I ran across a video that sparked my interest and I want to share my thoughts with you. I'll briefly review the contents of the one minute clip from "Katie Couric's Notebook," which airs on ABC Nightly News.
Essentially, her musings are based upon the alarmingly high number of babies and toddlers that are consuming television, before they're developmentally able to process what they're seeing. What about your precious little ones? How much TV do they consume on a regular basis? What are they watching? Is it healthy? It's important to know.
Anyone who knows me well will tell you, I strongly advocate monitoring what children take in, especially during their formidable years. My husband Kenya and I, are sticklers about this issue with our 4 mini-Hobbs. We have to be, because marketers are targeting our children with TV shows, movies and merchandise. Thus, it is our responsibility as parents to guard their little eyes, ears, hearts and minds, from negative influences. We must be the gatekeepers. Everything needs to pass through us first. I can't stress this enough.
As a matter of fact, I wrote an article that was recently published in Infuse Magazine about, how to protect our children from the media's influence. I received overwhelmingly positive feedback from parents who are genuinely concerned about raising children with strong Christian values. Moms are recognizing, now more than ever, how crucial it is to "pay attention to what they're paying attention to." Rather than having our kids tune into television shows, we need to tune into them.
Even when we're busy, we need to make time. Read to them. Pray with them. Talk to them. Do arts and crafts. Play with them. Don't let television steal away those precious moments. After all, they grow up so fast. My oldest daughter is 8 years old. Yet, I remember so vividly, proudly cradling her in my arms when she was just a tiny infant. Now she's growing so rapidly and formulating opinions about the world. I can't help thinking, "Am I doing all I can to equip her to be a world changer for Christ? Or am I allowing her to be molded and shaped by secular views?"
Ask yourself the same questions. What's your answer?
Remember, I always enjoy hearing from you. Please, submit your questions and comments regarding todays topic!
Until next time . . . may you be empowered to prosper!