Question: Is it possible that all the TV my children watch is affecting their performance at school? - Love TV
Answer: Many children actually spend more time in front of the television than in the classroom. Research seems to indicate that excessive television viewing might be linked to poor academic performances. You can help your children use television as a positive, creative force in their lives. Take the following quiz to see if your family has learned to manage their television viewing habits:
- Does your family practice selective viewing? This means that you plan your television viewing ahead of time and don't just indiscriminately turn it on and surf the channels. Too often television viewing is more habit than choice.
- Do you limit the amount of time that your family watches television? Children should not be watching more than one or two hours per day. It's a good idea to make a chart of a week's viewing and analyze the need for any changes.
- Do you watch many programs as a family? The conversations that parents and children have during TV programs can be very educational and allow discussions of such difficult topics as war, values and racism.
- Do family members promptly turn off the television when programs are objectionable? Children need to be taught the difference between appropriate and inappropriate programs.