Television may be either an enemy or a best friend in American homes. To gain the potential value from television, it should be used carefully and intelligently with clear and consistent limits. Every family has different rules and expectations regarding the use of television, and these must be respected at any time children of any age are present.

When children watch television there are some things they are NOT doing simply because they are watching television. Most importantly, they are not getting exercise and they are not interacting. Television watching is a passive activity, it is one way, the children only receive. There are no opportunities for developing social skills. Many children enter an almost trance-like state when they are watching television; they don’t hear when they are spoken to and their eyes glaze over. If children are left to watch television for prolonged periods of time they may be cranky and misbehave when they stop watching television. This is similar to early-morning crankiness: it takes a few minutes for some children to readjust to their normal state.

Although television may offer a welcome break in the day, and keep children occupied when the adults need to tend to someone or something else, the inactivity of television watching can actually lead to irritability and boredom, and make children feel more tired. Some experts say that it can help develop language skills or teach information, but the best way of learning is by doing. Television is not a substitute for conversation, or for games and activities involving imagination and creativity.

Nonetheless, television is part of life in America in almost every home. The adult supervising the child must pay attention to the show(s) children watch to be sure that they are appropriate. Even some cartoons may be too violent or socially inappropriate for young children. When adults watch television with children it is a good idea to discuss what is being watched. Ask what and why questions about what you have seen. Is it realistic? How do the characters treat each other? Why? What would the child do in a similar situation (if it is realistic)? What did they learn from the program? If it is an educational, show such as a science or reading program, try following it up with a related activity at home. Even very young children can pickup cues from adult programs such as soap operas and MTV- these should not be on if any children are in the room. Some families prefer that children limit themselves to videos, or television shows on “public television” (PBS) where there are no commercials. Television advertising encourages children to ask for food that may not be part of a healthy diet, and toys that might appear to perform better than they actually do. For older children commercials may suggest or encourage behaviors or physical appearance that may be inappropriate or confusing for children, such as beer commercials, or advertisements with very thin models.

There is wide-spread interest in improving and monitoring the quality of programming for children, but there is still much debate about this issue.