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In today's hi-tech multimedia society what has the most positive influence on our children and which have a detrimental, Inappropriate or general bad influence on our children?
Please bear in mind the nature of our multimedia society, TV, Films, Music, Video Games, The Internet and lets not Telephones/Mobile. On the other side of the argument please bear in mind different cultures, religions, laws and of cause human rights including freedom of speach.
I will not post my views (yet) as I know my views but am interested in what other peoples views are.
Please bear in mind the nature of our multimedia society, TV, Films, Music, Video Games, The Internet and lets not Telephones/Mobile. On the other side of the argument please bear in mind different cultures, religions, laws and of cause human rights including freedom of speach.
I will not post my views (yet) as I know my views but am interested in what other peoples views are.
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A huge problem with trying to resolve this endlessly debatable question is the overwhelming diversity encountered within modern human society. It’s probably the most discussed aspect of human behavioural psychology.
Looking at the development of a child step by step makes things a little clearer though.
Children start by imprinting heavily from their direct surroundings, by this I am referring to their parents or close family members. At an early age children absorb a huge amount of information through senses and parental treatment, TV and the media does not come into the equation for a long while after this stage of development.
Your kids won’t learn to speak through television, books etceteras, but through direct contact from their mother/father figure, who may in turn use books and so on as a tool to that end. You can’t just leave your child in his/her cot with the TV on, a dictionary and a few choice books and expect it to be conversant by school age.
Once this stage has passed, a child will start to openly interact with the media, as well as other children/adults on a more individual level. It is at this stage that bad habits can easily be introduced and, it is this point where parenting ‘censorship’ becomes appropriate. Assuming that the parent up to this point has been a model one, they will correct any action by the child that is inappropriate. If not, the child is probably the one passing on these socially unacceptable traits to other children.
There were a few comments made earlier about council estates. It doesn’t matter where your house is, what matters is how you were brought up inside it. If parents neglect their kids, ignore what they take in and what they are up to then they are going to misbehave, how else will they find out what’s right or wrong?
So by this stage (say 6 to 8), a strong picture can already be drawn as to the character, cognisant skills and so on of your little darling and this will have been shaped entirely by the action or inaction of the parents/family. Influence from the media is dependant on what the parent allows.
If you allow your impressionable eight year old, at this point a hybrid between a info sponge and a parrot to watch ‘Sweary Gangsters’, then do not discipline accordingly when they reproduce the colourful language, it’s not unlikely that the child will use that language but without understanding it, only knowing that it denotes aggression or displeasure. Of course, allowing your child to watch this film then punishing them for imitating it leaves me slightly bemused at the mentality of those who do so.
Moving on, your child is now fully aware of his/her surroundings, interacts with peers, the family and media independently. The parent has little or no control over what the child sees and takes in. If the ground work has been laid, that child knows what is considered acceptable and what isn’t. For example, I swore at senior school, my friends swore at senior school. Stupid people swore at the authority figure’s and were promptly dealt with. I knew not to cross the line for a cheap laugh and wasn’t suspended. Where are those lessons learnt? I’ll give you a clue it’s not the media.
The media, whatever it’s medium cannot be blamed for the behaviour of children. I did watch and still do watch endless cartoons, I played war, Action Man and Star Wars. I wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was a child and watched every war film that I could. I’ve had either a home computer or console in my house since the age of seven. These things effect what I like, not the way I behave.
My divorced working mother living on a council estate with three kids is the major influence with regards to that.
In answer to your question Mewtwo, I think that Parents are the single most important thing in the behaviour of a child. The points you mention in you initial post are merely tools for our use. And like all tools, they inevitably get the blame from the bad workmen that use them.
Here’s the dilemma though, how many have heard the following statement, or no doubt used it themselves if in a situation to do so; ‘Don’t you tell me how to bring my kids up.’
It is essentially impossible to do so, attempting to enlighten parents with your opinion of how they should handle the family unit will almost certainly get you at least a mouthful in return. Considering how social the human is generally, the family unit is surprisingly tight knit and fiercely independent. Unsolicited advice does not go down well.
Thanks for reading, I know it’s a long post but believe me, this is the abridged version! This is a topic I could discuss and do discuss for hours.
Looking at the development of a child step by step makes things a little clearer though.
Children start by imprinting heavily from their direct surroundings, by this I am referring to their parents or close family members. At an early age children absorb a huge amount of information through senses and parental treatment, TV and the media does not come into the equation for a long while after this stage of development.
