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<title> CHILDREN AND TV friends or enemies? </title>
As a mother of two I have naturally reflected on the influence TV might have on children. After reading the article "Locking Out Violence" taken from Time Magazine I started thinking about it once more. As I have never reached a firm standpoint on this issue, I will now take this opportunity to discuss the pros and cones of children and TV, in an attempt to clarify my own thoughts on the subject.
In many ways I feel TV is good for children. Children's shows provided by SVT 1 for example, are both educational and fun and provide different shows for different age groups. This way, parents can easily choose programs that are appropriate for their children. TV is also a great way of relaxing your children and physically "preparing" them for bedtime. Furthermore, watching TV can be a very nice family get-together where parents and children watch together, discussing and relating what has happened in the show, to their children's reality. This way of watching TV is most certainly the best way of doing it, however, in reality this is not always the case.
When TV is used as a baby sitter is when it becomes more of a problem. Most parents, including myself, do this whether conscious or not. It is very hard not to take advantage of TV when you crave a few uninterrupted moments. My solution to this problem has been to record SVT 1's children's shows on video, so that I at least know what they are watching.
When parents do not pay attention to what their children watch on TV there are different negative aspects to consider, of which the most widely discussed, is the exposure of violence. Experts have not been able to agree on whether or not TV violence has a negative impact on children. In my own experience I have found that children to a large extent learn by modeling, that is, imitating and copying other people's behavior on their way to developing a personality of their own. Frankly, I see no reason why this should not apply to watching TV. What should be pointed out however is the fact that the majority of children will be taught, either at home, in day care or in school that violence is wrong. This will hopefully lead to somewhat of a distinction between fact and fiction.
What strikes me as a much more dangerous phenomenon than the violence showed on the screen, is the fact that children who do not have parental guidance when watching TV, may chose to watch shows that aim towards older children, or adults for that matter. The danger of this, when no parents are around, is that they cannot ask questions, and therefor get accustomed to swallow information with out understanding it. If the child loses its innate desire to question, and consequently to understand the world around them, there may be severe repercussions in school, for example, when presented with new information.
 Another danger when it comes to children and TV is when the watching becomes excessive and keeps them from doing other things. It may be playing with friends, doing their homework or other similar activities, which again have an important role to play when it comes to developing a sense of identity. If this is the case, parents should naturally step in and limit the time spent in front of the TV.
	What it all amounts to in is that our children's future is in the hands of their parents. TV can be used in many different ways and whether it is used in a positive or negative way is a choice made by parents, and parents only. I do not feel that children are capable of deciding what, or when to watch TV, still, this is an assumption based on the relationship between my children and me. I am well aware of the fact that children are very different, and react differently to different situations. Unfortunately this means there is no formula for using the TV in a correct way. Some children will benefit from watching certain shows, while others will not. Hopefully parents will take the time to evaluate how their children respond to the variety of shows given on TV today and have the strength to limit the time spent in front of the set, if necessary.
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