Writing Summary Response

The Importance of Interactions for Children

In this article, “Study supports limiting television time for children” by The University of Texas at Austin, in which the author’s name was not listed, the author discusses the study to support decreased television time and increased familial interactions for children. This article is based on research by Dr.Elizabeth Vandewater. She points out that children spend more time watching television than playing inside and outside; however, the issue like childhood obesity is not always influenced by increased watching television. And she insists that children under the age of two don’t have to watch television and children older than two may watch television for two hours in daily life because familial interacting is decreased from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ survey. In addition, she and her college want to know how this affects children’s health behavior and knowledge. According to her and this study, children spend a lot of time in front of television without several interactions.

First of all, it is very important for children to limit television time because children need familial interactions. Why do children watch television for a long time? I think this answer is just interesting. But there are three issues for children. Actually, a lot of children spend a great amount of time in front of television every day. When I was a child, I always watched television about 3 or 4 hours after school without doing homework. I think most of children will be like me. As a result, children become inside people, because they don’t play outdoors and their communication with family is decreased. If they lose the communication of family, they will be quiet and be not good at communication with people. Therefore, children should not watch television for a long time.

Secondly, why do children spend a lot of time watching television? In my opinion, the cause of this is lazy parents, because parents give children television. So, parents think that children can learn about good things. Of course, children can learn some behavior of society from educational programs like Sesame Street. But, to talk to parents is very important for children because children can study something through the experienced advice and ideas of parents. Parents ought to be mirrors of children because children imitate language, behavior and idea from their parents without watching television. However, parents depend on television because of business. Parents should teach communication for children by talking more often.

In addition, to watch television for a long time gives some bad influence for children. So, television is not a useful tool for children, because there is violence, aggression and dirty language and sense. These give negative effects for children and are absorbed into their behaviors directly because they are sensitive; they only listen and watch. Especially, when children watch people kill someone on television and video games, they don’t understand the meaning of death and life. For example, if a famous actor was killed by someone on the screen but the same famous actor was killed by someone on another screen again, little children will be confuse about the idea that he can be revived. So, parents should also pay attention to these situations.

In conclusion, to decrease the television time for children is important. It is the responsibility of parents to restrict this. So, parents should protect children against television because watching the television for a long time is a waste of time and interferes with communicating face to face. I hope that children aren’t addicted to television.


The University of Texas at Austin Office of Public Affairs. (2006, Feb. 6).
“Study supports limiting television time for children."

http://www.utexas.edu/opa/news/2006/02/human_ecology06.html.

Retrieved 11-29-06.