Your kids won’t learn to speak through television, books etceteras, but through direct contact from their mother/father figure, who may in turn use books and so on as a tool to that end. You can’t just leave your child in his/her cot with the TV on, a dictionary and a few choice books and expect it to be conversant by school age.
Once this stage has passed, a child will start to openly interact with the media, as well as other children/adults on a more individual level. It is at this stage that bad habits can easily be introduced and, it is this point where parenting ‘censorship’ becomes appropriate. Assuming that the parent up to this point has been a model one, they will correct any action by the child that is inappropriate. If not, the child is probably the one passing on these socially unacceptable traits to other children.
There were a few comments made earlier about council estates. It doesn’t matter where your house is, what matters is how you were brought up inside it. If parents neglect their kids, ignore what they take in and what they are up to then they are going to misbehave, how else will they find out what’s right or wrong?
So by this stage (say 6 to 8), a strong picture can already be drawn as to the character, cognisant skills and so on of your little darling and this will have been shaped entirely by the action or inaction of the parents/family. Influence from the media is dependant on what the parent allows.
If you allow your impressionable eight year old, at this point a hybrid between a info sponge and a parrot to watch ‘Sweary Gangsters’, then do not discipline accordingly when they reproduce the colourful language, it’s not unlikely that the child will use that language but without understanding it, only knowing that it denotes aggression or displeasure. Of course, allowing your child to watch this film then punishing them for imitating it leaves me slightly bemused at the mentality of those who do so.
Moving on, your child is now fully aware of his/her surroundings, interacts with peers, the family and media independently. The parent has little or no control over what the child sees and takes in. If the ground work has been laid, that child knows what is considered acceptable and what isn’t. For example, I swore at senior school, my friends swore at senior school. Stupid people swore at the authority figure’s and were promptly dealt with. I knew not to cross the line for a cheap laugh and wasn’t suspended. Where are those lessons learnt? I’ll give you a clue it’s not the media.
The media, whatever it’s medium cannot be blamed for the behaviour of children. I did watch and still do watch endless cartoons, I played war, Action Man and Star Wars. I wanted to be a fighter pilot when I was a child and watched every war film that I could. I’ve had either a home computer or console in my house since the age of seven. These things effect what I like, not the way I behave.
My divorced working mother living on a council estate with three kids is the major influence with regards to that.
In answer to your question Mewtwo, I think that Parents are the single most important thing in the behaviour of a child. The points you mention in you initial post are merely tools for our use. And like all tools, they inevitably get the blame from the bad workmen that use them.
Here’s the dilemma though, how many have heard the following statement, or no doubt used it themselves if in a situation to do so; ‘Don’t you tell me how to bring my kids up.’
It is essentially impossible to do so, attempting to enlighten parents with your opinion of how they should handle the family unit will almost certainly get you at least a mouthful in return. Considering how social the human is generally, the family unit is surprisingly tight knit and fiercely independent. Unsolicited advice does not go down well.
Thanks for reading, I know it’s a long post but believe me, this is the abridged version! This is a topic I could discuss and do discuss for hours.
Horrid, horrid movie for kids.
I remember that clown..and the tree outside the window.
Still cant sleep with window open even now.
*shudder*
I remember that clown..and the tree outside the window.
Still cant sleep with window open even now.
*shudder*
Nobody my age likes clowns.
I blame Poltergeist.
First time I saw that movie, and the clown toy wasn't on the chair where it should have been, I started to get nervous. When it grabbed him from under the bed though, I nearly wet myself!
I blame Poltergeist.
First time I saw that movie, and the clown toy wasn't on the chair where it should have been, I started to get nervous. When it grabbed him from under the bed though, I nearly wet myself!
Agreed.
But what we adults deem as "suitable" for kids is not the same thing that kids do.
Example?
Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang.
The childcatcher.
ANYONE my age will remember how utterly terrifying and haunting that bloke was, and still is today to me at least.
Kids find different things scary than we do, because we have a better developed intellect and sense of things.
What we may find scary, a kid may find dull or just not get.
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory is another.
I was terrified of the Oompa-Loompas, seriously worried by those orange midgets but nobody said I shouldnt watch that.
Yet, watching it again a year ago, there are all sorts of things that I picked up that I missed as a kid.
When they take the ride through the tunnel, and all those images appear around them, didnt think about it as a nipper.
But there is a shot of a chicken having it's head chopped off, worms writhing and all sorts of dark and nasty imagery.
I just didnt get it as a child, I wasn't aware of those things as scary and bad.
Wizard of Oz, the wicked witch, unpleasent as a kid, laugh at it now.
