Children and Television Essay

Nearly every household has access to video scheduling. With the conformation of programs available kidren atomic number 18 exposed to m whatever factors concerning choice. These choices throne lead to a wide array of results depending on the type of meat which is viewed. Positive programming great deal promote the erudition of valuable skills and knowledge to enable winner in lifespan, while negative programming whitethorn have contrastive opposite effects. The cases of picture programming affect the health, behaviors and learned life skills in shaverren.First, a discussion of physical health concerns. picture system cover by churlren can lawsuit a variety of physical health concerns. Children seem physical health issues because of the amount of time they spend ceremonial idiot box. A couple of these physical concerns are eyesight and eating disorders. The continuance of time children center on the idiot box screen, and the proximity they sit from the telev ision screen, causes them to develop eyesight problems.Ide all toldy, children should sit approximately five feet away from the television set according to McWilliams and Moulder. (1999) On the contrary, The Nemours Foundation explains the fallacy of children sitting closedown to television screens is not a cause of eyesight problems because children have the competency to focus at a closer distance than adults. (2010) In either pull downt whether the sitting close to the television is the cause or a sign of an eye problem caution should still be use in not allowing children to sit too close to the television screen.Children likewise face problems with eating disorders from watching television. Children become fixated on programs causing slight to their eating habits. just about children exit not eat at all while others tend to overeat. These eating disorders are influenced by the cloy children are display through and through specific programming. One factor of this progra mming is that the advertisements head children encouraging them to desire specific products, such as how McDonalds offers toys to attract sales of their products.Findings of Zimmerman and Bell conclude, Television viewing may be a inactive activity, but it is not for that reason that it is associated with obesity in children. The relationship amid television viewing and obesity among children is curb to commercial television viewing and probably operates through the effect of advertising obesogenic foods on television (2010 p338). Children as well as face psychological health concerns in relation to television viewing. As children advance in age their minds become more developed expectant them a better grounds of the environment surrounding them. slightly field available on television causes specific phobias which include fear of insects, snakes, and dogs escalators, elevators, and link high places and open spaces as well as many others (Healthofchildren. com, 2012). The ontogeny of these phobias causes elevated anxiety levels in children. Children who watch many hours of graphic content such as horror movies, nature programs, and news broadcasts which implant images in their impressionable, raw minds providing them with a sense that the world is an unsafe place.These anxieties influence different behaviors in children. Generally the negative content that can be viewed on television causes children to mimic behaviors and actions of the characters they see. Repeated exposure to TV violence makes children little sensitive toward its effects on victims and the human suffering it causes (Boyse, 2010). Children use their desire during play. Children will oftentimes play games such as cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, or even mimic their favorite wrestling star causing harm to to each one other.These behaviors are viewed as unacceptable in society and can bubble over into shoess where the actions are inappropriate such as in school, grocery s tores, or movie theaters. As children may not have a pad understanding of the motives of the content which they were presented though television, they may accept them as veryity. However, the adoption of this reality can cause positive behaviors as well. Children feign their agnatic fiber models that they love and trust then they imitate other role models that might not be so decorous ( Jagers, 2007).Depending on their understanding of the consequences of an action, children may choose a different mode of behavior concerning situations they welcome throughout their lives. A child who views someone getting burned may take caution when they are in a similar situation themselves. If a child observes someone calling 911 seeking assistance in an emergency situation, when confronted with this type of situation they will think to use this to their advantage. Some television intends for children encourage positive behaviors such as empathy, kindness, and helping others.These televi sion shows encourage emotional development allowing children to display positive behaviors. One show that has these qualities is Dora the Explorer which highlights characters helping each other, helping other characters to achieve tasks, and macrocosm kind by using polite language such as please and thank you. Shows like Dora the Explorer try children with a entry of necessary life skills. Children learn various life skills such as social roles and interactions through the content of television programming.Television characters through their interactions give instruction children how to behave within certain situations. Viewing these interactions give children a guidepost of social behaviors in a variety of situations that allow children to react to real life situations in a similar manner. The roles are not limited to specific situations in childhood, but reach across the lifespan. Children use television as an expectation of real life situations. A child who views family fou nd programs will conclude a model of functionality within a family.Some shows portray families that are functional whereas other shows portray dysfunctional families. These programs provide children a model to relate their personal experiences. If a child comes from a dysfunctional family they may envy the lives of characters in functioning television families. In other ways, when viewing a dysfunctional family on television, a child may find new methods to solve problems within their own family. Television shows such as Reba may give children who are subject to disunite and remarriage of their parents a way to deal with the new family life they encounter.Also the grammatical gender roles highlighted on television provide children with expectations they should follow in their own lives. For girls, television may portray fe phallic roles of characters as mother, caregiver, and oftentimes business women. For boys, male character roles may be portrayed as father, disciplinarian, and s upporter of the family. These expectations learned provide a productive model a child should observe in the eyes of society. Consequently, later in life a childs impression of social rules and roles become part of their personality and can become individualized.This allows a boy who wishes to become a nurse not to view this decision as deviant. another(prenominal) source of skills for success in life learned through television is the acquisition of knowledge and academician skills. Children imitate their parental role models that they love and trust then they imitate other role models that might not be so worthy (Kirkman, Wartella, and Anderson, 2008, p. 47). One area of knowledge present in television shows targeted toward children is the mention and association of letters, numbers and words.Children can be taught at a young age the association between what they are presented and hat they perceive, such as the 1 and the letter A. Through the elementary impression of these concep ts a child learns secondary concepts such as reading, writing, and more. Some programming encourages the learning of unknown languages such as Chinese Spanish and French by exposing children to these languages reservation these concepts fun to learn. The acquisition of all these skills through television occurs in a passive manner. A child does not realize they are learning the content they perceive making television an effective outlet for teaching.Another skill set taught through television is problem solving through visual examples. As children view others making decisions concerning real life situations they can refer back to the outcome of a similar situation they may have previously viewed. This allows for them to make educated choices within their own lives or experiences. Such programs show the process one must take in problem solving, empowering them with the skills to decipher between right and wrong. Television also presents a less desirable outcome for successful life skills.Children who view content inappropriate for their age struggle with academics as well as face specific challenges later in life. As children gain an understanding of the content they are watching on television the presence of these struggles begins to decrease in their influential strength. An effect previously mentioned of children mimicking behaviors viewed on television, if a child learns and reflects intractable behavior toward authority the effect will not only cause poor grades but also dropping out of school. The child will avoid homework assignments because of the commands and deadlines made by the teacher.This defiance of authority leads to reprisals from administrators such as principals and academic counselors. Another challenge to the academic lives of children is the presence of social system in schools. This struggle exists because television can be accessed at any time whereas school has a specific schedule. A child struggles to focus during these times. A ma jor cause of this inattention is that television produces a high level of activity than school. Naturally the child would choose the more stimulant activity, which in the eyes of the child is television.