For quite some time, many parents have been concerned about the
impact that children's TV programming have on their kids. They
talk about what they perceive to be violent shows like "Power
Rangers". Often , parents feel that this may lead to violent
behavior on the part of their children. But, it's more than just
children's programming. It's also any other programming that a
child might happen to watch. It seems that any show where the
main characters use violence, have sex, or engage in questionable
moral pursuits may contain dangerous ideas which may affect the
behavior of children in less than productive ways.
So, what's a parent to do? Carefully scrutinize everything their
kids watch? Impossible! Who has the energy? Unless you're extremely
wealthy, don't have to work and have the inclination to hire someone
to take care of all the survival/maintenance functions like cooking
and cleaning while you make copious notes on all the programs
on television and devise a list that's suitable for viewing. All
other shows would be forbidden to children.
Well, what if you're not independently wealthy? You could just
forbid your kids to watch TV at all. Better yet, just trash the
damned TV set. Give it to 'Goodwill' or something. That ought
to do it! Right?
Sorry folks, but it's far more insidious than that. Let me share
with you an incident that Ronin told me about not too long ago.
He was giving a piano lesson to a sweet 8-year old girl. The girl
made a mistake on a piece she had been practicing very hard to
perfect. On making the mistake, she said, "Doh" which
anyone who has watched "The Simpsons" knows is Homer
Simpson's catch phrase used whenever he screws up. Upon questioning
the girl, Ronin was surprised to find out that she had never heard
of "The Simpsons" and had no idea who Homer Simpson
was. She had adopted the characteristic from some of her friends
at school.
The "Doh" incident is quite humorous and rather innocent.
But, consider this next example. The cartoon show "Tiny Toons"
features many zany characters like 'Buster Bunny', 'Babs Bunny'
and 'Plucky Duck' who are child-sized versions of the classic
Warner Brothers cartoon characters. Buster and Babs are cute,
funny, but extremely neurotic and loud. These latter qualities
are forgivable and are quite endearing in cartoon characters.
But when 7-year old children start ranting and raving like younger
generation 'Looney Tunes', let me tell you that the results are
annoying in the extreme. The curious thing is that the children
I'm referring to aren't even allowed to watch "Tiny Toons".
One little girl saw the show once at a friend's house and identified
so much with Babs that she was able to adopt the persona extremely
accurately.
My final example concerns the much-maligned 'Power Rangers' show.
I was at a large barbecue last year where many of the guests were
parents with children about age four to eight. While the parents
ate barbecued ribs and chicken, the kids played in the yard. I
watched curiously as one particularly precocious 8-year old girl
talked the other kids into playing 'Power Rangers.' A few of the
children didn't watch the show (parents rules). The precocious
girl who I'll call Penny for convenience (I never did learn her
real name), explained about the different color rangers: Red,
White, Black, Yellow, Blue, Pink, and Green. She also explained
about the Putties and other evil monsters which some evil alien
overlord named Lord Zardon inflicted on the Earth. Within minutes,
the little group of youngsters was engaging in games of mock battles
and pursuits as Rangers and Monsters pursued each other across
the yard. I couldn't resist causing a little trouble so I went
over to one set of parents who had forbidden their children to
watch 'Power Rangers.'
I said, "Do you see what your kids are doing?"
The mother looked over at her children and said, "Oh, they're
playing their little running games. You know, it's good that they
interact so well with the other children. My little girl seems
to be in charge. That's cute."
I smiled and resisted the urge to tell her that her daughter had
actually become the evil Lord Zardon, an archfiend from a forbidden
TV show.
So, you see, it really is a losing battle when it comes to controlling
a child's exposure to television. Even if they don't watch the
programs, one of their school chums will and the influence will
filter down to them, often tremendously accurately. The only way
to control this influence would be to totally control the child's
environment. They would have to be kept away from other children,
from adults, and any other TV viewers. But, in this case, you
create far greater evils than TV can possibly invoke.
Look, I'm not advocating that you immerse children in sick horror
shows and free-for-all sex and violence stories. Some reasonable
guidance is always advisable. All I'm saying is that it's next
to impossible to filter out the impact of all TV shows you may
deem inappropriate. I guess when all's been said and done, the
only way to deal with the possible negative effects of television
is to be a good parent and raise your kids well; to teach them
to understand the impact of their actions and behave in a reasonably
responsible manner. And, by the way, the kids I saw playing 'Power
Rangers' had a lot of fun. Nobody was hurt and nobody misbehaved.
To all you parents and children, Stay Happy and Don't Take No
Crap! (But Don't Dish Out Crap, Either!)
Yours Truly,
Happy.
