TV influences children more than parents

"TV influences children more than parents." I've read in a number of places that this view is widely shared.

I'm one of the people who agrees with this statement. I think the bright colours and whimsical characters grab the child from a young age and then tv programs grow with them as they watch different things the older they get. TV stays relevant to their age and interests where as (in my opinion) parents end up getting boring and old fashioned.

What are your views on this? Do you agree with the statement? If not, why not?

I agree and disagree, William loves the TV but I don't think he is at an age where what he sees registers with an emotion other than that it's exciting and thrilling.

I read an article a few weeks ago that peppa pig makes chdren naughty, they did a whole study on it. How that can be the case when they do nothing naughty on the programme I will never know!

The programmes I think that do influence speech are the ones that don't speak properly like in the night garden, so naturally anything where they don't talk properly is banned in my house!

I'm with you on In The Night Garden being banned. There is no reason for them not to talk properly. But then I also hate babying words like saying doggy and horsey instead of dog and horse which can cause a little bit of confrontation when some stranger says something to Louis about his tootsies. lol But I digress.

So, what about when kids grow older and see stuff like super heroes fighting and such. Do you think that influences behaviour? Perhaps how they end up playing with others?

As they grow older yes, I also believe that reinforcing the behaviour by buying the kids action figures also doesn't help. It crushes ther own personal imagination. I am hoping to buy the boys mostly generic toys as they grow up that they can create their own imaginative games with rather than re enacting what they have watched on the TV. How hard this will be right now is anyones guess.

My younger step son watches a lot of US TV programmes and when he is being silly, or copying what he has seen on the TV and when he is talking to Noah will talk in a baby like American accent which drives me mad! I have nothing against the American accent or American TV as we watch a lot of the shows on nick JR all from the states, but he just sounds silly trying to copy it! Lol!

I agree with your replies too much for this to be an actual debate Charlotte. But I do like the points you're putting across. So how about this:

As children become more influenced by tv as they get older, is it the amount of tv they are able to watch or the programs individually that cause the most influence to behaviour?

I don't think it influences them until they get a lot older, then everything influences them, tv, video games, music, the lot! When you have music talking about shooting, drugs and murder, video games allowing you to kill people and tv adverts that promote violence, what hope do some
Kids have of ever being rounded human beings when their parents can't be bothered to educate them and leave them to fester infront of the tv.

Although your points are good, I can't agree with music is a big influence.

I know that growing up I knew all the words to the hit songs and practised the dancing style as seen on tv but never really understood what it all meant.

I didn't even know that "Your gorgeous" by Babybird was absolutely filthy until I heard it a year or so ago. It didn't register when it was popular that there were lines in it like:

"and threw me on the bonnet. You brought my knees up, and drew my legs apart..."

I just didn't hear the words as they were meant. lol. There are A LOT of songs like that but I think as adults, we notice the words more. Kids just hear music.

I dont think it influences them maybe some things on the tv does but you have to be carefull what your children watch these days i mean theres so much violence and bad content on the tv these days.And i think the biggest influence in our children should be us the parents to show them a good example