CHILDCARE: TELEVISION
Television has an enormous influence on children, whether we like it or not. Almost every house in Australia has at least one television, and almost three in four have a VCR. The average child spends more time each year watching television than going to school. Only sleep occupies more of a child’s life than does television. In North America, the average preschool child watches 27 hours of television each week; at school age this has dropped only marginally to 25 hours, and has reduced to 23 hours at adolescence. Half of all homes have the television on at mealtimes. There is no reason to suspect that these figures are all that different for Australian children.
Television therefore has a pervasive effect on the lives of children. Whether this turns out to be positive or negative is largely under the control of parents. Unfortunately in Australia, with a few exceptions, little interest has been shown in the promise and potential of television for children. Here are some of the problems associated with children watching television:
Violence There is a well established association between aggression and the violence seen on television. Children have difficulty differentiating television from reality; they accept that what they see on television is the norm. They learn that solving problems through violence and aggression is acceptable.
Obesity There is a strong link between the amount of television watched and obesity. Children who watch a lot of television are less active and snack more while watching. Many of the advertisements during children’s shows in particular promote ‘junk’ foods, sugary cereals and other unhealthy food.
Effects of advertising Many of the advertisements screened during children’s viewing time are to do with junk food, violent toys, sweets, and other products that are often not in a child’s best interests.
There are other bad effects of television: children who watch an excessive amount of television tend to do less well at school; there is evidence that when television shows youth suicide, either in a news item or a program, there is a heightened risk of an increase in youth suicide, because of imitation among adolescents.
*121\90\8*
