Does television have a positive or negative effect on children?

Answer 1

depends on what they are watching. My 9 yr old is really into science and such and spends his TV time watching Myth Busters and other programs that are scientifically related. In this case it has a positive effect because it interests him in something educational. If they are just vegging out watching Sponge Bob or something, then it can be negative. Watching too much TV isn't really good for any child. You need to try and divide their time between that and other things.

Answer 2

Personally TV was and is my best friend. I have traveled around the world on my TV set through the Disney, Discovery, News station, movie, shows, drama, and documentary channels. Most have been a positive effect. Others such as reality, police crime shows, controversial sitcoms, the Simpson cartoons and such have had very negative effects. Children r venerable creatures even into early adolescence. They r impressionable and can be seduced easily by fantasy and over sensationalized TV. Children tend to identify and idolize characters and actors over true life people in their lives. If u r a concerned parent u would sit with ur child and find out what r their favorite programs and why? Don't u pick and choose what u THINK is "good" TV. Between u and ur child should choose what is good for them or not. I mean other than the obvious like over sexually explicit programs.

Answer 3

As a mother of 3 children, overall I think the effect of television on children is 75%-85% negative. Even when you are careful about the content that your children watch - I find that it restricts their ability to use their imaginations, it almost "anesthetizes" them into zombies, it is addictive, and most tv is frankly crap.
On the positive side, there is some wonderful programming for children, it is lovely to watch a good movie together and it is very relaxing. I find it helpful when I want my kids to wind down.

Answer 4

From experience with my children, it can have both. Too much television can make my girls grumpy and prone to disobedience. We also have to be careful what they watch so that they are not introduced to ideas or concepts that are too old for them.

As long as I monitor what they watch and keep it to the equivalent of one movie a day, they don't seem to have the negative effects.

There are shows on TV that teach them good things, my favorite being Little Bear because he is so polite. I also let them watch videos my Mom bought us, that are about scripture stories. They help them learn about the gospel even though they're still a bit too young to really grasp the scriptures when we read them outloud as a family.

You just have to look at what they're taking in and decide if it's something you want your kids to absorb. For us, we like Noggin and PBS Kids in moderation. But I don't like most of the cartoons on the other networks, especially on Saturday morning. I feel most of these shows introduce too much violence, rebellion and sexuality (Bratz is the worse for the last two).

Answer 5

Television can have a positive and negative effect on children depending on what they are watching. It is up to the parents to supervise the programs their children are watching so that only programs that encourage, support, and build the knowledge bases of children are viewed.

Answer 6

It will have a positive effect if the watching is under control and in moderation. If children dwell infront of the TV watching for hour on end, then it could have verry negative effects. It really all just depends on what they are watching and how long they are watching.

Answer 7

It depends on what the kids are watching and how old they are. Scientifically speaking cartoons and kiddie shows are good for young kids around 2-6 because they stimulate basic thinking and cognition, and help to build their communication skills.

For kids older than that there's usually not as many educational TV programs, so if possible try to limit TV viewing to about 2hrs a day.

There's been recent concern about violence on TV (even in the Bugs Bunny cartoons) and how it desensitizes children to violence. This is a new and ongoing study so nothing conclusive has been found yet.

Answer 8

I think the media has both positive and negative influences on just about every area of children's lives. In regard to Body Image: The Positive is they see well groomed, nice looking, polite people, conducting themselves in a positive manner. The Negative: Gives them a stereotypical image of what successful people look like. Perhaps, making them feel inadequate, thus causing them to have a poor self image, which could result in bad posture, lack of self esteem, etc.

Answer 9

T.V can have both negative and positive effects on kid. what they watch on the t.v and how long you let them watch if you let them watch to long they will most likely turn out to be a couch potato the minim amount of T.V a kid should watch is about 15 minute the maxim is 30 a day.

Answer 10

As a kid, I watched Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street....zoom , and the Electric Company (basic pbs shows)....I think they helped a lot.

When I went to my neighbors house, the kids were only allowed to watch the Waltons. I appreciated the structure they were given. The show actually had a moral or a lesson about how good people should act.

My parents always were there to monitor the tv and talk about shows I saw, which is essential when a child watches tv.