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TV is a great source of entertainment & learning for children. TV has power to generate both positive and negative effects on its young viewers But the question is that do children understand how to benefit from TV and how to protect themselves from the negative and perilous affects of TV. Before we move on, one thing you, being a parent should bear in mind. The influence of the media on the psychosocial development of children is profound. Children are so innocent and sane that they begin to notice and react to what they watch on TV. This is the age they are unable to distinguish between fact and fantasy. Their frequent exposure to TV makes them to receive watching violence as an ordinary occurrence, as result they act out violence in real life. The more they watch TV the more they are vulnerable to negative effects of the played contents. A lot of research in West has been done on the impact of television on society, particularly on children and adolescents. Studies have shown that the very young children, in play with peers, imitate the aggressive acts watched on TV.
A research shows that children with 1-4 hour of TV watching each day are 60% more likely to be involved in assaults and fighting.

All children are affected but the following groups of children are more vulnerable to violence on television:

• Children from minority and immigrant groups
• Emotionally disturbed & challenged children
• Children with learning disabilities
• Victim of intimidation & bullying
• Children who are abused by their parents
• Children in distressed families
• Children with low self-esteem & poor self-image

Because television takes time away from play and exercise activities, children who watch a lot of television are less physically fit and more likely to eat high fat and high energy snack foods. The irreversible loss that TV violence causes to our young ones is that

• Children become immune to violence
• Accept violence as a way to solve problem
• Imitate the violence & violent acts
• Identify with certain characters/victims/victimizers
• Learn bullying and intimidation
• Become self-centered & self-righteous
• Become irritant & overly reactive

Do you know which toy children specifically boys did have on the eve of ‘Eid’ this year? To your surprise, it was “gun” not a water gun, a gun with round shaped tiny but dangerous bullets that hurt if shot. Why children gave preference to buy guns over other toys? What does that signal? Think about it before it gets too late

Remedial precautions:

Physicians, parents, schools and philanthropists should join hands for a media-literate awareness to protect young builders of the nation from negative effects of violent media. What are the risks of unchecked and unsupervised exposure of kids to TV violence should be taught to the public at large. Not only this, there is a dire need of teaching children how to interpret what they see on screen. In doing so, children can be taught to discern which media message is suitable. There is a burning need to launch plenty of child-centered TVs in the country. Last but not the least; parents should demonstrate responsible behavior while watching TV when toddlers and young kids are sitting in their laps.