Helen Chade Mahshi

Just a generation ago, families watched TV shows like The Walton’s and Little House on the Prairie. These multi-generational shows appealed to all age groups within a family and featured families whose lives were open and accessible to each other.  These families worked together and prayed together.  Perhaps some would call them corny, but for most, these were worthwhile shows.  Few shows exist anymore that would entertain all age levels within a family.

As a mother of two daughters, ages seven and five, I’m finding very few programs that are appropriate for their ages.  My oldest has announced that she is “too old” for Sprout, a wonderful educational show geared to the pre-school audience.  Once we left the pre-school arena of TV programming, unfortunately all that’s left are shows that feature teenage drama. Whatever happened to the interests of the six– to twelve-year-old viewer?  The media entertains them as though they are teenagers in children’s bodies.  

For example, ever since High School Musical exploded on the Disney scene last year, my kids want to watch it as often as possible.  They aren’t the only ones.  Another mother confided to me, “I don’t mind my first-grader watching High School Musical.  After all, it’s clean,” she said.  Perhaps, but the boy/girl plot and suggestive dancing are more appropriate for the high school viewer,  so what’s the purpose in marketing this material to elementary school-aged children? As I’ve found, many department stores feature High School Musical t-shirts, hats, and backpacks for elementary school children. Assistant Priest Steven Karcher of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church in Irvine, California reminds us that, “As parents, we don’t want to hurry our children into adolescence.”

Disney and Nickelodeon provide most of the entertainment on television that is regarded by the network companies as “family friendly.”  My question, however, is “To whose families are they friendly?”  They are creating an awareness of teenage issues that force children to leave innocence behind sooner than necessary.   When I heard one of the twins on the Suite Life of Zack and Cody describe a woman as “hot,” I banned the show.  Recently, I heard my five-year-old tell her sister that she looked “hot.”  I asked her what “hot” meant.  She giggled and said it meant her sister looked “pretty.”

Nickelodeon’s Josh and Drake entertains children with the exploits of two teenage brothers and their mean-spirited little sister.  Disney’s It’s So Raven and Hannah Montana feature fashion-forward teenage girls living material lives few American households could afford.  What all these shows have in common are self-absorbed adolescents living expensive lifestyles, rarely demonstrating real families interacting with multi-generational issues. 

And that’s what I miss about the programming available to former generations.  I miss shows where the whole family works together for a common goal.  I also miss shows that reinforce family values.  Recently, I saw a very old re-run of Father Knows Best.  The mother suspected the son had done something naughty.  She wanted him to confess freely, but he didn’t.  As he climbed the stairs to his room, she reminded him, “Remember son, God watches everything.”  Godly values are also demonstrated in Little House on the Prairie.  In one episode, Laura runs away from home.  While she is gone, an angel disguised as a man ministers to her on the mountain and helps to reunite her with her family.  These values are often not featured in today’s programming perhaps in part because of “political correctness.”

So, what’s a parent to do?  “Limit the TV time and screen the shows,” advises Father Karcher.  “Set time limits so they learn moderation and control,” he added.  “Non-TV time should always predominate in terms of time spent,” said Archpriest Michael Laffoon of St. Mark’s Antiochian Orthodox Church in Irvine, California.  “Secondly, turn to classic movies with minimum (and age appropriate) scenes of violence or sexual content.  These can be found on AMC and sometimes, the Turner Classic Movie Channels,” said Father Michael. 

As one example of non-TV time, when I cook or clean, I invite my children to be involved, even though I know the task will take twice as long.   “Children should be helping their parents, both as a learning and bonding experience,” said Father Michael.  “Again, this must be age-appropriate.  It is very important to counter the modern attitude that the only time we value is ‘entertainment’ time.  Work, as a positive thing, for the family and for the support of the family, is almost incomprehensible to many people in our society.  This is a distortion that Christians must correct in our families.”   

Helping our children to have an innocent childhood is a big task facing Orthodox Christian parents today.   “We can look for families who are Christian for our children to get together with,” advised Father Karcher.  “As parents we have great opportunities to help create relationships with other kids that become foundational in the course of their growing up years.” 

Another part of my solution has been to restrict TV time in my home.  Instead, we are going to the local Christian bookstore and shopping for books, Christian DVDs and board games.  As Father Michael says, “Parents need to read to their children as well; especially from the Bible. For very young children, start with a children’s Bible.  Creative activities, involving crafts, and some computer time, assuming the content is age-appropriate and edifying, are all good.”

Protecting our children and keeping them innocent is not a task for the faint of heart.  Parenting is a job done with “eyes wide open” and a heart praying to do God’s will.    

Helen attends St. Mark's Orthodox church in Irvine, CA with her husband and daughters.  She is a staff writer for the San Clemente Journal, a community magazine.