Is your child a TV Addict?
Help Me To Parent Ltd - November 2008
Do you
sometimes wonder if your child is becoming a TV addict? Does
she watch hours of TV, no matter what's on? Are you worried
that she is spending less time with friends or in physical
activity? Many parents today are concerned about the amount of
TV their child is watching. Should you be worried?
The short answer is yes, you are
right to be worried. There can be a lot of valuable education
and good entertainment on TV. However, excessive and
uncontrolled TV viewing can be harmful, fostering passivity and
physical inactivity in children. This can cause children to
gain weight, reduce time spent on learning and social
activities and exposes children to violence and other unhelpful
viewing.
TV viewing is addictive and like
any habit it can take time to break it. Your involvement is
critical in helping your child. Sit down and have a chat with
her and discuss your concerns. Make an agreement with her about
the amount of TV she can watch in a day and which programmes
she can watch, vary this at weekends. Don't focus on "No TV",
help your child identify other activities she can do instead.
Some ideas are sports, meeting friends, reading, etc. The key
is to help your child build new helpful habits and not to be
simply dependent on TV.
If you want to be successful, you
have to be prepared to model this good behaviour. Be prepared
to turn off the TV during mealtimes inviting conversation
instead. Also, get involved in healthy activities yourself with
your child. You might arrange to go swimming together or play a
game of tennis. Pick something healthy that your child likes to
do and try to encourage this good habit by being there with
her, using the time as an opportunity to connect with
her.
You have to remember to be
patient, it can take time to break a habit and to learn a new
one. Encourage your child with any small positive steps she
makes, but also be prepared to enforce TV viewing rules
(insisting your child keeps to the agreed
times).
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