Shows that Your Kids Watch - Personal Statement Example

Choose the Shows that Your Kids Watch My friend April was so worried as she told me a story about how her three-year-old daughter shot some soap opera lines at her one day. She was a very busy single mother, who juggled a full-time job and classes in the university, so she hired a nanny to watch over her daughter. One day though, she had some free time, so she came home early, gave her nanny a few hours off, and took over taking care of little Alyssa. Now little Alyssa was being grouchy that day, as three-year-old girls were wont to do.

She was screaming and crying, and she refused to eat the bowl of fresh fruit that April gave her for her snack. When Alyssa pushed the bowl and threw away her spoon, April got exasperated, scolded the little girl with her voice raised a notch, and gave her little hand a slight spanking. "That's not good, Alyssa!" she said as she cleaned up the mess that her little girl made. Then, in between sniffs, she heard Alyssa say "I hate you!" very clearly. She was shocked at what her little girl had said.

She softened up a bit and asked Alyssa, "Why did you say that baby Where did you learn that" And with her round and innocent eyes looking straight into hers, the little kid answered "From TV." April was alarmed at her daughter's answer, and so was I when she told me this story. "It's impossible for her to pick up such a line from Sesame Street or Playhouse Disney," I told her. "It could be the soap operas that her nanny watches," April concluded, and we proceeded to discuss what kind of behaviors were often shown in soap operas and how the highly receptive minds of three-year-old children retain the information that they get from watching these shows.

It is clearly very important that we have to choose the kind of shows that our children watch. Little children mimic what they see around them, such as the behaviors that adults around them display and expressions that they often hear. Since television is a big part of our lives, we should be responsible in choosing the shows that we would want our children to learn from so that we can filter the information that they would acquire. This would be especially hard for parents who are hardly around and who leave their kids to the care of others.

However, this should not stop them from educating their children's caretakers and from soliciting their cooperation in ensuring that their children would acquire a positive set of values. My friend April talked to her nanny, who luckily realized that she was wrong in watching soap operas while Alyssa was playing in front of the TV. The nanny had children of her own, and she understood her responsibility in taking care of Alyssa. "But I try to check on the two of them from time to time just to make sure Alyssa doesn't tell me she hates me anymore," April said.