Brandon Twp.- Teresa DeGrazia can’t stand the Rugrats.
The cable television cartoon teaches children bad behavior, exemplified by main character Angelica, says DeGrazia, who also doesn’t like Scooby-Doo or Tom and Jerry, cartoons she calls scary and violent, respectively.
A parent educator with Great Parents, Great Start, DeGrazia will be the speaker at a free parent workshop, ‘Do you know what your child is watching?? from 2-3 p.m., Oct. 11, at the Brandon Township Library, 304 South St. During the presentation, DeGrazia will discuss the effect of television on children; what children see and learn from commercials; the positive actions parents can take; and how to develop positive viewing habits.
‘It’s basically what as a parent you need to know about children and TV,? she says. ‘Violence on TV can scare kids. Television can influence children’s attitudes. I will have tips and ideas for managing TV in your home.?
DeGrazia will cite numbers from various studies, including one that says in a typical American home, the television is on for more than seven hours a day. The amount of time a child sits watching television, combined with what they are watching, has contributed to a number of problems, she said, including poor grades, behavior problems, obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder, and sleep problems.
Alec Taylor, 3-and-a-half-years-old, recently experienced the latter when he woke up in the middle of the night following a dream that an alligator was in his bedroom.
Before going to bed, Alec had been watching a Crocodile Hunter special on television. The educational program was nothing that his mother, Cheryl Taylor, an Ortonville resident, would have expected to cause nightmares.
Typically, says Taylor, her children, which also includes son Paul, 16-months-old, and daughter Lilli, 6, watch perhaps a half-hour of television in the morning and some in the afternoon, amounting to a couple hours a day, mainly PBS shows.
‘I don’t watch TV,? says Taylor. ‘The TV is on most of the time, but they hardly watch, they play… They moderate themselves.?
DeGrazia is a fan of PBS shows like Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer. At the workshop, geared to parents with children that are infants to five-years-old, she will promote good television shows, as well as suggestions for minimizing the influence of television. Her advice to parents includes setting limits on the amount of television watched; keeping the television off during mealtimes; not eating in front of the TV; make conversation a priority; read to your child; don’t use TV as a reward or punishment; encourage kids to take part in sports, games, or hobbies; watch TV with your children; and take the TV set out of children’s bedrooms.
‘Unfortunately today, its amazing how many children’s bedrooms have a TV,? says DeGrazia. ‘One-third of kids aged 2-7 and two-thirds ages 8 and up have TVs in their bedrooms.?
Television viewing should not begin earlier than the age of two, says DeGrazia, although she notes that is often the case.
‘Unfortunately, most of the time, I suspect parents use TV as a babysitter,? she said. ‘They turn it on, do laundry, cook, and it’s on.?
Children who are watching television are also inundated with commercials, tens of thousands a year, says DeGrazia, and are influenced.
To register for the free workshop (by Oct. 5) Bridget at (248) 693-5439, ext. 6417.