It's hard to say "That will affect a child badly", because their perception of things is different to ours.
We can agree on certain things that everyone accepts as bad, but there are little things that we dont think of, but will scar a child mentally for life.
Clowns.
Evil, evil things.
But what we adults deem as "suitable" for kids is not the same thing that kids do.
Example?
Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang.
The childcatcher.
ANYONE my age will remember how utterly terrifying and haunting that bloke was, and still is today to me at least.
Kids find different things scary than we do, because we have a better developed intellect and sense of things.
What we may find scary, a kid may find dull or just not get.
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory is another.
I was terrified of the Oompa-Loompas, seriously worried by those orange midgets but nobody said I shouldnt watch that.
Yet, watching it again a year ago, there are all sorts of things that I picked up that I missed as a kid.
When they take the ride through the tunnel, and all those images appear around them, didnt think about it as a nipper.
But there is a shot of a chicken having it's head chopped off, worms writhing and all sorts of dark and nasty imagery.
I just didnt get it as a child, I wasn't aware of those things as scary and bad.
Wizard of Oz, the wicked witch, unpleasent as a kid, laugh at it now.
It's hard to say "That will affect a child badly", because their perception of things is different to ours.
We can agree on certain things that everyone accepts as bad, but there are little things that we dont think of, but will scar a child mentally for life.
Clowns.
Evil, evil things.
I think some books can be just as bad for children as TV and films, possibly worse. Books can be scary and frightening, more than films as peoples imaginations can take over.
I think that reading is good for children, as it's already been said, reading helps childrens language, spelling etc.
However, i think that the same applies for all medium that children can use: They shouldn't be allowed to get to unappropriate material, whether it's books, films, internet etc.
I can understand that parents can't always watch their child every second of the day to make sure that they don't see anything that isn't right. In fact i remember making a point of watching something that my parents told me not to when i was a child. It was a challenge.
All i can say is that when i was a child i probably did and watched things that my parents would have deemed 'inappropriate', bu ti haven't turned into some wierd rapist/mass murder etc.
I think that reading is good for children, as it's already been said, reading helps childrens language, spelling etc.
However, i think that the same applies for all medium that children can use: They shouldn't be allowed to get to unappropriate material, whether it's books, films, internet etc.
I can understand that parents can't always watch their child every second of the day to make sure that they don't see anything that isn't right. In fact i remember making a point of watching something that my parents told me not to when i was a child. It was a challenge.
All i can say is that when i was a child i probably did and watched things that my parents would have deemed 'inappropriate', bu ti haven't turned into some wierd rapist/mass murder etc.
Absolutely.
Information is one of the most powerful weapons we can have in life, and there can never be too much.
It's what people choose to do with it that causes problems
Information is one of the most powerful weapons we can have in life, and there can never be too much.
It's what people choose to do with it that causes problems
cooldogs wrote:
I think that the most worrying form of multimedia is
> the internet. So much information cannot be good for children.
How can large amounts of information ever be bad?
Surely a lack of information will always provide a much greater threat?
I think that the most worrying form of multimedia is
> the internet. So much information cannot be good for children.
How can large amounts of information ever be bad?
Surely a lack of information will always provide a much greater threat?
Emmalou wrote .......................................... Can i finally just add I live on a council estate, I am far from deprived and so are my children, me and my husband both work. But do you not think, it is wrong to assume that because someone is deprived they will turn out to be bad.?
I was commenting generally on areas and as you make the there are many people like yourself whose family lives on council estates and are not deprived but I feel families like yourself are in a minority. I can only comment from personal experiences and from what I seen in the media.
I was commenting generally on areas and as you make the there are many people like yourself whose family lives on council estates and are not deprived but I feel families like yourself are in a minority. I can only comment from personal experiences and from what I seen in the media.
No offence taken mewtwo. But as everyone has a right to freedom of speach. I too was brought up in a strict household. I have four children, who say please and thankyou and do not swear. For heavens sake they even come in and tell me when other children say a swearword. Don't get me wrong you have some very strong and true points, which might i add i would agree with myself, but I feel that not all but some children do take a lot of notice when it comes to programs. I am talking about the minority not the majority. When all is said and done as a parent you can bring your child up to the best of your ability, but like you said there are other influences at work. As a child gets older they begin to think for themselves and you have to ask yourself what can you do now to make sure they make sensible choices and not stupid ones. I don't stop them watching everything, and I try to explain why bad things happen, and why it is wrong. Can i finally just add I live on a council estate, I am far from deprived and so are my children, me and my husband both work. But do you not think, it is wrong to assume that because someone is deprived they will turn out to be bad.?
