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TV: The great brainsucker

© Wayne Dawe

(Note: The Internet is a dynamic place and web sites can come and go quite quickly. This is one of my older and some of the links may not work anymore. If you find that this is the case I invite you to look at some of my more recent articles. My links section has my favorite links from past articles and is checked regularly for non working links. Wayne)

TV is sort of like a train wreck. Fascinating yet horrifying. The problem is that TV has already sucked out my brain and I'm trying my best to prevent it from doing the same to the kids. I want to just get it out of the house but I can't, I'm too addicted. TV breeds passivity. But, TV is just so darn convenient, stick a movie in the VCR and the kids are out of your hair for over an hour. Then you start to feel guilty, why aren't the kids outside? shouldn't I be spending quality time with them? Am I a terrible parent because I want to get away from my kids? ... Things were so much easier for parent before TV came along. I wonder if my grandparents said the same thing about radio?

Now that we are all done with feeling guilty lets get to some of the things that make TV worthwhile. I have rarely seen a kids show that is on PBS that I won't let my kids watch. My current favorite is Wishbone a Jack Russell terrier who acts out classic literature. The PBS website has links to sites of their other kids shows including Bill Nye the Science Guy, Lamb Chops Sing Along and many others. One Canadian show I really like is Theodore Tugboat. Another one of the good shows for kids is of course Sesame Street. Sometimes it seems a bit frantic but it certainly seems to keep and hold the kids attention. They seem to learn something too. The more I think about the more quite reasonable kids TV programs, Dudley the Dragon, Groundling Marsh, Kitty Cats.

Maybe the problem is that there are too many good children's show on TV. Perhaps I shouldn't feel so guilty when they watch TV. The important thing to remember is that TV is like the World Wide Web, parents should closely monitor the content that their kids are exposed too. The really great thing about public television is that the programs seem to be frantic, more educational and commercial free. Kids seem to be really susceptible to commercials. I understand that commercials have a place but it's frightening how much kids absorb from them.

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