Television is a popular mode of entertainment, for the kids and adults as well. As adults, we are sometimes so lost in our entertainment by virtue of TV shows and movies that we don’t realize the impact it would have on our children. There are abundant TV channels, multiple shows, and while the kids are mostly watching everything with us, there are certain TV shows that the kids should not have any access to.
In this article:
What Popular TV shows genres should I not let my child watch?
Below are some popular TV shows and why your kids should not have access to them:
1) Crime Related shows
Shows that dramatize crimes in a case by case basis are very popular. They, in fact, are portrayed like some crime thriller where you interpret who the real criminal is. Such shows have a lot of negative impact on young minds and are certainly not meant for children. We forget and ignore that our children are watching such shows, but the dramatized music, criminal instinct, heinous crimes, etc. are many components why kids should not even be in the room while such serials are on.
2) News Prime Time Debates
It is a sad coincidence that dinner time mostly coincides with prime time news channels debates. Though they are called debates, but the screaming, screeching and shouting at the top of the lungs without letting anyone make any point is senseless. Why the kids should not watch such news is because they wouldn’t understand how a debate works, they would get used to a culture of a counter-response, they would believe that shouting in order to shut someone up is a legitimate thing. Because it’s on prime time, national television and adults are doing so, doesn’t make unhealthy debates okay for kids to watch.
3) Saas-Bahu Soaps
No matter what progressive note an Indian TV serial begins with, it ends up in the kitchen. Though the times are progressive but the depiction of women, roles, and kitchen polity is definitely not a good influence on children. You as an adult, must avoid the shibboleth facts displayed in saas-bahu shows, let alone the kids watching and learning and unlearning from it.
4) Intimate Scenes
As a child is in his/her growing years, they start to get an understanding of intimacy displayed in scenes. Till the age is not right, any display of raunchy, intimate, or hot scenes must be avoided, even if it is in the middle of a movie you are watching. If it is an ‘A’ rated movie, do not get your kids to the theatre or around when the movie has some intimate scenes. Children are curious and unaware, and you wouldn’t want television to be their guide to adulterated content. It makes them enquire about things, not their age, learn things not appropriate their age and act accordingly.
5) Violent shows
Violence in front of the children is a strict no-no. Though it doesn’t immediately turn them into violent individuals, but there is a reduction in empathy in them. They empathize less and end up objectifying more. They also promote the notion that violence is an alternative to get things right. They can resort to violence to mend ways. That is the last impression you would want to give to your children. Be it cartoons teaching violence or violence in general; kids should be away from it for as long as possible. Too much exposure to violent scenes gets them to understand violence casually and desensitize the subject.
Children learn more from what they see than what we tell them. Monitoring what they are watching is important, especially because of the unlimited entertainment of multiple genres available at the clicks and swipes of our hands. Appropriate exposure at an appropriate age is imperative for organized learning. Children are anyways curious about almost everything, so they tend to ask and imitate all the unnecessary things. They get too casual about sensitive issues, and that builds up in their personality as adults. So, as long as we can have control and supervision on their viewing choices, let’s exercise that right. Alternatively, there are many educational cartoons available that teach the right lessons.
