Influence

After reading the articles on children's television, I have to say that I agree, as I think many of us do, with the opinions of Action for Children's Television.

If you take all controversy, all tough-to-deal-with subjects out of children's media, what does that leave them with? The littlest children will watch big flashy productions that will go through the alphabet and number line, yet have no real substantial value, in which characters only experience minor setbacks in their day-to-day lives. A slightly older age group will most likely not see any education at all in their programs, as it will be replaced by pointless, abundant violence and unintelligent humor (farts!!), and again, tough situations that characters get themselves into that, without fail, resolve themselves by the end of the episode. Television of this nature gives children a distorted view of the world and people around them, leading them to believe that life is all good all the time, and leaving them defenseless and stupid against the hardships and tragedies of life.

Of course, I speak as if television is the biggest influence in a child's life, and most of the time, that's simply not true. Most parents will teach their children right from wrong, and how to handle the hard things as they come up in a child's life. However, not always.

For several years, my mom has babysat a family of four children who have, in my opinion, a very negligent mother. The kids have all the toys and games they have ever wanted, but their mother hardly interacts with them, and instead has the television and gaming consoles on all the time. It's all they really get at home. It's the sad truth that there are countless children in the same sort of situation where their morals and worldviews come from a box in the living room. However, regardless of home life, any child who watches TV is going to be greatly influenced by it.

Despite the rather large amount of garbage children watch these days, there are a lot of really good shows out there for them. But as makers of media, it is up to us to speak up against the garbage and create pieces that aren't just plain insulting to children.

Kids spend an average of more than 30 hours a week watching TV, and it's up to people like us to decide what they watch.