Internet and TV:
How much is too much for young children?
Na’Shaye Lewis
English 112

How much TV and gaming, educational or not, is too much for young children? In the USA, 47% of children ages 2 to 18 years old have a television set in their bedrooms. On a typical day, they spend an average of 5.5 hours using media; including television, computer games, and the Internet. (Kaiser Family Foundation Newsletter, 2001) While there are a lot of different television and online educational sites that can be beneficial to a child’s education, parents should often monitor or regulate the amount of TV and Internet young children watch because it inhibits social development, shortens children’s attention span, and sometimes it is not always intellectually stimulating. Social development can simply be explained as improving the well-being of an individual in society so they can reach their full potential. A society success is directly linked to the well-being of each individual citizen. With so many things on TV that can be negative there are so many shows and internet games that get your children up and physically active and wanting to learn. Shows such as Yo Gabba Gabba which teaches children how to eat healthy, get up and move around, how to help take care of the planet you live on and how to care about what others may feel. Ni Hoa Kai-Lan teaches the importance of social development as well as discovering new ways to recognize and deal with their emotions. As it is said children are the future to our society and they start to learn who they are during social development. Understanding who they are, what they feel, and what they expect to receive from others is the key concepts of their social-emotional wellness. These key concepts contribute to a child’s self-confidence, empathy, their ability to develop meaningful lasting friendships and soon partnerships. It also contributes to their sense of importance and value to those around them. In a recent article author Kristen Reinberg stated, “Children’s social-emotional developments influence all other areas of development: Cognitive, motor, and language development. They are all greatly affected by how a child feels about their self and how they are able to express ideas and emotions. The greatest influence on a child’s social-development is the quality of the relatio...

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