I've conducted an experiment on my kids. Instead of denying them access to media, I've encouraged it. They read comic books, play Nintendo and watch way too much TV.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Avoid demonizing television, computer games, and new technologies. Electronic media may compete for kids' attention, but we're not going to get kids reading by badmouthing other entertainment. Admit that TV and games can do things books can't.
Today, children are watching more and more television, and are bombarded over and over with images and content that have the potential to dramatically influence their behavior.
Kids are no longer interested in reading comic books; they've got television and the electronic games that they can bury themselves in like ostriches. They don't have to pay attention to what's going on in the world around them.
Me personally, I wouldn't put my kids on television. But to each his own.
In an era of parental paranoia, lawsuit mania and testing frenzy, we are failing to inspire our children's curiosity, creativity, and imagination. We are denying them opportunities to tinker, discover, and explore - in short, to play.
If we want parents to be discerning about what children are watching then we need to put stuff in there for them to watch, too.
I hate the thought of my children being glued to a screen. Children only play on computers all day because their parents let them.
I tell my children to avoid theatre and go into cinema and TV.
Other kids' parents wouldn't let them read magazines like 'Weird Tales,' but my folks were big readers themselves, so they didn't mind.
If I had kids, I'd probably be way over-protective, researching everything they begged to see to make sure the content was appropriate.