Just sit with your children, while they are watching television, it might change your opinion of what is child friendly and what is not fit for children’s viewing. We live in an era which is controlled by television, this slavery might be beneficial for some of us, but its negative influences should also be considered. The influence which starts when we are a few months old and stays with us forever. This magic picture box has casted its spell, not just on adults or the elderly but even on young ones and worse of all even the infants are attracted to it. Most of the kids these days spend more time in front of a TV screen rather than with their parent and it seems as if it has become a foster parent.
Children are learning from this techno-slate, rather than their parents and teachers combined. Parents these days find it easier to handle their children, thanks to the presence of television. Whenever they find the little ones hard to handle they turn on the TV and put them in front of the screen. The question is what are these young minds absorbing? The answer generally is that our children only watch cartoons and nothing else. Well this is where their parenting has failed. Cartoons might have been a source of learning or even if they weren’t, they were considered watch-able back in 90’s or may be early 2000’s but things are different now.
Cartoons of that era were entertaining and had moral messages for viewers but now just tune in to any cartoon channel, whether its Cartoon Network, Disney, Nickelodeon or any other and you will feel nothing but utter disappointment. You might find it so chaotic that you will end up throwing your TV set away or cutting down the cable supply for the rest of your life. Well every possible social or cultural evil, that you can think of is being forcefully installed in these innocent minds. For example you will witness the killing of national culture or heritage to bloodshed or real life killing, from racism to dirty sarcasm. You might find these channels so disturbing that you could ground your children for ever.
If your child is acting weird or losing his focus and is being a little too obnoxious and hard to handle, you know whom to blame and what to do. It will be useful if children were allowed to play outside and parents should plan outdoor activities such as going to playgrounds or for picnics. They should also be introduced to activities where they get a chance to interact with their peers. Children should be encouraged to participate in creative activities. Parenting is considered to be one of the most hectic jobs and it would be great if we start doing these tasks ourselves rather than relying on technology.
FARRUKH YOUSAF ALI,
Islamabad, October 27.