Week Six Post One

While reading this chapter I was drawn to the section of Children, Parents and the new Media. In the book it explains how one of today’s greatest challenges is the influence of electronic media on children. All media including television, the Internet, electronic games, etc. can be harmful, especially when the content is harmful. I think technology has improved significantly over the years and is a big attraction to young children. There are a lot of programs children should not be watching, and yet they still are. If the children watch violent shows on TV they might take what they learned and reenact it in school. It is recommended by six major organizations that parents limit their children’s television watching with no electronic media at all allowed for children under the age of 2. I couldn’t agree more. A lot of parents throw their children in front of the TV to keep them occupied, but it’s causing a lot of issues for their children in the future. In the United States most young children spend more than three hours each day using a type of electronic media. In my house this wasn’t allowed. Both my parents would order me to play outside with the neighbors instead of watching TV. I was only allowed to watch educational programs and Disney movies until I became a teenager. I remember I would get really upset with my parents for not letting me watch the Simpsons or MTV like all my friends. But in the long run I’m really glad they stuck to their gun because the children that got to watch those shows were the kids that misbehaved in school. During early childhood most children can learn basic literacy from educational programs, especially if their parents watch with them and reinforce the lessons. However it is proven that many children that have the chose of what to watch will choose violent cartoons or TV shows. When I was allowed to watch TV my mother usually watched it with me. We would watch all the educational shows like Sesame Street, where I could learn. My mother was also a big fan of workbooks. We would go to the store all the time to get workbooks for each grade I was in, and I would work on them rather than watch TV. I was also limited on my use of electronics. I could only play video games if all my homework was done, and if all my friends were busy. I believe technology is a blessing and I would never get rid of it, but I think some parents should double think on what they let their children do with it.