Comment on "Television's Influence on the Family"

There are those critics who argue that it is solely the parents' responsibility to raise their children appropriately and it is not up to the entertainment industry to raise them. The article, Television’s Influence on the Family, discusses television being very influential and much of the time in negative ways to our children. But, the article does not suggest “turning off the TV,” since there seems to be no escaping it. This article suggests that the best approach is for parents to talk to their children about what they are watching and explain to them what is real, what is acceptable, and what is not. The parents do have a huge responsibility to raise their children to know right from wrong and to help them have high self-esteem, but this is not a simple answer. Families do have a huge impact on their children's ideals and values; however, so does the child's peers. And not all parents are willing to filter the things that their children watch, or to talk to them about what is right and what is wrong; the children of the parents who do take the time to do these things will also suffer the consequences when their children are surrounded by the many others who are easily influenced by what they watch and who have little parental guidance. So although parents do play a highly significant role, there are many other factors that have influence over our society's children. For example, the article, Admirer-Celebrity Relationships Among Young Adults, explains “besides family and peers, younger people tend to form other attachments in many of the same ways to celebrities and popular media, which is very significant in their development and the characteristics that they obtain.” Children and TV Violence, also explains how “young people can even be affected when the family atmosphere shows no tendency toward violence.” This supports the idea that a child’s parents are not enough to prevent children from being influenced by the media, as Television's Influence on the Family suggests.