TV and the Modern Day Family

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Recommended: Effects of television on children

There has never been a question in regards to whether people watch too much television or not. There has also never been more television programming options available than there are today. As technology constantly changes and improves, parents must ask themselves where their families fit into the mix. Television has many effects on family life and the individual. Parents should limit the amount of time the television is utilized in their homes.
There are some very good reasons why people think television is a great thing. TV can be educational and informative. Television is remarkably good at subliminal education. Intensely detailed and historically accurate costume dramas, fly-on-the-wall documentaries all feed information into a person’s brain. Television can be very entertaining and can make you laugh, which inevitably lowers stress levels. Television can also give families something to bond over.
Since the invention of the home television, TV time has become a crucial part in every day household life. While there is certainly nothing inherently wrong with TV, there is something wrong with how much television children watch and what effect this has on their lives. Television is bound to have a tremendous impact on a child, both in terms of how many hours a week he watches TV and what he sees. According to an article from Kids Health “How TV Affects Your Child”, the majority of infants and toddlers have an average of two hours of screen time a day. Kids and teenagers from age eight to eighteen spend on average four hours a day watching television and an additional two hours in front of a computer or video game console. During the first two years of life, when brain development is at such a critical period, TV can get in the wa...

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...eir favorite shows and just fast forward through the commercials.
There is no doubt that television is part of almost every family in America. The question of how much is too much is something that is still unanswered. Every family dynamic is different. But with televisions sets scattered throughout homes in bedrooms and bathrooms, it is perhaps a rare occasion when the whole family will sit down and watch a program together. In this day and age, reading and communication are dying skills. Parents need to restrict the amount of time their families spend in front of a television. Parents and children should be talking to each other and doing things together. All of this is imperative for families to remain strong and together.

Works Cited

"How TV Affects Your Child." KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about children's health. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

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