The television is a very powerful tool. It brings information to people wherever they are. Not only that, it brings entertainment to people who are bored and are seeking to have fun.
However, television is just like any other piece of technology. It can both be good or bad. When television is used for learning new things or getting information about something we are interested in, it is good. But when watching television becomes an addiction or when it becomes disruptive to a person’s life, it becomes bad.
Children are susceptible to this trap. Children would rather have fun and enjoy themselves. They think not about their own welfare just as long as they love what they are doing. More often than not a child will prefer watching TV rather than study, or even sleep. As a parent, it is your responsibility to teach your child not to be addicted to TV and neglect other aspects of his life.
What can you do to instill discipline in your children’s TV-watching habits? Here are a few tips that you could put to use. Remember, instilling these habits into your children takes time and patience. It is like building kung fu or “time-effort,” because it takes a lot of effort to train children to become disciplined in their TV habits.
Set a Limit
The first step in regulating your child’s TV habits is to limit their viewing time. For example, children’s shows usually run from 4 pm until as late as 7 pm. You could choose to keep them viewing on that time range, and then tell them to go and study their lessons to prepare themselves for school tomorrow. The limit is entirely up to you.
Most parents would choose to have their children study first, and then watch TV. This approach is obviously more effective, because children’s minds are incentive-oriented. This style tells them that if they study they can get to watch TV later.
Monitor the Content That Your Child Views
Children’s brains are considered “porous.” This means that a child’s mind is capable of processing and storing almost any kind of information that is given to them, just like a sponge. That’s what makes children amazing; they quickly learn.
However, not all information is suitable for children. This is because they do not understand this information, and having knowledge of such things when they are not ready can be dangerous. For example, a child who is exposed to violent and gory action movies may think that violence is normal and okay. This may influence his way of thinking and his attitude, and could result to aggressive behavior.
Check out what information the show is giving to your children. What do they learn from it? Is it good lessons or bad? It would be preferable to limit your children’s viewing to educational shows, but this could result to rebellious behavior as children can find these shows boring. As much as possible, you could watch along with your children so you could point out lessons along the way.
