Television Is Affecting Children Negatively
Larry Hering
ENGL 101-B25
June 18, 2012
Gerald Spence

Abstract
Television and television advertising are effectively altering the way children think, act, and interact. Sedentary lifestyles are thought to be synonymous with watching too much television and childhood obesity has become a major issue in the United States. With all of the data and recommendations showing the negative affect television is causing, parents are in control of the issue right in their own homes. All that is needed is for them to assume responsibility.

Television Is Affecting Children Negatively

Over the last thirty years obesity has tripled in children ages 5 and up (Eaton, 2010). It is an epidemic that needs to be addressed in order to regain health among the nation’s children. While there is clearly more than one factor, technology has to take a major part of the blame along with parents. Children are spending too much time watching television and using systems such as Play Station and X-box. Computers are another source that takes away from activity
Sedentary lifestyles are taking the place of wholesome activity-based play. Notice this child is sitting approximately three feet from the television and still uses a remote (see his left hand). His only activity appears to be eating potato chips and drinking soda. This image could be from any home in the country as sedentary lifestyles have become common.

-based fun. Sedentary lifestyles and childhood obesity go hand-in-hand and television watching can be blamed as a major part of the problem. However, if parents took responsibility for what their children were watching and how much they were watching, in order for this issue to be under control in their own homes.
Anissa Gustafson is a registered dietician with the Las Vegas Children’s Heart Center. She says “Childhood obesity is clearly multi-factorial, but that's [TV] definitely part of it". She went on to say "There are a lot of studies that show that too. Over the last two to three decades, video games and more accessibility to computers, all that has increased childhood obesity" (Eaton, 2010).
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends one to two hours of screen time per day, yet studies are finding children are often getting five or more hours per day. Is it parenting, television advertising, or both? Gustafson says "Again, it comes down to parent’s kind of overseeing that as well" (Eaton, 2010). It is obvious that a television set cannot make a child sit down to watch it. The content children see on television, including advertising, has a big influence on kids. We could blame the television set, but parents have to take an active role in directing the activities of America’s youth. Ultimately, we have to realize this is, in part, a parenting issue.
“A shocking study from child experts at the University de Montréal, the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and the University of Michigan, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, has found that television exposure at age two forecasts negative consequences for kids, ranging from poor school adjustment to unhealthy habits” (University of Montreal, 2010).
This research study also noted poor awareness on behalf of parents regarding the guidelines offered by the American Academy of Pediatrics (University of Montreal, 2010). Awareness by parents is one issue, but parenting is a learned behavior. The timing of the rise in televisions in the home would make this generation of parents the second generation that was brought up by the country’s best and most reliable baby sitter; the television set. Their parents did not have the research available to them when they made their decision to allow television as a growing part of children’s daily routine. It is fair to say that today’s parents are probably parenting by the behaviors they learned from their parents, but the cycle needs to broken.
Parental control is one of the key elements of excessive television. Poor control of television watching brings with it negative consequences all by itself.
Television advertising could be considered worse than poor parental control. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association says “Even brief exposures to televised food commercials can influence preschool children's food preferences. Nutritionists and health educators should advise parents to limit their preschooler's exposure to television advertisements. Furthermore, advocates should raise the public policy issue of advertising and young children, especially given the recent epidemic of childhood obesity and the ever-changing media environment” (Borzokowski & Robinson, 2001).
Research published by the Journal of Consumer Research found that children who watched television heavily at Christmas time expressed more disappointment when they received toys that were unadvertised than other children. The study also found that parent-child relations were affected by how much television the children watch, due in part to the higher expectations of the children who saw more advertising and asked for more things (Goldberg & Gorn, 1978).
Television is also having an affect on violence. According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, forms of violence are on the rise due to the content on television. Children see violence all around them and they become convinced it is the only answer when they are angry or disturbed. Children also notice other’s pain less, become scared of the world around them, and are more likely to become violent (Snyder, Snodgrass, Shannon & Smith, 2004).
Television advertising can cause children to be violent, demanding, hostile toward their parents, and make wrong choices. The effects of this advertising, and television viewing in general, are far reaching in that they start to affect children before they reach the age of two (Eaton, 2010). With all of the evidence regarding the effects of television and television advertising on children, it is time to take responsibility for what the children watch and how much they watch. The television is not to blame, even though the content in question is delivered through it. Television advertising would have no affect if it was not seen or was monitored by parents. Parents are responsible for how much television they allow their children to watch and what they watch. If children were monitored and their television watching habits were controlled by parents, the content that is available could not be an issue. It would not be seen.

References
Borzokowski, D., & Robinson, T. (2001). The 30 second effect: an experiment revealing the impact of television commercials on food preferences of preschoolers. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 101(1), 42-46. doi: 10.1016/S0002- 8223(01)00012-8
Eaton, K. (2010, June 08). Obesity linked to inactivity. Las Vegas Journal-Review. Retrieved from http://www.lvrj.com/health/obesity-linked-to-inactivity95843394.html
Goldberg, M., & Gorn, G. (1978). Some unintended consequences of tv advertising to children. Journal of Consumer Research, 5(1), 22-29. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2488960
Snyder, A., Snodgrass, K., Shannon, M., & Smith, J. (2004, January 06). Tv advertising and its effect on children. Retrieved from http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/tcom/faculty/ha/tcom103fall2003/gp14/
University of Montreal (2010, May 3). Toddlers and TV: Early exposure has negative and long-term impact. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 18, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/05/100503161229.htm

Causal Essay Outline
Thesis Statement: Parents must take responsibility for what their children are watching on television and how much they were watching in order for television related issues to be under control in their own homes.

1. Excessive television watching is a serious problem in America. a. Health factors. b. Abundance of data and reasons to monitor television watching by children. c. Affects begin before age two. 2. Advertising and food choices. a. Children influenced heavily by ads. b. Can cause parent-child relationship issues. 3. Behavior affected. a. Notice others pain less. b. Scared. c. Learning to deal with issues inappropriately. 4. Summary a. Television sets not the issue. b. Advertising and shows not the issue. c. Parenting is to blame.