You need to STOP watching news with your kids! Here's why

Do you think your child needs to watch news to understand current events? Here's how you are actually causing harm to your child by doing so!

Has your child started using words like terror attack, murder, corruption, aatankwaadi, etc. and you are confused about where she picked it from? Before you start blaming the school and her friends, and the friends irresponsible parents you might want to think about what you watch on TV. If your answer is news , then that is where all this is coming from. Most parents think that watching news with their kids is not only okay, but also necessary. But news these days is so dramatic, it could even beat a daily soap!

If your argument is that you do not watch TV with your child, then let me tell you that watching news when you think your child is busy playing next to you can also cause the same damage. A lot of parents I spoke to argue that kids need to have knowledge about the world around them and world events, and that in this technology-driven time, it is almost impossible to shield our kids from world news. And I agree with this. My argument, however, is if you sit and dissect a news segment, how much valuable information do you actually get? Does your child really need to know about a mass murderer, or when and where a woman was gang-raped? If the news is about electing the prime minister or about a space mission, then yes, the child needs to know about these things, but not everything that is broadcasted on a news channel is information .

Child psychologist, Shachi Daalvi, shares her concern about kids being exposed to news, News nowadays is all about explosive headlines and sensational content. It is not how news used to be a decade ago, where a young person learnt a lot watching the hour-long news telecast. With 24-hour news channels, the content has mostly become fillers and has nothing to offer to the viewer. Your child will achieve nothing by watching a few politicians or really loud spokespersons shouting and debating over petty topics. Nowadays, news is mostly made up of violence, nudity, sensation or glamour. So the next time your child is playing where the TV is, it is better to switch it off and join your child!

Read this in Hindi.

Image: Shutterstock