The rapid pace of television change is much faster than the pace of real life, and the rapid change of video images on television becomes a “normal” pace for young infants watching television. Allowing young infants to watch television can cause over-stimulation and permanently alter the developing nerve centers of infants. According to a survey by Nielsen, the largest media marketing firm in the United States, the average American child between the ages of two and five watches thirty hours of television per week, which represents about one-third of a child’s waking hours when ten hours of sleep are deducted. In another study conducted in 2000, 26 percent of children under the age of two in the United States had a television set in their room, usually while sleeping in their cribs. Thirty-six percent of families kept the TV on even though no one was watching. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, toddlers who watch television and videotapes may develop hyperactivity disorder in the future. The damage will occur when the child starts school at age seven and has trouble concentrating. He pointed out that the rapid pace of television changes is much faster than the pace of real life, and the rapid change of images on television becomes a “normal” pace for young infants watching television. Allowing young infants to watch television may cause over-stimulation and permanently alter the infant’s developing nerve centers. Psychologist and child brain researcher Jane Healy believes that the constant noise of television affects the development of the child’s “inner voice,” which is the child’s ability to learn how to think and plan, and to restrain himself from impulsive behavior. Scientists tell us that between the ages of birth and three, a child’s brain is developing rapidly in a unique way. Even playing with one’s fingers involves the brain’s nerves in charge of bending, stretching, straightening, and grasping patterns. When one-year-olds play with toys, they can study the toy, they can poke it, bite it, and drop it on the floor, from which they learn about space, sound, and get a sense of competent satisfaction. And these mental central pathways stop building when children are hypnotically glued to the television. This critical brain development will stop at the age of three. The next time your child watches TV, take a closer look at what they are doing, or should I say what they “aren’t doing”. They are not practicing hand-eye coordination, not using their bodily functions, not asking questions, not using their imagination, not practicing communication skills, not practicing problem solving, and not using their analytical skills. Every time parents turn on the TV they are depriving their children of the opportunity to learn important life lessons. You might think that letting children watch TV for half an hour a day (so adults can have a little time to themselves) won’t do any harm. Among children ages one to three, watching one hour of television a day is 10 percent more likely to be diagnosed as hyperactive by the time they are seven years old than children who do not watch television. Children who watched three hours of television a day had 30 percent more problems concentrating in class than children who did not watch television. The American Academy of Pediatrics advised in 1998 that children under two years of age should not watch television at all. Doctors believe that allowing children to watch television too early increases aggression, leads to obesity and increases the chance of becoming hyperactive. It seems that parents who show “Baby Einstein” and “Baby Mozart” tapes to their young children do not let them “win at the starting line”, but rather let them go to school with Instead, they are in danger of having “learning difficulties” and “behavioral deviations” when they go to school. In the article “Human Values, Television, and Our Children,” author Karen Levy uses Dr. Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy of “human intelligence” as a basis for her argument that television has a negative impact on children’s development. In her article “Human Values, Television, and Our Children,” author Karen Levy refers to the impact of television on human life, based on Dr. Rudolf Steiner’s philosophy of “human intelligence. Effects on the physical body Children’s behavior deteriorates after watching television; they become hyperactive. This is a consequence of the fact that children sit still and receive television images. The stimulation of television images gives the body the urge to move, but this stimulation is suppressed. This stimulated body energy is not used and is stored in the body. Once the TV is turned off, these energies are emitted everywhere without a target, which is the aftermath of the sound and light perception overload. This aftereffect can be harmful to all people, especially children. What the child needs is physical activity to strengthen his body so that it can function in harmony with his mind. Effects on the child’s self-image When the child watches television, he has no way to communicate with the television, and the characters on the screen are unaware of his existence. As a result, the child learns that his presence is unimportant and plays no role. The response to this feeling is that some children become hostile, violent, extremely aggressive, and often yell and scream as a way of asserting their presence to themselves and the outside world. Other children become withdrawn and aloof, cutting off communication with the outside world and living in a world of their own. They feel incompetent, and it corrupts the child’s willpower. This raw impulse of willpower must be protected so that the child can grow up to develop the confidence and ability to face today’s society. The most important gift we can give our children is to help them preserve this willpower for survival on earth. Impact on Human Values and Relationships The one-way relationship between a child and a television character without communication and interaction affects the child’s relationship with real people. In many families, television replaces the interaction between parents and children, affecting the development of human values, family habits and special holidays. The television stops the family’s speech and communication, converts the dynamic people into quiet living statues, and turns off the “child-to-adult” process by turning on the television. The child sees the characters on TV as role models and begins to compare himself to the characters on TV. Children see problems solved in just 30 to 60 