Television is a big part of home entertainment for most children, and with the wide variety of channels and programmes that are available these days, kids have more choice than ever when it comes to what they watch. However, it is only natural for parents to be concerned with regards to what their kids may be watching on TV, as obviously not all content is going to be suitable for younger viewers. With everything from specialist children’s channels and HD channels through to on-demand services and movie channels, kids can enjoy a diverse viewing experience. While this is great news in terms of entertainment options, it is important for parents to be vigilant about what their children are watching, and there are a number of ideas we can offer to help you to protect yours from inappropriate TV content.
Tips to protect your kids from unsuitable content
There are a number of steps you can take to protect your kids from viewing unsuitable programmes on TV. Of course, some of these steps will be easier to enforce than others, but by putting measures into place you can at least reduce the risk of your children being affected by viewing content that is not suitable for them.
Some of the tips that can help to reduce these risks include the following.
Limit their viewing time: the more your kids watch TV, the higher the chances of them ending up watching inappropriate content. It is therefore worth limiting the amount of time they spend watching television to a set number of hours per day. This also means that they are more likely to engage in other activities such as reading or spending time outdoors getting fresh air rather than being stuck in front of a screen from when they get home from school to the time they go to bed. Don’t put a TV in the bedroom: many parents provide their kids with television sets in their bedroom so that they can watch what they want from the comfort of their bed. However, the risk with this is that your child may be watching inappropriate content while you are in the living room watching your own programmes. You therefore may want to ensure that your kids only watch television in the main room where there are adults around to supervise.
PIN security: With the right television package, you can ensure that there is PIN security in place so that certain content can only be accessed by inputting your own number. For example, include children’s channels that are ideal for your kids. However, these packages also include on-demand and catch-up TV that may not be suitable for your child. The PIN security feature means that your offspring will not be able to access these without knowing the code, which means greater peace of mind for you. Adhere to the watershed: After a certain time, the content shown on TV becomes by definition unsuitable for kids. By adhering to the watershed and making sure that your kids do not watch after a certain time – around 8pm – you can reduce the risk of them inadvertently seeing inappropriate content.These tips can help to not only reduce the risk of your kids watching programmes that are unsuitable for them but can also help to ensure they do not spend an unhealthy amount of time sitting in front of the television.