While we lived at PIMS, Pondicherry, we often had students and faculty at home for different celebrations. This was a birthday party.
Towards the latter part of the evening, Anna put on the TV to watch the final overs of a test match. If I remember correctly, India was about to win.Till the TV was put off, they stayed glued to the TV.
What surprised me was the heightened attention and interest with which everyone was glued to the TV for the next several minutes.
It was on the same day, I had a long conversation with couple of families about the TV viewing habits of children. What both families mentioned was the difficulty they have in weaning their five years old children from the TV viewing. As soon as they get up they are searching for the remote control. They insist on having the TV on while eating, doing home work or when visitors are at home. Parents felt guilty for consenting to children's insistence. One family was planning to disconnect the TV.
The TV viewing is habit forming for children. The visual media has a variety of programs to offer in the TV and children would get habituated to the program and advertisements. The TV programs do not generally subscribe to moral values; there is an extravaganza of entertainment, at the cost of values that would upbuild children.
The visual media succeed in getting our attention. How can we help children form getting addicted to it!
Create more interacting opportunities through outdoor games, indoor games, nature walk etc. Get children in to the habit of listening to the books read to them. Have rituals which would help children to be occupied meaningfully. One family encouraged children to draw, sketch, make scrap book, sing and dance, etc. so that there were other entertainments that they enjoyed.
An addictive habit of watching TV can make children inattentive to other activities, impulsive in behaviour or disruptive. The TV watching consumes lot of attention that when anything is less stimulating, it is difficult for children to hold their attention. The same is true of video games and internet surfing.
Parents have a responsibility to protect children form the enticements of the visual media!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
Towards the latter part of the evening, Anna put on the TV to watch the final overs of a test match. If I remember correctly, India was about to win.Till the TV was put off, they stayed glued to the TV.
What surprised me was the heightened attention and interest with which everyone was glued to the TV for the next several minutes.
It was on the same day, I had a long conversation with couple of families about the TV viewing habits of children. What both families mentioned was the difficulty they have in weaning their five years old children from the TV viewing. As soon as they get up they are searching for the remote control. They insist on having the TV on while eating, doing home work or when visitors are at home. Parents felt guilty for consenting to children's insistence. One family was planning to disconnect the TV.
The TV viewing is habit forming for children. The visual media has a variety of programs to offer in the TV and children would get habituated to the program and advertisements. The TV programs do not generally subscribe to moral values; there is an extravaganza of entertainment, at the cost of values that would upbuild children.
The visual media succeed in getting our attention. How can we help children form getting addicted to it!
Create more interacting opportunities through outdoor games, indoor games, nature walk etc. Get children in to the habit of listening to the books read to them. Have rituals which would help children to be occupied meaningfully. One family encouraged children to draw, sketch, make scrap book, sing and dance, etc. so that there were other entertainments that they enjoyed.
An addictive habit of watching TV can make children inattentive to other activities, impulsive in behaviour or disruptive. The TV watching consumes lot of attention that when anything is less stimulating, it is difficult for children to hold their attention. The same is true of video games and internet surfing.
Parents have a responsibility to protect children form the enticements of the visual media!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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