A common problem faced by all parents is that their child watches too much of television. It is almost an addiction and a necessary companion. Though watching television in moderation is not harmful, it is necessary to regulate the content watched and also the timings. Firstly timings are easy to set and parents can actually peruse through the listed content in various channels and plan the weekday watching. It is important to let the child watch his programs but at the same time it is also necessary that the child watches data relevant to his age.

Most joint families watch the soap operas together and kids are greatly influenced by the same. It can be suggested that when elders wish to watch such family dramas the kids can be given an alternative to finish their homework. Home work and television is a bad combination. Firstly it is habitual and secondly the child is easily distracted. What may take five minutes to finish the math sum will take twenty minutes. Excess viewing of television is harmful for the eyes as children hardly blink while watching animation adventures.

Another alternative to watching television can be to play a family board game. Dinners can be done with switching the television off and sitting around the table talking about the day. Kids need to understand that news on television is important too. There are wonderful and educative programs and parents can make use of the media to broaden their kid’s knowledge.

If the child is habituated to watching television as they eat this can become a big nuisance. Aggressive cartoons can actually work on their mind and the food that they eat is not easily absorbed. Parents can initially cut down the television timings and also mention that the cable channel is on a holiday. Being stern with them will make them rebel and hence the point has to be brought across with lot of patience and practice.

Weekends can be great by calling other kids in the vicinity and arranging to play an indoor game or learning to sing songs or enjoy music. Television per se for children is a mode of entertainment and it is easy to change their view with a little love and patience. It is true that as we want them to change it calls for a lot of self initiative to change our habits too.