Why We Should Filter Our Children

TV and children: The impact it has on one another, why it could be beneficial or disastrous, and why we should filter our children

Let's face it, we all know that children are like sponges; they tend to absorb whatever they hear, good or bad. I am sure we have all seen an alteration in a child's behavior after he or she has continuously watched a television series or episode, whether it be slang the show utilizes or perhaps the actions. Maybe it was a good alteration or possibly a ruinous alteration. The key to make sure children will utilize and receive beneficial views is to filter what they are watching at all times. No one wants their child walking around using foul language, it’s more embarrassing than it is funny to a parent.

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Let’s say a child was watching a movie like The Hangover, that exhibited foul language and crude violence; he or she then begins to say these foul words or preform heinous acts of violence they just learned, not knowing any better of course. Now it is going to take some time to explain to a child why he or she can’t say that word anymore and why it is bad. “Despite the evident importance of teaching children to become critical viewers of violence in entertainment programs, health care professionals and parents thus also should emphasize the potential negative effects of real violence portrayed in these programs.” (Juliette H. Walma van der Molen). This quote fits well with what I am discussing; we should emphasize the negative effects of violence to our children so in the future they will not perform such acts, because they will then know the negative consequences that can come along with it. A beneficial example would be if a child was viewing a show that was teaching awareness of kidnapping; the show could teach him or her what to look out for and what not to do. Or if a child was watching Sprout, which is a TV network aimed towards preschoolers and families. Sprout airs TV shows that are meant to engage your child into expanding their vocabulary and learning about childhood and

A child may have not been viewing terrible TV shows to learn bad behavior, but went to school and exhibited these foul acts by other children, which in return can influence another child to do so. A boy could tell another boy “Hey I watching The Hangover last night and I heard this word…!” Then this act could cause the child who wasn’t exposed to the TV show to say foul things because he thinks it is cool. Another example of a TV show terrible for children would be Family Guy, a child could see that Stewie, the baby in the TV show, is disrespectful towards his mother. This could cause a child viewing this show to do so, and if that child had a friend over who thought it was cool to back talk mom, he or she would probably go home and act the same out of