Smarter Kids, Brought to You by the letters T and V Dimitri A. Chistakis, Greece

Smarter Kids, Brought to You by the letters T and V

Dimitri A. Chistakis, Greece(1937-)

(Washington Post, December 2006)

This lesson has provided a very balanced view of the both negative and positive impact of TV. On the small kids. However there are some points which are not agreeable. Is it true that TV. Viewing doesn't cause vision problem? Is watching TV harmful to children's cognitive development? Does it rally create problems in children Except these questions, the easy is really convincing and a veritable gold mine for the dynamic readers.

b. Write the summary of the essay "Smarter Kinds, Brought to you by the Letters T and V".

as one of the modern digital devices TV has separated parents from their children. The survey of 1961 shows that the starting period of watching TV for American children was from 3 years. Now they have started to watch from 9 month. parents don't sit with their children and take care about what programs the children are watching. The writer has corrected different false myths about TV and given what is the actual truth on the basis of researches. Bad eyesight is not due to over watching TV is his claim.

1.      The first myth is TV makes kids dumb, which is not true. The intellectual and good programs on TV have given better quality of knowing numbers, letters and shapes than those who have not watched TV from 3 to 5 years. Educational programs like " Blues Clues' make children more creative.

2.      TV makes kids violent: A number of studies have proved that mostly the children who watch violent and sexual based programs make them more aggressive. There is link between nature of programs and behaviors of children. By nature when children are crazy for such violent programs, they are turned to be violent, angry and more aggressive as an age factor.

3.      Educational Videos make infants smarter: The results of researches have proved that those children who watched TV before three years have scored worst in tests of letters and numbers. Because watching TV before 3 years old delayed the child ability to develop language skill.

4.      Sitting around watching television-instead of paying outside makes kids overweight: Actually, only sitting and watching TV programs do not make kids overweight. Same children who sit long time for reading also don't make overweight. the actual reason is that those children who watch TV watch almost 70 percent advertisements for food products. None of these junk foods are healthy. sitting in front of TV children have (eat) about 170 more calories per day. that is the main cause of children becoming overweight.

5.      Television helps kids get to sleep: The survey informs just opposite of this is true. the more children watch Television, the more irregular sleep they have. Not having should sleep becomes a problem where television can't be the solution. Such children can’t sleep well because three- fourths of children sleep before going to bed.

6.      Kids watch too much Television: The problem is not children watching too much TV but what they watch and how they watch it. If the parents sit with children and watch programs together, there is less chance to have negative effects of programs on children. But in American context, there is single TV set for each young member. Parents don't care what they are watching. If they are harmful and violent programs  could be controlled to their children watching together.

c. What is the interpretation of this essay "Smarter Kids Brought to You…"?

This essay "Smarter Kids……" might be trying to tell us about both the negative and the positive aspects of TV on the small kids depending who use it and how do they use it. If educational and informative programs are watched, the children become smarter ones. But if they are shown violent, false and sexualized programs that make them negative aggressive and violent. This essay also requests to all parents to pay attention what their kids watch and how they watch TV.

The writer has presented the ideas about watching TV for kids so critically that neither he has said watching TV is good nor bad. He has given various historical data and all authentic surveys and has corrected some of the misconceptions about TV. He has set new myths in place of old ones. He has focused on 6 critical points and has given what is the truth about them. The basic intension of the writer seems to give the ideas that watching TV for smaller kids/ children can be both constructive one. Thus, selecting educational and quality programs and regular paying attention from guardians (parents) to children can be the best. In this situation TV can be the best tool to make smarter quicker and intelligent kids from watching TV. If not TV can be curse as well.