minutes, which creates a low tolerance and frustration with real-life problems. Expressions of love between families are also stifled by television, and many families have difficulty finding time to express their love to their families sincerely. Children need to show love to their families at home every day so that they can understand the true meaning of life in the world. The left side of the human brain is responsible for speaking, writing, reading, counting, and calculating, which is the half of the brain that processes information. The left brain first recognizes words, scans them, and then puts them together to understand their meaning. The right brain works in a completely different way; it sees the world in its entirety, rather than in an analytical way. The right brain uses pattern recognition, which is the exact opposite of the way the left brain reads and decodes codes. Watching television is the right brain’s way of processing, mainly picture recognition. Habitual television viewing has been shown to have an opposing effect on the analytical thinking and programming of reading. Television accustoms the mind to fragmentary themes, whereas reading requires continuous thinking. The speed of television makes children easily distracted and reduces their ability to focus on the printed word. Complex eye movements during reading need to be developed through practice. For children who habitually watch television, their eye muscles are trained to focus on a fixed point, and reading becomes an unnatural burden for their eyes. Words are the mirror into which one enters human intelligence, the only resource we have for understanding human evolution on earth. If we want children to grow into adults without constraints, they need to develop not only the ability to read, write, and think analytically, but also to use reading, writing, and thinking to develop a love of learning. Impact on Imagination When a child watches television, it takes over his mind and time, limiting his opportunity to practice imagination. The television projects images created by adults into the child’s mind and is completely absorbed by the child, who becomes dependent on outside forces to help them create images and ideas, erasing the child’s own internal ability to create images and severely weakening his growth into a healthy adult. Imagination provides the ability to love. It is imagination that allows us to see the perfection of our beloved ones and to see the intent of imperfect human actions, and imagination is the threshold to the world of human spirituality. The impact on a child’s spiritual growth A child needs a quiet time each day to give himself the opportunity to digest, to reflect on the day’s events, and to eliminate the conflicts that burden him. This will help him to grow internally. Parents often know that their children need quiet time each day, but many parents use television to calm their children down. Instead of providing the child with the opportunity to digest life experiences, this adds to his physical burden with more stimulation. Television fills the child’s mind with the thoughts and images of others, denying him the freedom to discover himself. Without such opportunities, the child feels frustrated, overburdened, and most importantly, lacks the ability to know himself. Only by providing the child with the capacity for self-awareness will the child develop the ability to explore his or her inner world and begin to understand the question “Who am I?” This is the question that begins to make sense. In the Waldorf schools founded by Dr. Rudolf Steiner, technology and rapid learning are avoided in kindergarten through eighth grade, students are taught without computers until they reach high school, and parents are repeatedly told the importance of keeping children off television. In a Waldorf education, “human values” are considered paramount, and every aspect of instruction is based on inspiring the potential of the individual. The responsibility of parents and teachers is to keep children away from harmful influences, with the final goal of developing imagination, knowledge of truth, and a sense of responsibility. How to stop the habit of watching TV? First of all, adults must set an example by giving up the habit of watching TV. If you have no choice, it is best to watch it after your child goes to bed. If you can do it, it is better to teach your child by example. When children are young, letting them watch TV is often a convenient way for adults to do their jobs. If you work in the kitchen, you can put some plastic boxes of food in the bottom kitchen cabinets for your little ones to play with. You can let them play with wooden spoons, unbreakable pots and pans, bowls and other adult things. Let these become a privilege that is only available in the kitchen so that they feel fresh. You can also let them sit in their high chairs and feed them treats at this time. Make good use of the baby fence by fencing off the ends of the letterbox and turning it into an oversized playground with toys that they can play with for a while. A little ingenuity on the part of parents can entertain children for a long time without relying on the TV to help you bring them up. It’s much easier to get children into the habit of not watching TV at an early age than it is to correct them when they are older. For older children, if your child has become addicted to TV, it will take a little time to change the habit, but it’s not impossible. Start by unplugging the TV and storing it in a cabinet or covering it with a cloth. If you can’t stop watching completely at once, set some rules, such as only watching on weekends. For the first week or two, parents need to put some effort into helping their children find alternative activities, and reading with them is the easiest place to start. Go to the library and borrow books they are interested in, read to them when they are young, or read on their own. Provide some craft materials and let them make something on their own. Prepare crayons, coloring pencils, water colors for him to draw pictures. Bake cookies with them and ask them to help when cooking. Take them to outdoor activities. What children actually want most is for their parents to do something with them. You just need to help them start with them and they can continue to play. Children are very creative and some simple toys can be transformed in their hands. If you put a little thought into it and continue to stick to your principles, you will soon find that your child’s creativity and imagination will return, and your family life will be much richer.