Feed: Watching TV Can Be Beneficial to Kids - Recently Updated - AggScore: 38.8

While growing up some of us only had limited TV channels. Besides, cartoons weren't on 24/7, so instead, we could only watch them early in the morning before school and on Saturdays. Kids today have many options with multiple TV channels for children that run nothing but cartoons and kid shows all day, all week.

Most of today's programs go beyond teaching math and reading which is a good news. They delve into social interactions to help kids learn how to get along with each other and build friendships, encourage problem solving in the world around them and get ideas on how to deal with new, unfamiliar situations. TV time can be beneficial for kids when they watch the right (TV Shows) content. The following tips offer ideas on how to do that:

· Finding talking points: Parents who watch shows with their children can use the program's topic as a talking point. A character lies, steals, cries, fights, helps others or cooperates. Ask the children what happens when someone lies or steals. What can a person do when she's upset? These offer chances for families to discuss what happens when you do the right thing and how the character went about solving a problem.

· Tie show with research: Maybe the kids learned a new word or a program's topic fascinated them. Use the chance to go online to do research and gain researching skills. They can look up definitions and check the local library's catalog for books on the topic for further reading.

· Discover culture: Watch the news, documentaries, historical programs and music. More and more TV programs explore different cultures in terms of history, music, food and more.

· Solve problems: Characters often face challenges and work to overcome them. Parents can use these problems as a way to talk to their kids about their experiences.

· Learn good social skills and teamwork: The frequent theme is friendship, which teaches how to work together, play fair and understand what other people are feeling - something that would boost a child's emotional intelligence.

Always bear in mind to balance the TV time with physical activities, reading, playing with non-electronic toys and going outside. Kids also learn from parent behavior.