How do children watch television?

Children and adults watch, think about and understand television very differently. Between the ages of 2-5, children’s interest in television is growing. Many young children may have trouble following and remembering the stories. They are more interested in the action on the screen than on how the story is going to end. Before age 4 many children don’t know that commercials and programs are different and they trust commercials.

Between the ages of 6 and 8, children’s interest in TV continues to grow. They understand and remember what they watch. Most children in this age range know that not all of what they see on the screen is real. They can tell the difference between the commercials and the programs and, by the age of 8, many children know that the purpose of a commercial is to persuade. Still, they watch ads with great interest.

Between the ages of 10 and 14, children’s attention to TV stops increasing and decreases into adulthood. They understand some of the persuasion techniques used in commercials and begin to turn their attention away from the TV when commercials start.

What is the impact of television on our children?

Childhood is a time of learning. Whatever children are doing, whether they are in school, talking to their parents, playing, helping with household chores or watching television, they are gathering clues to help them make sense of the world around them. They are developing skills, values and thinking strategies that they will use throughout their lives. Watching TV, children encounter a wide range of places, people, and information that they might not meet in their communities. They are exposed to issues, ideas and values that might not be found in their own homes.

As they try to understand the world and how it works, children draw on both real life and television experiences. The more TV they watch, the more information and ideas they take away from it.

(Extraído de www.media-awareness. ca/eng/med/home/resource/oma.htm)

Children’s interest in TV ................. between ages of 5 and 10.