A Television For A Parent!? What Will They Think Of Next?

Remember when your parents told you to not get to close to the television? Remember when they encouraged you to go outside and play a game of kick the can instead of watching another re-run of "Family Matters?" Remember when TV was bad for you? Well, no more, as a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation has found that more and more parents are using television to keep kids stationary and see no problem in that.

For many parents it's just a time issue. Sitters are getting more expensive every year and if immigration reform passes you can just forget it, and you can't let them go outside! There are rapists and terrorists and athiests out there! In our terrifying modern age, television as become the safe, affordable alternative to keeping kids in one spot without having to actually be there to check up on them. Parents are still split on whether TV does more harm than good for youngsters, but some scientists are alarmed at how many parents see no harm, and even benefits, in allowing younger and younger children to stare at a screen for hours without end.

Most scientists continue to believe that television is harmful to the development of a child under two years of age, though it can have benefit in moderation beyond that. The study, however, as prompted some companies to begin marketing programs for kids as young as just out of the womb. Media studies are still in their own infancy, so the exact outcome of this cultural trend is leaving many guessing.

I'll guess that people will end up fatter, but more depressed about it when TV teaches them that fat kids are never as popular as thin ones.