Learning from TV?!

Tata Sky the satelite channel was already offering some interactive channels for kids, but now have gone full fledged with it and are offering 13 new learning channel. Im not here to advocate their product nor degrade it. Although coming from the Tata group the content may be well researched and good, for that matter all the channels right from disney junior to discovery kids, who in the name of interactive learning are questionable.

The medium of instruction for most of us would mean the language but here the medium is the TV. So here lies my question, while the children are learning english, math, science, art and even manners! they are also learning that TV is good, TV becomes a teacher to their sub-conscious mind, they become addicted to the idiot box, and so when we watch a good action movie, (of course to relax) they learn that too, because TV becomes their teacher. Sometimes i ve seen the look on my kids face when there is an action scene, there is no flinching, nothing to be scared of and when we watch some of the comedy channel (the slap stick type) she laughs when many people pound a man (mostly its vadivelu) again she does not know this is action, that is comedy but thinks this is how it generally works out, now im writing this from my experience. 

Many a times I ve put something for my kid on TV while im attending to someother work, yes we all have. I ve prided or rather consoled myself that im giving only the best programmes such as these, but in reality childrens learn violence and vulgarity also that is portrayed in TV. The solution would be we make time to teach our kids rather than rely on TV, for the greater purpose of a responsible future generation.

Alert Arumugam