How Television Affects Children

Every day,  our children spend hours and hours in front of a screen. The abuse of mobile phones, tablets and television in children can have negative consequences for their development.

The smallest of the house can be affected, both cognitively and physically. Therefore, it is important to identify when there is a related problem that is conditioning your life.

Let’s delve into the subject.

The beginning of children’s interaction with television

At present, parents do not have the time to fully dedicate themselves to the care of their children. For this reason, in many cases, they are given the mobile or tablet from the first moment in which they can grasp objects with their own hands. And not to mention when they are placed in front of the television with just a few weeks of life.

It can seem great to adults for little ones to sit in front of an electronic device for hours while they perform other tasks. But to what extent is this beneficial for children?

From a young age, we became heavy consumers of television shows. Especially nowadays, when there are exclusive channels for children that broadcast cartoons 24 hours a day.

In addition, in most houses, each room has its own device, including the children’s room; it is not lacking either in the kitchen or in the living room.

Harmful Effects of Television on Children

As always, it all depends on the amount of time children spend in front of this device. It is not the same that they only watch television an hour a day, that they spend the whole weekend in front of the screen.

The risks of excessive use of this appliance are many:

1. Less moments to share with the family

Breakfast or dinner are usually meals in which we can all sit together and enjoy each other’s company. Unfortunately, television is just another member of modern families and intercepts communication between them.

Dining with the screen at full volume does not allow anyone to tell how the day has gone. In addition, it prevents attention from being eaten and leads to fights over who has the remote control.

2. Isolate from the environment

From a very young age, children know how to turn on the television and change channels. This makes them so independent that parents never know what they are looking at or doing.

In front of the screen, it is as if the little one does not exist. This is not good, because it isolates you from what is going on around you. You may have hundreds of toys, visitors may come in, or your puppy wants to go for a walk, but you won’t notice because your eyes and mind will be focused on that light box.

3. Take away space from other games

Unlike previous generations, today’s children don’t know how to play with non-technological items. Even if they have many toys, the little ones will not pay attention to them because there is something brighter that attracts them: the screen.

Through television, children lose hours of contact with siblings, cousins, neighbors, or friends. When the power goes out or they are on vacation,  they do not know how to entertain themselves if they do not have a mobile phone with internet or a tablet with downloaded games. 

4. Kill creativity

Another negative effect of television on children is that it inhibits their ability to think for themselves. Unlike a book, which allows them to let their imaginations fly, on the screen the characters, the stories or the environments are already well detailed.

That is, the little one will not have to imagine what his favorite superhero is like, because he will be seeing it in all the details. Likewise, since he does not play — either alone or with other children — he will lose or not even develop the ability to imagine stories or situations with his toys.

For example, you will not have the chance to build a fort with little soldiers, take care of a doll or organize a car race, activities that seem to have been left to the previous generation.

5. May affect studies

One of the most harmful effects of television on children from school age is that they do not pay attention in the classroom or to the teachers. The famous “attention deficit” is not an invention, but a problem that schools and parents must deal with on a daily basis.

As they are used to a continuous bombardment of lights, sounds and colors, it  is very difficult for them to focus when someone is teaching them something in a “traditional” way. In fact, schools are trying to change the way they run classes by adding multimedia content for children to learn.

On the other hand, the fact of having things “served on a platter” when doing homework – because everything is on the internet – reduces the possibility that the student will really make an effort to find information.

Television does not educate: the environment, yes

Finally, we must rethink – and why not eliminate – that myth that affirms that “television educates”. Certain content can help, such as documentaries, but most of the programs that children watch have no didactic content at all.

It is important to be attentive and stimulate children with normal games, books or excursions. As parents, it is our responsibility that they grow in a healthy way, both physically and mentally.