Personally, I believe the media has a great deal of power over our thoughts and beliefs. I have babysat for four families in my neighborhood since the children were very young. I have watched all of them grow into different individuals. Two of the parents that I sat for did not allow their children to watch more than three hours of television per week. The other two, did not mind how much their children watched television, played video games, or surfed the web. At first, I found the parents who limited television to be uptight and naïve, as the children could simply go to their friend’s house and watch whatever they wanted. Over the years though, I began to see the effect of the media on the children who watch the small screen all the time. Two of the girls began to form an idea of this “perfect love.” They constantly asked me about boys, and wanted boyfriends of their own. They also seemed to dress more provocatively. I understood why this was happening because girls dressed rather risqué on the shows they were watching. Fascinatingly, they began to mirror the characters from their favorite television shows. If Miley Cirus was a singer, the little girl took singing lessons. It made me sad to see them trying to be someone they were not. The other girl and boy in the family that limited television were more active. They loved to rollerblade, bike ride, go for walks, and just sit around and chat. I loved being with them more because they were passionate about experiencing many things. They wanted to find things that made them happy. On television, girls rarely play boys sports. The media has had a lot to do with gender role shaping. Because the little girl had not had this idea impounded into her brain, she felt free to play baseball and flag football with her brother. The little boy who was allowed to play video games for hours and hours became somewhat aggressive and violent. He would walk around making shooting noises and hitting stuffed animals. At times I wanted to sit him and down and tell him that this violence would not solve problems. I know that sounds so cheesy, but it really did scare me to watch this boy believe that if he hit something, he would “make it to the next level.” The little girls who were allowed to watch the news rarely went to sleep easily. One of them would ask if they would get kidnapped, or if their house would get robbed. It upset me once again that these little girls were already starting to worry about the world’s troubles. The news is full of sickening and depressing stories, and it is not right to let young children watch these. I believe parents should try to keep their children sheltered for most of their youth. Kids need to know that the world is not perfect, but they certainly need to be able to enjoy their childhood and sleep at night. Over the years, I have gained a respect for parents to limit the role of media in their homes. Ideally, I know that it is impossible to shelter children from everything. I fear for the children that watch adolescent shows all the time, and focus on video games for hours and hours. I think that kids should get out into the world and make their own observations about what they like and do not like. After this time, they can select the media that reinforces their opinions and ideas. For now though, I wish children would fill their lives with the observation of nature.
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