Parenting 101

Lesson 3: Family Time

How to Use TV As A Tool For Communication

In the last lesson, we talked about how too much privacy leads to problems. Having a family TV is an excellent tool for teaching valuable lessons and helping guide your children’s attitudes about major issues.

September 11th was a horrifying day for us, as it was for most families. My first reaction was to shield them somehow from it all. But as the day wore on, I saw how very anxious and upset they were becoming, so I sat down with them and we watched it together for awhile. They had lots of questions, mostly about why this had happened. Over the next few days, weeks and months, I slowly brought them to an awareness of many, many things.

As a family, we shared the grief, shock and horror of what had been done. Instead of frightening them or increasing their anxiety, it had the opposite effect: it calmed them down. We used what we saw that day to broaden their knowledge and help them cope with the unspeakable.

You can use programs on crime, the news, or whatever you feel is important, as a vehicle to talk with your children about major issues. You can help them understand what is acceptable behavior and what isn’t.

As part of your anti-drug message, you can point out how many ads seem to be geared towards using a pill or potion to look younger, feel less shy, lose weight or fall asleep. Offer alternatives by suggesting different ways to cope. This will increase their sensitivity to the continued drug messages permeating the airwaves.

There are so many ways intelligent parents can utilize this medium to enhance their family communications.

Decide how you can use TV to communicate valuable lessons to your children.

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