TV or not TV, that is the question!
There is an old expression, "Children should be seen and not heard.” In terms of a child/parent relationship, it could be said, “Parents should be seen and not heard.” Why would I say that? Because the world of psychology has known for good deal of time that our children learn more from their observations than they do from our instruction.
In 1961 Dr. Albert Bandura performed an experiment to prove such a theory. He took a rubber doll of Bobo the clown and using an adult model, showed the adult performing aggressively toward the doll. Afterward, the adult was either rewarded, suffered no consequences or was punished. Children that observed this behavior acted aggressively, modeling their behavior after those adults that were rewarded or suffered no consequences. Those that observed the models that were punished had lesser numbers that behaved aggressively.
The interesting (and troubling) thing about this study is that the children who were aggressive were able to think of many more different ways to act aggressively toward Bobo; the added use of weapons – even toy guns – was common.
Dr. Bandura's theory became known as the Social Learning Theory. Ultimately his findings were used to promote such learning within mass media. There have been studies where TV shows in other countries were designed and were successful in lowering the number of sexual partners and decreasing AIDS, and shows depicting a better use of family planning heralded an increase in the use of contraceptives.
The point? What our children watch on TV does impact their lives. We live in a society where it is not uncommon for our children to watch an average of 7 hours of TV a day, and 53% of teens have a TV in their room. With all that TV viewing our children are still learning. And when you sit down to “talk” with them – sorry mom and dad – they have already learned a stronger lesson by watching the examples on TV, whether that is violence, sex or antisocial behavior.
I have a TV in my home. It is connected only to a DVD player. My children watch the movies I tell them they can watch. They also have a TV in their room, but again it is only connected to a DVD player; no cable or satellite signal comes into my home. I save that fee for other things. I prefer to be the teacher to my children, not some square box without a heart or mind.
For more info: American Psychological Assoc., City College of New York
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