WONAM 2 WOMAN: Making television time- family time

Taking time to watch television with children, whenever possible, provides an opportunity for some shared family time. It is also a vehicle through which you share the truth about what children see in shows and movies, and even cartoons as opposed to real life. “I taught my children, as adolescents, that television shows and movies are make-believe, with actors pretending to be bad guys. I pointed out various actors who were alive in one movie after being ‘killed’ in a previous one,” Mama Gloria, a 32 year old mother of 3 recently told me. She added that “as a follow up I stressed the fact that using real’ guns, knives, and other weapons to resolve problems or to hurt others for any reason is wrong. I also taught them the distinction between television’s fake killings and how persons who were killed in real life did not wake up to live another day.’’ Mama Gloria is just among the few parents with such an initiative that is actually a very strong tool for reducing the bad effects of television on children. Leaving the children to discover for themselves such critical information is risky. This is because sometimes, children take whatever they watch on television as “gospel” truth yet most of the stories are actually fictional and unrealistic. The best way to make sure children are watching shows parents feel are appropriate will always be sitting down and watching television together as a family. I know careers and after work chores like dinner and laundry make this difficult. “I tried to watch at least one hour long show, two thirty minute shows or a movie with my children most evenings. Beyond that I would keep an eye on what they were watching if I had to do other things,” Mama Gloria said. As a country that has advanced in Information Technology and Communication (ICT), it is not surprising that very many parents allow children to have a television and computer in their bedrooms. But this can be recipe for disaster if there is no form of regulation, as it gives a chance to the children to watch literally “everything.” It also takes away family time, as the children will prefer spending most of the time in the bedroom. In fact sometimes some children develop anti –social behaviour as a result of this. For instance, there are some children who prefer to keep “locked” in their rooms when visitors come home. Not those children are supposed to keep around all the time when the visitors are around! But at least there should be some sense of courtesy when a visitors comes home- children come and say hello. Setting limits on the amount of time children spend in front of the television also lessens the chance they will find objectionable materials. Parents and other adults should simply be aware of, and pay attention to, what children are watching on television and what kind of message they are getting, then making sure children know Television is not real. Decide what movies and series will be considered ‘okay or off limits’, and make sure children do not mimic violent or overtly sexual behaviour they may learn from Television. And whenever possible, parents should watch television with their children and answer any questions a child may have about what they have seen. ubernie@gmail.com