Remote Control

TV time can be supervised and turned into an opportunity for value clarification. It's influence so pervasive, TV has affected more than our buying habits; it has shaped even our values and family patterns. In some Christian homes, parents and kids holding the dinner plate and couched before the set is fast becoming a familiar scene. If held at all, evening devotion is scheduled after the newscast of the family's favorite sitcom. Quickly, this includes a song, a prayer and a memory verse -- and only in between commercials, huh! The homework-first rule is banished so it does not intrude into somebody's rights to spend precious spare TV moments from prime time to sign off. With the advent of cable TV with pure thrillers and non-stop shows, children spend more time surfing the channels than going to school or church, or communicating one-on-one with parents and siblings, even playing. Our homes may not be managed by the boob tube, but one thing is clear about TV: It has changed the living pattern of many families. Many of us realize this, but ambivalence overcomes it. Like the cartoon showing a father pushing the TV toward the window shouting, "Out! Out!" When it really fell, he also raced with gravity;s pull past stairs and doors to catch the idiot box! Maligned, praised, damned, cherished, thrown out, television to many Christians is a love-hate relationship. Hated because it replaces family weekends with televised sports and distorts nutrition schemes (the noodles and junkie stuff); loved because it entertains, educates and informs with very little mobility and analytical decoding. List of some television programs which could be helpful to watch:

• Game shows based on knowledge can be fun, entertaining and educational.
• Programs that present options for solving problems can stimulate.
• Television offers a needed way to relax and laugh.
• TV news promote understanding of complex problems with information about the world with maps, and by presenting two sides of an issue.

Whatever they think and feel will be harmful to children, parents should communicate their requirements even to families of playmates and caregivers. Research reveals that quality of communication tend to go down when televiewing increases. This fact can be overcome, however, when parents join in the watching, and initiate discussions with the children about the show. Family time can be supervised TV time with Mom and Dad. This can be an opportunity for value clarification, for discussing problems and attitudes of the fictional family of persons on TV. Finally, the ultimate tame test for TV -- and for that matter, for all forms of entertainment --should be this: "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things". Sometimes, taming the TV or hiding the remote control can drive everyone in the house crazy. try it though. Especially when it is time to go outside and play, or sit and talk awhile. bet 'ya that's the best show to watch.