Parents and TV

Jane Eisner writes about parents and television in the Philadelphia Inquirer. She points out the hypocrisy of many parents who cry out about "wardrobe malfunctions" but turnaround and let their young kids watch CSI and Desperate Housewives.

Parents moan about the gratuitous sex and violence on shows aired on what was once the sacrosanct 'family hour,' but how many allow their kids to watch that stuff? Nearly two-thirds of children in this country have a television in their bedroom, and I doubt it got there because they saved their allowance.

"What we say we want and what we actually consume as a nation are two different things," says Robert J. Thompson, founder of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.

Our TV is downstairs, in the family room, where it can be controlled by the grown-ups. My kids understand that watching TV is a treat to be earned. But they can't just watch anything. They've never seen an adult sitcom or drama, and they rarely watch programs with commercials. Their favorites are Crocodile Hunter, Arthur, Between The Lions, Zoboomafoo, Mister Rogers, Scooby-Doo, Johnny Quest, and anything by Disney.

I don't turn the TV on for myself until well into the evening after the kids are asleep. My wife and I watch most of our shows on DVD, like CSI, Alias, and Firefly. It's amazing how quickly popular shows are appearing on DVD. It's just another level of control that we have over the television set, not only for the kids but for ourselves as well.

Control is really what it's all about. It seems like most parents don't want to make the small effort to control what enters the minds of their children. You don't have to completely censor the TV, just filter what appears on it. As Eisner writes, Television ought to be something that is mastered and enjoyed, not feared.