Today’s class discussion zeroed in on children and how TV affects them. The professor particularly focused on children aged 3 years and below. Children at such age, he said, are exposed to TV in two ways: background and foreground TV. By background, he meant that the child is incidentally exposed to TV, being present as another family member watches it. Foreground watching on the other hand means that the child deliberately attends to or interacts with the TV.
Both background and foreground TV have effects on children. On the positive side, TV (especially educational programs) could improve school readiness. On the negative side, TV viewing may inhibit child interaction with parents and siblings, my disrupt normal learning, and may negatively impact on brain development. Research shows that heavy TV is potentially very disruptive of normal development since it displaces time for social interaction and creates a habit of passive entertainment.
The psychologist Jean Piaget once said that “play is the work of children” because through it they learn how to do things, how to make things work, and how to manage their world. Thus the more a child plays the better is his brain development. For example, if you were to ask a child to assemble a toy house, you could evaluate his dexterity and coordination, how s/he expresses feelings such as frustration or success, and even social skills by his ability to ask help from siblings or parents. The quality of play and social interaction of 3-year-olds is a significant factor in their cognitive, language and social development.
It goes without saying, then, that parents should keep their young children away from TV as much as possible. Reading stories to them, solving puzzles with them, assembling toys with them are much much better that letting the TV babysit their children. I think parents who take the time to be with their children will find that it is a terrific way of interacting with them and teaching them about the ways of the world.
Even for adults play can enhance the quality of life. An attitude of playfulness can turn everyone’s day more sunny and colorful and make life more interesting and delightful.
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