How to Use Television to Your Children's Advantage

By Liz Sterner, Parents' Source, January 20, 2000.

Television has been blamed for everything from the breakdown of the family to increases in crime, promiscuity and cholesterol levels. OK, I made up the last one to prove a point: TV has gotten a bum rap.

Part of the problem is the tremendous influence it has on our lives. Television has changed our habits, what we do with our free time, when we eat meals and how we raise and entertain our children. It's a dominant force in our culture. According to a 1997 Annenberg Public Policy Center Study:

• 79% of American homes have at least two TVs;
• 55% of 12-17 year olds have a TV in the bedroom (26% of 2-5 year olds do, too);
• TV ranks as the number one after-school activity for 6-17 year olds, beating out sports and playing with friends;
• Children watch about 28 hrs. of TV per week, and see, on average, 20,000 commercials per year.

Parents face tough choices when it comes to TV. TV can be educational, enriching and entertaining. But it can also be unsuitable for kids. How can you take control? Children often watch TV unsupervised. And even the most conscientious parents can't keep track of what goes on at a friend's house. Part of what's needed, experts and parents say, is better quality programs for kids.

The cable television industry has responded, offering more children's programming than any other source. Nickelodeon, which is endorsed by the National Education Association, provides a variety of entertainment and information series just for children. The Discovery Channel is twenty-four hours of non-fiction programming featuring technology, history, nature and human adventure. The Learning Channel presents formal and informal education programs and hobby and how-to series. Extensive family-friendly choices can also be found on Fox Family Channel, The History Channel, A&E, Animal Planet, The Disney Channel and many other cable networks.

The cable industry also provides Cable in the Classroom service to schools, giving teachers access to more than 500 hours of commercial-free educational programming each month. Parents, too, may tap into this resource. Most of the programs air during overnight hours and are designed to be taped for future viewing. Monthly program listings are available at www.ciconline.org or in Cable in the Classroom magazine.

Looking for even more family shows? Most television guides highlight "family-friendly" programs check the index of the guide you use. The Internet also features a variety of sites that list educational and children's programs. One good one is www.kidsnet.org.

But gaining access to better programming is only the first step. Kids need to learn critical viewing skills that will help them better understand what they're seeing on TV. The National Cable Television Association and the National PTA have joined forces in the Family and Community Critical Viewing Project to present "Taking Charge of Your TV" workshops. It offers tips to help parents help their kids become more critical viewers. Four concepts are central to the critical viewing process:

1. Television programs are created to achieve specific results. Children need to understand that TV is a storyteller and that stories are made up. Parents can point out how technical elements (music, lighting, etc.) are used to manipulate emotions. And even when a show seems real - as in so-called "reality" programs - it has been edited and altered to make it more exciting.

2. Each person interprets programs differently. We don't all understand a given show the same way. What may be funny to one child could be insulting or frightening to another. Parents need to help kids interpret what they're seeing.

3. Television violence takes many forms. Cartoon and slapstick violence can be funny, while more realistic violence can be gripping. Explain to children that the pratfall isn't real, the cartoon characters don't really get hurt, and the actor who falls down wasn't really shot at all. Point out that in real life, violence has consequences.

4. TV programs have an underlying economic purpose. Television exists to deliver audiences to advertisers. Parents should help children develop a healthy skepticism toward products on TV.

The workshop also includes a variety of activities to help parents "take charge" of their family's viewing habits:

• Make TV watching a planned activity. Don't casually "channel surf." Instead, watch specific shows and set limits on how much TV to watch.
• Choose programs together. Take time each week to review a TV program guide for the week ahead and decide together which shows to watch. And when a selected program is over, turn the TV off.
• Watch as a family. Television doesn't have to end family discussion and interaction. Watch together and talk about what's being presented.
• Use TV as a springboard to learning. Watching a program on TV can lead to other activities. When a topic on TV sparks the family's interest, get to the library or museum to explore the subject further.

There are also tools available to help parents control television viewing even when the kids are watching alone. Newer television sets and most cable and satellite converter boxes contain "parental control" features that allow channels to be blocked out with an access code. By January 2000, all new TV sets will include "V-chips" that will allow parents to block out individual programs based on content and ratings guidelines.

Some parents may believe the best way to deal with the television "problem" is to turn the set off and leave it off. But that solution ignores the positive side of TV. If viewed selectively and critically, television can stimulate learning, increase our children's understanding of national and global issues and provide educational opportunities found nowhere else. And the benefits of learning critical viewing skills extend beyond the TV. In this high-tech information age, children are bombarded with messages, often conflicting, from numerous sources - television, the Internet and music, just to name a few. Children who learn to be smarter, more critical TV viewers will learn to be smarter, more critical information consumers.

Liz Sterner is very active at AT&T Cable Services in promoting efforts to take charge of your TV.

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