emmalou wrote:
> I also think that tv is a bad influence on children. Not only do
> they look to characters in programs as role models,but they also
> imitate them. Its not just in films either, lots of younger
> children are influenced by cartoons.Daft as this may seem but
> childrens programs still put across violence, the characters fight,
> shoot guns etc and the worst thing is its made out to be fun. Don't
> get me wrong teletubbies is hardly violent, but you get what i'm on
> about. Children are still learning so if they are watching it on
> television and its, a character they like or respect thats doing
> something wrong, to them its ok. I have children and try to keep an
> eye on what they watch, but at the end of the day you cannot watch
> your child every waking minute, if they sleep out at a friends they
> might watch something you normally would not let them watch. Its
> very hard to specify what is right and what is wrong, at the end of
> the day all you can do is your best to show them its not all true,
> right or justified. Television programs where children are
> concerned do have a lot to answer for.
*I start by saying I am not trying to be Offensive to you or your family*
I agree with you on your "monitoring" of what your children watch but do you really think Children's TV programs are Influencing children? If anybody especially children who accept children's TV for what it is (Children's TV) can feel influenced by what they see then I am sorry but there is defiantly something wrong with that child. As I have said in another forum topic we should only sensor our children from viewing Extreme Sexual, violent or other in appropriate material.
The only bad influence I received in my childhood was from my parents. I was raised in very strict household and have formed my opinions through experience. I was banned from watching such shows as Red Dwarf and Harry Enfield. I was lucky if I ever saw a cert 15 film and any sex or nudity in television or film was strictly frowned upon but Why?
Before junior school I understood what was right what and was wrong and I knew the basics of sex.
The worst Influences in a Childs Life are Parents, Religion and their Pier Group. If people spent less time blaming TV, Films and Music and started looking at the real issues that cause 10 years olds to murder other children.
It wasn't Child Play 3 that influenced that horrific crime, from the are the boys came from it was most probably caused by social deprivation and poor parenting.
All I hope for is that those so called experts in Child psychologists get of their backsides and take a walk round some of the deprived housing estates in England and see the real influences affecting children Today. For example who need TV or on a deprived estate where you can see Prostitution, Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Car Crime, Arson, Rape, Drug Dealing, Drug Taking and Murder.
> I also think that tv is a bad influence on children. Not only do
> they look to characters in programs as role models,but they also
> imitate them. Its not just in films either, lots of younger
> children are influenced by cartoons.Daft as this may seem but
> childrens programs still put across violence, the characters fight,
> shoot guns etc and the worst thing is its made out to be fun. Don't
> get me wrong teletubbies is hardly violent, but you get what i'm on
> about. Children are still learning so if they are watching it on
> television and its, a character they like or respect thats doing
> something wrong, to them its ok. I have children and try to keep an
> eye on what they watch, but at the end of the day you cannot watch
> your child every waking minute, if they sleep out at a friends they
> might watch something you normally would not let them watch. Its
> very hard to specify what is right and what is wrong, at the end of
> the day all you can do is your best to show them its not all true,
> right or justified. Television programs where children are
> concerned do have a lot to answer for.
*I start by saying I am not trying to be Offensive to you or your family*
I agree with you on your "monitoring" of what your children watch but do you really think Children's TV programs are Influencing children? If anybody especially children who accept children's TV for what it is (Children's TV) can feel influenced by what they see then I am sorry but there is defiantly something wrong with that child. As I have said in another forum topic we should only sensor our children from viewing Extreme Sexual, violent or other in appropriate material.
The only bad influence I received in my childhood was from my parents. I was raised in very strict household and have formed my opinions through experience. I was banned from watching such shows as Red Dwarf and Harry Enfield. I was lucky if I ever saw a cert 15 film and any sex or nudity in television or film was strictly frowned upon but Why?
Before junior school I understood what was right what and was wrong and I knew the basics of sex.
The worst Influences in a Childs Life are Parents, Religion and their Pier Group. If people spent less time blaming TV, Films and Music and started looking at the real issues that cause 10 years olds to murder other children.
It wasn't Child Play 3 that influenced that horrific crime, from the are the boys came from it was most probably caused by social deprivation and poor parenting.
All I hope for is that those so called experts in Child psychologists get of their backsides and take a walk round some of the deprived housing estates in England and see the real influences affecting children Today. For example who need TV or on a deprived estate where you can see Prostitution, Child Abuse, Domestic Abuse, Car Crime, Arson, Rape, Drug Dealing, Drug Taking and Murder.
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