TV Blues; Read a Book

By the time a child is 18 they will have seen 900,000 hours of TV according to a study by the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics). Wow, now that is a lot of TV watching.

On average today’s children watch at least four hours of TV a day, twice the amount recommended by the AAP.  With the amount of violent acts, sexually illicit situations and other unsafe behaviors portrayed on TV, there is no wonder that children are growing-up expressing these unsafe behaviors.  

The solution is to limit the time children spend in front of the TV.  Help the children find other leisure activities such as reading, playing with friends, sports, or others.  According to the AAP children under the age of two should not watch TV at all; this time is critical in their physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Reading to children helps them develop thinking skills, imagination, and emotional attachments.  

Once a child learns to read, fill their lives with books. Reading is brain exercise; it is an active process through which the brain develops. Through this exercise children learn to think and imagine and thus become smarter.  Reading helps children learn to be problem solvers; it gives them basic reasoning skills needed to find solutions to problems.  Reading time helps to develop concentration skills and gives children a look at different views, cultures, even parts of the world. Reading also helps them build a strong vocabulary and a sense of self worth.

Other leisure activities are good, but reading is a very important part of a child’s life. Do not deprive a child of the adventures that come along with reading; the younger a child starts, the more they will love to read.