Week 5

A few things from chapter seven intrigued me, including the section on television. I was appalled to read that a young North American child will witness at least several thousand murders on TV before reaching their adolescence. Also, the average cartoon displays an act of violence every three minutes. These facts surprised me because I would never consider dangerous the cartoons that my little brothers watch on a daily basis. In my opinion more education shows should be on television and parents should consider adding a parental control on their television sets.

            My youngest brother is seven years old and the “Consumer Behavior” section from chapter 7 states: “preschool children often believe that commercials are simply a different form of entertainment-one designed to inform viewers. Not until 8 or 9 years of age do most children understand the persuasive intent of commercials; a few years later, children realize that commercials are not always truthful” (Kail, Cavanaugh, 2007, 2010). I never considered talking to my brother before about the intent of commercials but after reading this chapter, I made sure he knew.

            I enjoyed reading about the four different types of parental behaviors. I reflected on how I was parented and realized that my dad had used an authoritarian parenting style while my mom was more authoritative. Even though I disliked both styles of parenting when I was a young teenager, I have grown to appreciate them. I believe that there are many more than four types of parenting styles and I would like to know more and read a more in-depth description. This week’s reading was very interesting; I would recommend the chapter 7 text to any parent or soon-to-be parent.