Parenting Tips from a Survivor—Part 3

By Chuck Gartman

Posted December 15, 2005

Last month we discussed helping teens establish healthy values. One way we do that is by knowing who/what our competition is. Media is one of the competitors with parents in establishing a good value system. From my friend, Allen Jackson, Youth Education Professor at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, I have gleaned a a lot of information that will be helpful to us as parents. Space limits us, so our focus this month will be on television.

First of all, not including watching movies, surfing the “net,” listening to music and playing video games the average teenager spends over 20 hours a week watching television. Simply put, reduce television time and you will reduce the amount of aggression, violence, and sexual innuendoes. Here’s a sobering thought: The American Academy of Pediatrics says that 10-20% of real life violence may be attributed to media violence.

Some other facts about TV may enhance your concern. 99% of the households in the U.S. have a TV. There are 2.4 TV’s in an average home. 66% have 3 or more TV’s, and that same percentage represents the number of Americans who regularly watch TV while eating.

A discussion of TV has to include the issues. Advertising, programming, and the amount of viewing by teenagers comprise the issues at stake.

Regarding advertising, some of the reasons advertisers target teens are that they have spending power, they influence family spending, they are trend-setters, they are future spenders, and they are a growing market. Marketers are not dumb. They know where the money is.

Here are some unbiblical lessons your teens are learning from TV. This list is not exhaustive. 1) Life is boring; 2) Adults are stupid and the family is unnecessary; 3) Violence: more is better and horror is normal; 4) Religion is a crutch; and 5) Unrealistic body identity. Wow! And we have only scratched the surface. Nothing here is meant to make us feel guilty; it is meant to make us aware of a very powerful medium that is influencing our teens’ values as well as ours. Here are a few tips. We will have more next month, but this will get us started. 1) Be aware of what your teen is watching and monitor it; 2) Be aware of your teenager’s academic performance (too much TV can affect their grades); 3) Eat meals with your teens six or seven times a week (I didn’t say it would be easy); 4) Turn off the TV during meals; and 5) Work at building a ‘screening system’ for your teens viewing so that they will be evaluative when they are watching television, i.e., “that’s inappropriate behavior or language.”