Many studies have been shown that television does help kids learn and in my opinion, it can either help them learn good habits or traits or bad ones. Sesame Street is a show I grew up watching as well as many other kids did. This developed my intense desire for reading and learning. When I was younger, shows like Blue’s Clues, Arthur, and Mister Roger’s Neighborhood is what my mom allowed me to watch. There were shows like All That, Cat Dog, and Spongebob also around that I watched but not much of due to the fact that my mom thought they were “stupid” and didn’t want me to learn those habits. Because of that, I learned more critical thinking and developed a passion for books, school, and creativity.
Television really does affect us in many ways. As I stated before, different people have done studies to show that it can help us learn but other people think that it affects us in a negative light. This can also be proven. However, I feel that it depends on who is watching and at what age they are exposed to different things on television. If you allow your four or five year old child to watch shows that contain a lot of violence then they will most likely pick up those habits. At that age, they are sponges and soak in everything and display them back in either words or actions. Once they “learn” these things it’s usually hard for them to get out of that specific behavior. This is why I think not only does television have an effect but of course the parents and their parenting do, too.
In the end, television does act as a teacher to kids that are growing up today. I believe that it also gives them what develops into their own personalities. Despite the television being a big influence on kids, the parents are ultimately responsible for how their kids turn out. This is why I despise, people who blame television for what their kids do. Television can be a big influence on children, but raising and teaching them is ultimately left up to the parents.