Have you ever really thought about the effects television has on you and your children? Or how much they watch? Well did you know that 98% of families in the US have at least one TV, according to TV Free America, and the TV is on an average of seven hour and 12 minutes a day.

On average, a child ages 2-11 watches TV for 1,197 minutes a week! That is pretty surprising seeing that the same age group of children only spends 38.5 minutes a week in a meaningful conversation with their parents according to TV-Free America.

As Children start watching TV at a younger age the more it affects their behavior and relationships with their family. When a group of 4-6 year olds were asked to choose between watching television and spending time with their fathers 54% preferred TV (TV-Free America). But what if you don't let your small children watch TV? You may not but if your toddler goes to a daycare, you may not know but 70% percent of daycare centers use the TV during a typical day. Shouldn't they be playing and learning with each other not doing something they can do at home?

Parents do not have to feel completely helpless. as of 2000 all TVs now have a chip that helps monitor and even block certain shows, with a parental control. All TVs have them so if you feel as if TV is not as wonderful as it seemed before, just think you have at least a little power over what your kids watch.

But what is even more shocking is how much violence they show on television. Different TV shows that are just about violence. Some kids do enjoy that but surprisingly most don't. The percentage of children polled who said they felt 'upset or scared' by violence on TV is 91%! I think that the more violent and scary show should be aired at a later time so smaller children will not be exposed to it.