Studies have suggested that children watch much more television than they did in the past and spend less time on active or creative things. What are the reasons and what measures should be taken to encourage children to spend more time on active or creative things?

There has been a trend suggested by studies that children spend more hours watching TV rather than implement active and creative activities. This phenomenon can be ascribed to several factors and some solutions should be proposed to stimulate them to engage in more positive things. The problem of children sitting in front of television for increasingly more hours is likely to result from several primary culprits. First and foremost, most programs on TV are so attractive that a great number of children can attach their eyes to the screen of TVs to follow them. Thus, they do not show any considerable interest in other things that are more advantageous to them such as sports, artistic things including music or painting. Another reason leading to this issue is diminishing outside activities and less open space for children. In the present situations, a great deal of urban land is utilized for high-rise buildings, traffic infrastructure, thus children have little access to public parks to release stress after intense hours of study. Actually, there is no alternative choice for them to make but watch televisions at home. However, this issue can be addressed by adopting some practical methods. For the role of families, parents should explain the serious dangers of watching TV too much to their children, namely being short-sighted, distractions from study triggering bad results, hence they can raise their awareness of them. This action should be combined with setting the regulation of limitation in watching TV for children, for example, they are allowed to sit in front of TV for under 3 hours everyday. Regarding the governmental side, it is crucial for it to expand and construct more open-air spaces for children to do creational things in their spare time instead of gluing their eyes to TV. Types of games and competitions about physical and creative activities should be hosted on a regular basis for them to participate in, which reinforces their flexibility and creativity. Take Hanoi for instance, in this city, more and more parks and public entertainment places have opened and attracted so many students after school or at weekends. In conclusion, the issue of the significant rise in children’s watching TV is unavoidable in the modern period due to different influences in the society. However, it could be alleviated if it were for joint efforts of both families and the government in encouraging children to involve in other activities that are good for their well-rounded development.