People want to blame TV, music and video games for the problems with our youth today. Those things are controllable, and in my opinion, can actually be used as a learning tool. In and of themselves, they are not the problem. People just want to point a finger so they don't have to face the guilt of not being their for their children. Yes, left to themselves with these kinds of media can affect a child, but that does not mean it is the fault of TV, music and video games. It's the parents that are allowing their children to spend countless hours absorbing this material without any guidance. Almost every parent I know who has a child over the age of 7 has allowed their children to have a TV, VCR and video game console in the child's room. When you allow 24/7 access to these things without any guidance or control, of course it's going to have an impact on a child. When you put these things in your child's room, you are affectively encouraging your child to spend even more time away from the family. This is where the problems begin.
Another problem I've noticed is with smaller children. Parents and caregivers using the TV as a babysitter. They are too busy to deal with the child, so they turn on the TV or pop a movie in the VCR to keep the child occupied. Then they wonder where a child learns some behaviors.
People don't want to make the effort required to guide their children. They want the government to set controls so they don't have to. They are affectively saying, "protect my child so I don't have to bother." Raising children is a full time job in itself, and with most of us working outside the home it makes that job even more difficult... but not impossible. We had the children. They are our responsibility .What they learn (morals, values and ethics) is up to us... no one else.
