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Smarter kids, Brought to You by the Letters T and V


Christakis
This article shows the positive effects of television. Christakis believes that television is a new reality whether we like it or not. The infants and teenagers are equally fascinated by it. The average modern American child not only spends three to five hours a day watching television but s/he also begins to watch it right from his/her birth. According to Christakis, many parents have misconceptions about their children watching television. There are some myths that are attached to the television and the writer tries to clear those myths:

 1) TV-viewing is bad for our eyes: Christakis does not believe in this as it has been proved that watching television does not cause vision problems.

 2) TV makes kids dumb: Christakis believes just the opposite. According to him, TV shows like ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘Blues Clues’ improve children’s cognitive (connected with mental processes of understanding) abilities.

 3) TV makes kids violent: watching violence on television makes children more aggressive. But, pro-social programs make children kinder and more tolerant.

 4) Educational videos make infants smarter: Christakis is against allowing children younger than two to watch any TV programs because it does not bring them any educational benefit. He presents the findings of his personal study and other reports as evidence.

 5) Watching television makes kids overweight: According to the author, watching television does not cause obesity. It is the eating habit while watching TV that causes it. Besides, junk food advertisements heighten the temptation.

 6) TV helps kids get to sleep: The author believes just the opposite. A study by him and his friends showed that instead of helping the children get to sleep, television disturbs their sleeping pattern.

 7) Kids watch too much television: This problem arises because of the parents’ carelessness. Unlike in the past, parents do not watch television with their kids. They allow their kids to watch any TV program freely. When parents watch with their children, the value of the best TV programs is enhanced and the harm of negative programming can be curtailed.

Interpretation

Television is the product of modern science. The effects of it depend on the users.

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