It seems like every parent program I have ever done I have taught that it is not good to allow a television or a computer in your child’s bedroom.
Once at a public middle school, I was making this point and a parent interrupted me and yelled out that was so unrealistic. She said,
“Parents can’t take everything away. We love our kids. We want them to have a life!”
When I didn’t back off from my point, she walked out and left the program.
Is television “everything,” “love,” and even “life?” Sometimes I wonder if that accurately describes our culture’s value of television and media.
Let me add one more warning about our children’s use of media.
A recent study looked at children’s television, video games, and computer usage to determine if it had an impact on their sleep. The content of the media was evaluated for violence, scariness, and pacing (fast or slow plot). Among the study’s findings were the following:
Parents, please,
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/06/23/peds.2010-3304.abstract