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<title> What influence does television have on children? </title>
Almost every child seems to love watching television and video. Parent's attention has nevertheless been focused on its bad influence on children. The question why children find it fun and enriching to watch television has never been asked. Are children really so vulnerable and passive as supposed when they are watching television?
	How children are affected by violence is presumably the most debated problem when it comes to discussing television influence. I think that many grown-ups have a theory that children should watch news programs. By watching that kind of violence they get informed about what happens in the world and about things that can happen to them if they are not careful. Supernatural fiction violence full of fun is on the other hand regarded as injurious because of the fact that no frightening injuries are shown. When my smaller brother and sister were younger I recognised that they became worried when they heard about crimes of violence in news programs. When a child had been the victim of a crime I had to assure that nothing was going to happen to my brother and sister. I have on the contrary never noticed that they have been affected by watching fiction programs. It is probable that children realise that the fiction violence is nothing that can happen in the reality. Therefore they are not scared of it and they understand that this is nothing they can use to hurt somebody. I believe that if children watch some kind of movie or soap opera, where the violence can seem real, they understand that it is not for real. I think they understand that because there are music, special voices and acting people in movies and soap operas, in news programs there is just a serious voice. Even if programs for grown-ups is not like programs for children where unjust violence always is punished, I do not think that children copy violence in programs for grown-ups if they start watching these. Children have their own valuations and can also be critical and would presumably think that unjust violence is unfair and wrong. I noticed when I watched television with my sister and brother that they reacted to what they thought was unfair. They said things like "Why is he doing that? That is wrong, he is evil.".
	One reason why television is regarded as something bad for children is that many people think that children are passive when they are watching television. They are just spectators and all they can do is receive what television wants to convey. Children can not participate by answering and questioning. In think that children can learn much through television just by observing. They can learn to understand new words, advanced phrases and complicated sentences and one reason why Swedish children are so good at English is television. Even if it is hard to speak with the television children can answer and question things by themselves or discuss what they watch with somebody else. I believe it is good that they have time to think by themselves about different situations conveyed by television, then they got space for reflection without the pressure from someone expecting a reaction. The reflection makes it easier for children to see things from different perspectives. By watching television and then reflect upon things they can imagine how other persons think, feel and see things. It is very hard for a boy or a girl to reflect upon different perspectives in situations in the reality where they are involved themselves and therefore I think it is good for them to look at other people from a distance. If children in this way learn to understand other people's sometimes complicated perspectives, television promotes a mature morality. 
	Channel with commercials is something I think can have a bad influence on small boys and girls. They should be protected from attempt at persuasions and humbugs and most important of all from the ideal images of how people should be. All the men and women in the commercial are beautiful and I feel myself bad when I get the impression that beautiful is the same as good and you have to be beautiful. On the other hand this is a message we meet with everywhere so maybe watching television does not make big differences.
	Finally I think that statements about the fact that television is injurious for children is exaggerated as long as there is an upper limit when it comes to how much and what children watch. They must develop other qualities than television watching and they should not watch too frightening programs or movies. Used in that way I think television is a good medium that helps children to learn a lot.
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