not let
chem do so? Share the radio you
adults taking the symphony and the
children taking some of the others
A lifting melody charms many a
listener when a musical presentation
of a mood WearieS.
The news commentators are in
teresting for grown people, but chill
dren tire of them. One family solved
their difficulty by agreeing to listen
to the boys favorite program If the
boy listened with them to a certain
news commentator. They liked his
program and the boy settled down to
like the news commentator.
Share the radio with the children;
listen with them and discuss the pro-
grams they like. Don't impose grown
ups programs on children under u
years of age because they do not I'M
derstand them. Turn off the pro-
grams which seem to harm the chill
dren and write to the sponsors i'm
mediately. Don't expect the govern
ment to do for you what you can
do with a movement of your finger,
note and a stamp, little patient
work and listening with the children.
Mr.. Patri has prepared a leaflet
entitled "Convalescent Children" in
which he tells parents how to help
such children to entertain themselves
without fatigue. Send for it, address,
ing your request to Mr.. Angelo Patri,
Child Psychology Department of this
paper. Inclose addressed,
stamped (3-cen) envelope.
(Copyrieht, 1889