Between the VCR, the Nintendo system, 90-plus channels on cable, and countless web sites and chat rooms on the Internet, many parents have grown dizzy trying to keep up with the changes. Meanwhile, old-fashioned network television has undergone a discomforting transformation. With a quick flick of the remote control, a 4-year-old can now jump from Lamb Chop's Play-Along to the leering titillation of Hard Copy to crass reruns of Married . . . With Children to bloody bodies on the six o'clock news. Increasingly, especially in the afternoon and early evening hours when kids are most likely to be in the audience, television tends to specialize in lowest common denominator programming. First Amendment protection aside (not a small consideration), parents have a legitimate reason to gripe about the quality of programming for kids and families. Understandably, they want the airwaves made safe for a channel surfing child.

But think about that for a minute. This concern about content usually hinges on the assumption that kids are at the helm of the remote control. Since when did this become standard operating procedure? However lovable and charming, most kids do not have great stores of wise judgment and self-restraint. Why, then, do many parents feel comfortable with children in charge of the TV, a medium that absolutely demands judgment and restraint?

In the case of kids and TV, parents need to be calling the shots. And parents' involvement must extend beyond steering their kids away from the most violent and tacky of programming. Though content concerns are important and must be addressed, the single most significant step parents can take is limiting the time kids devote to the television in the first place.

Television, video games, and computer activities are not all bad. On the contrary, quality programs, games, software, and web sites can serve as an entertaining, informative part of a child's day. But they should represent just one part of a child's day, balanced with a mix of social, physical, and imaginative pursuits. For too many kids, this balance is out of whack. American children spend an average of 4 hours of television a day, 28 hours per week watching TV; by age 18 they have watched 22,000 hours of TV--more time than they ever spent in the classroom. Add to these totals the time kids devote to ancillary electronic pursuits like video games and computer activities, and the result is a generation of media savvy, if not media weary kids.

Such dedication comes at a cost. At risk for the TV-seasoned child is the failure to develop crucial social skills and strong family ties, the sacrifice of reading time (which in turn can affect cognitive development and academic achievement) and physical and imaginative play, and the faulty expectation that life should deliver easy, instant entertainment. It's an unprofitable deal, to say the least.

So how to go about scaling back television? Sit down, take a deep breath, and make plans for proactive, positive change. Set up some rules spelling out time restrictions for weekdays and weekends (and determine logical consequences if the rules are broken). Scan the TV listings early in the week with your kids, encouraging them to pick out in advance what they plan to watch for the week. Watch TV with your kids, serving as an interpreter, translator, and even censor if necessary.

Rather than tyrannically declaring certain shows and games off-limits, teach them why you consider some choices inappropriate, giving them a model for decision-making skills. Most importantly, begin to create a home environment that de-emphasizes television. Homes that heartily encourage art, music, storytelling, reading, imaginative play, nature, and sports find that TV naturally plays a less central role in their kids' lives.

None of these measures will be easy at first, but they clearly beat the alternatives: a lifetime of nagging ("Turn that thing off . . . now!") and kids who have little to show for their childhood beyond a few deft Power Rangers moves and reflexes sharpened by hours with the Gameboy. Moreover, by limiting television in the first place, content issues--the heart of the ratings debate--automatically will grow more manageable. Less time with the TV on means less time spent watching consequence-free violence, hearing sophomoric sex jokes, and seeing demeaning stereotypes parade across the screen.

Television ratings and the V-chip aren't bad ideas. On the contrary, any fair plan that gives parents more help in raising their kids deserves to be pursued. But it will only take kids and families so far. No matter if every program that aired on television was suddenly stellar in content and education motive, it would little benefit children placed in its care hour upon hour each day. There are trees to climb, friends to meet, books to read, and a world to explore. Reducing the role of television and other electronic media in their lives frees the time for these simple, yet somehow essential pursuits.

09/27/99

Leonard A. Jason, PhD is a professor of psychology at DePaul University. Dr. Jason is a former president of the Division of Community Psychology of the American Psychological Association (APA). He has published more than 320 articles. If you'd like more information, see their book, available here: "Remote Control: A Sensible Approach to Kids, TV and the New Electronic Media"