Dr. Du's Happy Family Series: Raising the Next Generation

Author: (USA) Douglas D. Dubois
Translator: American Management Technology Company
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-03-01
Features: Can you properly handle and deal with these matters: Should parents force children to eat? Would you apologize to your child if you treated them unfairly? What should you do if your child runs away from home? When should sexual education for children begin? How to deal with a child's rebellious behavior? How should parents respond when a child says "I hate you"? What are the common mistakes parents make when disciplining children? Can children be punished when they make mistakes? Or let's listen to what Dr. Dubois has to say.
Excerpt: TV and Violence
Overall, what are your views on TV? Should parents set rules for the content their children watch? Most TV programs are terrible. According to Dr. Gerald R. Lunn of the University of Arizona, children aged from preschool to 14 can witness 18,000 murders on TV screens. Countless hours of violent, absurd, and utterly boring programs. Dr. Sol Kanarek further points out that it's not schools or parents who spend time with them, but TV that consumes the precious 14,000 hours of their childhood. That's equivalent to 8 hours a day in front of the screen for 4.9 years! TV also needs to be adjusted and controlled in other ways, one of which is that it is the enemy of communication and emotional connection among family members. When a colorful, million-dollar scene is constantly capturing our attention, how can we talk to each other? I also concern myself with the so-called "avant-garde consciousness" that every trendy director of today exploits—detached from reality, rebellious, discussing events that are in no way inappropriate, attacking the good qualities and behaviors recognized by the public. By doing so, they destroy the foundation of the family and corrupt the ethical morals that maintain healthy human development. Recently, we can see on screen some low-quality stories, such as unwed pregnancy, divorce, extramarital affairs, rape, "Dad is an idiot," and other prevalent phenomena. If these are considered "social trends," I am strongly opposed to it. TV can occasionally have great potential for inspirational and educational purposes, such as "Little House on the Prairie," which has been one of the best children's TV shows in recent years. Therefore, I do not advocate abandoning TV. Instead, we should learn to use it, rather than be its slave. If the child is still young, they can be allowed to watch an hour of cartoons on Saturday mornings and choose to watch programs for an hour and a half each afternoon. This is a relatively reasonable arrangement for elementary school students.