What "God is in the TV" really means.
Oct 15 '00
Disclaimer: The following is an editorial about television and how I feel about it with regards to our children and their health. I hope that no one gets offended by what I have to say here. I am not trying to tell anyone that they are raising their child wrong. This is an editorial about the steps I would take if I had a child to ensure their well-being. If anyone is offended by this review, please leave a comment explaining what I have said that you didn't like, and I'll try to fix it.
Writing a Kids and Family Editorial on the television may seem like a strange thing to do on my part. I think that it is a very important subject to be writing on. I've always thought that we've got an epidemic on our hands that must be dealt with. In short, our children are becoming couch potatoes. Many of them spend their weekends sitting around watching tv, eating candy and potato chips. When they aren't in school, there are a lot of children who spend their free time in this way. And I would like to pose this question to all of you: how good is this for our children? Inactive life styles and unhealthy eating habits are becoming the characteristic for this next generation. Do we really want our children to be lazy, over weight, unhealthy, and have short attention spans? I don't think that any parent could say that they would want this for their child. And yet, many parents allow their children to develop this way of life. While you may look at your child and think "she doesn't have any of these characteristics and she loves to watch television", you must realize that your daughter (or son) is starting to live this way of life, and it will be with them for as long as they live. There must be something that parents can do to prevent the encouragement of these unhealthy life styles. Children should be outside playing, not watching tv all day.
Marilyn Manson proclaims "God is in the TV" in his song "Rock is Dead". This quote is not to be taken literally. What it means is that our entire lives are beginning to revolve around the television set. Imagine a new race of beings from another planet observing the people of earth: intently staring at the glowing box of moving pictures that we call a television. It would appear to them as if we were worshipping it. It would look as if this is our God. It is sad that the human race has become this way. Although I know that there are lots of people who aren't like this, and who don't raise their children to be like this, I also realize that there are too many people who do. It's very hard to change your own way of life. But you can prevent your child from being this way.
We need to reverse the unhealthy life styles that children lead. While my argument revolves around kids watching too much tv, there are many preventable reasons why our children are unhealthy today. Parents should be encouraging healthy eating, active life styles, and minimal time spent in front of the tv.
Limited Junk Food
Lots of kids eat chips or candy while watching tv. And if you do nothing but watch tv, then you'll do nothing but eat food that is not good for you. My parents didn't give me junk food until I was three. I've seen parents give their kids cheesies before they were even eating solid foods. This is horrible. Why on earth would you want to introduce your child to junk food before they need to be? There is no advantage to giving your kid this garbage, only disadvantages. Kids who don't eat well aren't going to be in good health. It's a fact. And if your child isn't being physically active either, its just dangerous. Perhaps not now when they're bodies are young, but when they grow older, and these habits stick with them (which there is a good chance that they will), trouble will ensure. Prevent your children from being unhealthy. Once you do decide that your child can have junk food, give it to them in moderation. In my family, junk food was always a "treat". We got no more than one piece of junk food a week. I think that moderation is important. You have to make sure that you're setting your child off on the right foot. These eating habits will stick with them for the rest of their lives.
Limited Time In Front of the TV
There are parents out their who sit their two year old in front of the tv to "keep her out of the way" while they are cooking supper. This is just one example. Parents often use the tv set as a babysitter, or to occupy the child for a while. This isn't a good habit to get into. Many children are allowed to watch tv constantly. With all of the garbage that is on tv today, why would you want that to be all that your child sees? It also discourages active life styles. It prevents the child from learning how to properly interact with other people and develop social skills. The tv
-- video games in particular -- also encourages kids to have low attention spans. All of these things are very damaging to the child's mental and physical health. Do not let your child spend the entire day in front of the tv. Limit it to an hour or two. If a child is raised by the tv, then in adulthood the tv will become his or her only friend, and their health will suffer greatly.
Limited Time Spent In the House
This is my third and final point. What I mean by this is that encouraging a healthy life style is absolutely crutial. Encourage your child to spend at least an hour or two playing. Either you or the babysitter can take him or her to the park or a playground. If you live in a rural area like I did, there is always something to do in the back yard. This is great because it gets the child moving. If a kid is encouraged while he or she is young to be active, they are more likely to be active when they grow up, and therefore more healthy.
Although I don't have children, I feel as if I have the right to this opinion and have justified it fully. When I someday have kids, these are the things that I will do to ensure that they lead healthy, active lives. These children are our future, after all -- take the time to help them today, and they will be eternally grateful to you tomorrow.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
melanierose
|
|
Member: melanie
Reviews written: 74
Trusted by: 31 members
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.