The Effect TV Has on Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Effect TV Has on Children - Essay Example According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), kids in the United States watch about 4 hours of TV a day. According to the AAP guidelines, children under age 2 should have no "screen time" (TV, DVDs or videotapes, computers, or video games) at all. During the first 2 years, a critical time for brain development, TV can get in the way of exploring, learning, and spending time interacting and playing with parents and others, which help young children, develop the skills they need to grow cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally. There is no doubt that TV can be an excellent educator and entertainer. But despite its advantages, too much television can be detrimental. Several types of research around the world have shown that children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching TV are more likely to be overweight. In earlier days before the television, children played outdoors more and used their minds to be more creative. Excessive television viewing promotes inactivity. Health experts have long linked excessive TV-watching to obesity - a significant health problem today. While watching TV, children are inactive and tend to snack which contributes to poor nutrition. They're also bombarded with advertising messages that encourage them to eat unhealthy foods such as potato chips and empty-calorie soft drinks that often become preferred snack foods. According to the AAP, children in the United States see 40,000 commercials each year. From junk food and soft drink advertisements, children persuade t heir parents to buy them. This leads to major health problems and is a serious concern around the world (Dowshen and Gavin, 2005).