Television has become a permanent fixture in our drawing rooms. When we watch programs,
often our children watch them along with us. Watching television presumably has positive
and negative effects on young children. By limiting the time a child may watch television and
television watching on children while minimizing its negative effects. The images that flicker
across the screen have different effects in the minds of adults and children. If the children are
past infancy, say above the age of four, they would have acquired some of the linguistic and
cultural schema to identify the images for what they are. Television can be used as a tool of
language learning, but it also has negative effects. “Although one study finds positive
associations of language learning with exposure to some children’s TV programs, other
studies find negative associations (Anderson, 505-522).” However, if they are below the age
of four, then television watching for them is a different game altogether. For example, the
present writer has a child aged three. In such cases, children should be given attention by the
parents. This role should not be left to the television. “Research makes it clear that young
children learn a lot more efficiently from real interactions (Carey).”Watching the images on
the screen, however, is a kind of rudimentary learning experience for the child. There are
many programs that are not suitable for little children. Some opine that television watching is
harmful for the intellectual and emotional development of children. Of course, the child
cannot choose what it sees. Therefore, in the present case, the writer has to choose the
programs for the child, deciding what would be suitable for its viewing, and how long it
should view them. A lay person like the writer would not know for sure whether television
watching is good for the child, and if it is, what programs would help the child in the learning
process, or how long it should be exposed to them. Here, the opinions of experts on the
Anderson, Daniel. Television and very young children, Journal of American Behavioral Scientist, 48(5):505-522, 2005. Web. 16 Feb.2013. http://abs.sagepub.com/content.
Carey, Benedict. “Parents urged again to limit TV for Youngest”. New York Times, 18th
October 2011. Web.27 January 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/health.
