I'm not a parent,
but I can share a few thoughts nonetheless. I'm nineteen and I stopped
watching TV about three or four years ago. I now notice that the TV
shows I used to watch were the ones that my friends watched (mostly
Party of Five). It would help if parents explained to
their children that just because their friends watch a show, it doesn't
mean they have to. The hard part about that is if the friends are like
mine were, they will discuss the TV show endlessly and the child feels
left out if (s)he doesn't watch it.
Parents can encourage
children to join sports teams or other activities. This way, the kids
are busy doing more constructive things, and they become friends with
other kids who probably don't watch much TV.
One thing that
helped me when I was growing up is that my dad encouraged me to read
over the summer. He paid me a certain amount for each book I read, but
I had to meet a quota that varied depending on my age. The books had
to be appropriate for my reading level, too (no picture books when I
should have been reading chapter books!). This helped a lot because
now I can read and write well, so I like it and spend time doing it.
I noticed that my dad didn't encourage my younger siblings to read as
much, so they spend more time watching TV. Otherwise, my siblings and
I spend our time doing schoolwork, playing sports, doing artwork, etc.
My parents don't have to entertain us, with the exception of my youngest
sister. Even then, she finds plenty to do while staying out of my parents'
hair. It helps a lot for kids to have another sibling or friend to play
with. My family stresses education quite a bit, so I noticed that we're
sometimes different in the things we learned. Although the emphasis
on education is essential, I think it helps a lot that we don't watch
a lot of TV. My 17 year-old sister and I are strong in academics, and
we don't watch much TV or play many video games. My brother isn't as
academically strong, and he watches more TV and plays *lots* of video
games.
We are an urban
family from San Antonio, Texas.
Kay
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