March 4, 2009

Are children who act in rated 'R' movies allowed to see them?

I have always wondered how the parents of child actors handled that. Do they tell little Johnny he did a great job, but sorry Charlie, no admission for you?

So......yesterday, Oprah had a special on neglected children. As I shuttled my children upstairs to watch a video, I pondered the irony.

Yep, my kids watch TV. They probably watch more than some kids, but still less than others. I suppose on some level I am supposed to feel guilty and I can guarantee there is at least one person reading this judging away (Hi!! I see you!!)

Whatever.

TV is just one part of our day, a day that easily stretches to 12+ hours a day since Arun does not nap most days now. As such, I read this article on CNN with amusement. It is about a study that shows TV does not necessarily harm nor benefit children:

In the Harvard study, two I.Q.-related tests were administered to the children: the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test III, which indicates how many words the child understands and uses, and the Wide-Range Assessment of Visual Motor Ability test, which presents puzzles and peg boards to test cognitive abilities.

Babies who spent more time watching TV had lower language and visual motor skills at age 3. But when results were adjusted for household income and education levels, the association did not appear.

Lead author Marie Evans Schmidt and her colleagues "did not find evidence of harm or benefit of TV viewing."

Based on the existing body of research, Schmidt, a developmental psychologist instructor at Harvard Medical School, said, "there's still more evidence of harm than benefit as far as TV viewing in infancy is concerned."

Studies exploring the relationship between TV viewing and the effects on children are just beginning, she said.

"My hope is that when this information is made available to the general public, that it won't be perceived as study that means there are no harmful effects of TV viewing on infants, because other studies have shown TV viewing at high levels can put kids at risk for some things like obesity, sleep disturbances and possibly attention problems," Schmidt said.

Wait a gosh-durned minute - you mean to tell me that while TV is mere entertainment, high levels of viewing could cause problems? Geez, is that a newsflash or what?

This is currently Arun's favorite show. Apparently, I am going to hell and he is destined for public schools. Eh.


5 comments:

Tina Miles said...

I LOVE the Eyewitness Series. I used to show them to my High school Freshmen (just one or two, I didn't do it all the time, in case some think I was one of "those" kinds of teachers). Though now I do wonder, should I feel bad that I'm showing my 5 year old the videos I used to show my students? Does that say more about him or them or the videos?

Don't see any problems with what you're doing. You're passing on good taste! :)

Anonymous said...

The whole tv-is-evil argument infuriates me. My kids are now 14 and 17. On top of them both being in advanced algebra/trig classes, my daughter is also in honors literature and English -- with a 4.5 average overall. They also both have a great sense of humor, are in touch with the 'real' world, and are extremely well-adjusted.

Yes, they watched tv. Plenty of it. But that's not all they did.

You're doing a great job -- don't let anyone tell you differently.

Unknown said...

There are always those out there who want to feel superior, I guess. Personally, I say screw 'em. But, whatever.

One afternoon my son came running from my bedroom and said, "Mommy, come watch this AWESOME show!". I was mystified. Come to find out he had HOOKED UP the DVD player himself, found a DVD of the Bones Season 1 series and watched two episodes.

It is totally not kid appropriate but what was done was done. *sigh*

Monkey McWearingChaps said...

Hey, I have a potential crazyass purse for you to feature. It was one of those inexplicable presents my brother-in-law gave both me and my sister after he saw Cameron Diaz with one in In Style. Shall I take a snap and mail you?

Swistle said...

La la la I stopped reading after "TV does no harm."