The relationship between parents, their children and television has been fraught since TVs were first sold in 1946. Even in the 1930’s, parents were concerned about the impact broadcast entertainment had on children. The director of the Child Study Association of America said in 19311,
“The radio seems to find parents more helpless than did the funnies, the automobile, the movies and other earlier invaders of the home, because it can not be locked out or the children locked in”
Unlike some experiences, parents are not always in total control of what their children see (and when they see it) on TV. Streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime etc have further complicated the issue by giving access to a much wider range of programming within the home. A recent survey for the British Board of Film Classification found that children as young as 6 years old regularly make their own decisions about what to watch without help from their parents2. Children also often don’t discuss their viewing choices with their parents. The same survey found that 51% of 6-15 year olds don’t talk to parents about what to watch.
This article will look at the impact of certain types of content on children (particularly younger children) and provide a few tips and strategies for parents to help deal with this thorny issue.
TV – Do Parents need to worry?
Television’s impact on children has been a topic of strong academic debate for several decades now. In the 1960’s, Leonard Eron3 found in a study that there was a strong association between the violence rating of a television programme and aggressive behaviour in boys aged 8-9. On the other hand, he found no such relationship with TV and girls of the same age. This was not universally agreed however and just over ten years later another study4 found:
‘Rapid program pacing did not produce a subsequent increase in aggressive play. The present analyses provide no support for any immediate effects of television program pacing on the behaviour of preschool children’
These studies covered children of different ages and were conducted more than a decade apart. However, what can be argued from the results is that TV consumption has different impacts on children depending on a number of factors. These include gender and age, as well as the actual programme.
More modern studies have suggested links between too much television and related sleep and behavioural issues5. An interesting aspect of these studies was that it was the amount of television watched, rather than the content that was the main factor. The study found that young children who watched two or more hours of television a day were statistically more likely to have behavioural problems. Thus, watching TV itself can be problematic regardless of careful monitoring by parents of what they see.
That is not to say that content is irrelevant – the 1977 study mentioned earlier found that young children do not necessarily always express more aggressive behaviour after watching appropriate content (Sesame Street). On the other hand, content that features violence, sexual activity or unhealthy behaviour has been found to have a direct link to negative health outcomes for children6. A meta-study of TV content and its impact on children found:
- Exposure to portrayals of violence on television are associated consistently with children’s aggressive behaviours;
- There are studies which illustrate television’s depiction of sex and relationships have a powerful influence on teenagers’ sexual attitudes, values, and beliefs;
- The amount of time spent viewing television directly correlates with the request, purchase, and consumption of foods advertised on television, skewing toward unhealthy or fast foods.
One of the major issues is that even programming that is marketed as “for children” often contains content that is not always appropriate for all children of that age. A study found that the average child will view as many as 200,000 violent acts on television by the time they are 187. Parental ratings systems cannot necessarily prevent children from viewing inappropriate content. A review of the US system found that it was not effective in sufficiently warning parents about what was actually contained in a programme, stating8:
“TV Parental Guidelines ratings were ineffective in discriminating shows for 3 out of 4 behaviours studied. Even in shows rated for children as young as 7 years, violence was prevalent, prominent, and salient. TV ratings were most effective for identification of sexual behaviour and gory violence.”
When the labels used by TV ratings systems are looked at, it is obvious why they can be less effective than desired. If a programme is labelled “PG Parental Guidance”, it is allowed to contain9:
“Mild bad language only”
“Violence will usually be mild. However there may be moderate violence, without detail, if justified by its context”
However, what one family or child might view as “mild” in terms of language or violence may not fit another families description. The classification boards do their best to provide a general guide, but only you, as a parent, will know what your child is or is not able to handle or understand.
While parents should not be too afraid about the impact of television content on their child, it is clear that they should not totally disregard it either. It is important that parents take a keen personal interest in what their child watches and consumes, and that they do not rely on shortcuts like parental rating systems. So, what can parents do to ensure that children are not negatively affected by what they watch?
What Parents can do!
First and foremost, it is important for parents to be realistic with their expectations. The enormous amount of access to content that children have today means that parents cannot reasonably be expected to know in-depth information about any show their child might watch. In the past, a parent might be generally aware of what was on given that there were a limited number of channels available. By contrast, no one expects parents to spend hours researching every episode of the newest cartoon that your child is regularly watching on Netflix. You can however control the amount of content your child watches – the evidence suggests for younger children (those aged under 10), no more than two hours of “screen time” including TV a day is best. For those under the age of 5, one hour is enough10.
Try to take a proactive approach with your child. Younger children will likely be excited to share information about their new interest in a programme. Use that enthusiasm to stimulate a conversation. Talk about the content, what they like about the show and explore any issues that you are concerned about in an inquisitive rather than accusatory way. If you are worried about a particular film or programme, watch it with your child. After it is over, have further conversations and talk through anything you think they might be influenced by.
Another key action you can take is if your child is very small, or particularly sensitive is to make sure that you are involved in the choice of TV programming. Remember that as their parent, you are the first line of defence from inappropriate content. As they get older and socialise with other children (at school for example) they may request access to different programmes, but while they are younger it is perfectly reasonable for parents to decide what a child watches most if not all of the time. One key aspect of this to remember is that on streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime, auto-play features may start new or unrelated programmes automatically. In order to prevent unintended viewing parents should either turn off these features or watch to the end to stop them manually.
Lastly, it is likely that even with careful supervision your child will eventually be exposed to content that is not appropriate. This might be by accident, via advertisement or it may be hidden in seemingly appropriate content. It is important that you remain calm and avoid scaring your child by getting upset. Instead, simply turn off the programme and talk to your child about what they saw. You should explore their feelings – did they understand what just happened? How did it make them feel? If they are scared or worried, take the time to reassure them. If you find that they misunderstood or misinterpreted something, it might be good to explain what happened in age-appropriate language. That way, they can understand why you do not want them to watch this sort of content.
Conclusion
While it is very difficult to know for sure how TV content will affect your child as an individual, it is normal and correct to be aware of the impact it can have. Parents should be vigilant and try to limit the amount of TV their child is watching, and ensure that as much of it is age-appropriate as is possible.
However, they should also be understanding of their own limitations. The most important safeguard your child can have against negative outcomes from violent or inappropriate content is healthy communication with their parents. As their guardian, you can help them to process and understand what they see, and ensure that it does not change their behaviour, or cause them to be confused or upset.
- https://apnews.com/10a38154c6204b8483ae065605bf929e/Before-parental-‘screen-time’-concerns:-radio,-even-novels
- https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-bbfc/media-centre/children-young-six-regularly-making-their-own-decisions-about-what-content
- ‘RELATIONSHIP OF TV VIEWING HABITS AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN CHILDREN’ Leonard D. Eron 1963 Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/30219766
- https://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20071001/too-much-tv-linked-behavior-problems
- https://adc.bmj.com/content/83/4/289.full
- https://www.aafp.org/about/policies/all/violence-media-entertainment.html
- https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2016/08/18/peds.2016-0487
- https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-classification/pg
- https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/24-04-2019-to-grow-up-healthy-children-need-to-sit-less-and-play-more
