By: Jim Dyke, Executive Director

The Houma Courier (November 4, 2009) - It is that time of year again.

Parents are finally settling into a new routine of carpool lanes, packing lunches and after-school activities.

Our youngest are settling into first grade, going to school a full day instead of a half and learning words instead of letters. The older ones are reconnecting with friends and having new life experiences each day.

As parents get used to the routine marked by a new school year, they need to remember this time of year also marks the beginning of a new season of television shows for all ages.

With this new television season comes an opportunity for parents to consider suitable measures to ensure the programs viewed by their children are appropriate.

This time of year brings not only a new television season, but also children who are a year older, which should lead to a discussion about what is age-appropriate.

What might be permissible for a sixth-grader to watch might not be appropriate for a first-grader.

Although two-thirds of American households have no children, in those with children, parents must make decisions about which methods work best to monitor what their children see on television.

It is not as daunting a task as it may seem.

The reality is parents have more options than they might think when it comes to ensuring that their children are viewing television programs consistent with their age and the family’s taste and values.

For example, television ratings are associated with all programs, are universal and are easy to understand. Also, parental controls allow you to block certain shows before they even make it onto the screen.

Gone are the days of managing just one family television based on competing interests. According to Nielsen, the average number of TV sets per household has risen to three. In addition, the Kaiser Foundation says that 52 percent of children have TV sets in their bedrooms.

It is likely that the television in the kitchen is going to have an adult present more often than one in a child’s bedroom. The good news is that parents who utilize the V-chip or cable or satellite parental controls on these less-monitored televisions maintain control even when they are not in the room.

Many parents are comfortable monitoring what their children watch in their own home.

According to a TV Watch survey, 73 percent of parents monitor what their children watch on TV and 87 percent feel they should be the ones to keep their kids safe.

However, parents might have concerns when it comes time for an afternoon or overnight visit to a friend’s house.

Parents can comfort themselves with proactive steps when their children visit a friend’s house by informing other parents about their viewing standards.

Simple and non-confrontational ways of relaying this message include: “We don’t let John watch anything that’s TV 14.” Or, “In our house, we just moved from TV Y to TV Y7.” In addition, a friendly phone call, e-mail or note is a great way to make sure your values are protected outside the home.

Tools are there to help safeguard your children from indecent and inappropriate television content.

While some choose not to use them, others simply are unaware of their existence.

Over the past few years, some groups have turned to the government to make decisions about television programming, but we choose instead to turn to you, the parents.

Our research shows that 90 percent of parents believe they, not the government, should be making decisions on behalf of their family and their children.

While each family has different beliefs regarding appropriate television, each family should be able to enforce those opinions on their own terms.

TV Watch was launched in May 2005 and is the leading national organization to promote parental controls and individual choices as an alternative to increased government regulation of TV content.  TV Watch is a nonpartisan coalition of 27 individuals and organizations including legal and entertainment experts and political and consumer organizations representing more than four million Americans.  For more information about TV Watch, visit www.TelevisionWatch.org or contact Adam Temple at (843) 722-9670.