One Yin Thway Ein nursery student demonstrates the attack pose of his favourite Power Ranger. Pic: Aung Tun Win

WATCHING her three-year-old son, Thiha, ape his favourite television characters, the Power Rangers, as they battle intergalactic evil on the screen, Ma Khaing purses her lips and sighs.

“Television is a full-time companion for him.”

Thiha spends most of his time during the day watching action series, including Power Rangers, Spiderman, Superman, while his parents work and his guardian, the grandmother, does all the household chores.

Ma Khaing said that she never considered it a problem until after his third birthday, when she realised that the boy hardly spoke unless he was shouting and imitating his television idols.

“He never spoke normally, not even to say ‘mum’, although he clearly remembered the characters on the television programs, so I took him to see a child specialist.

“The doctor said he didn’t have any problems and was quite intelligent,” said Ma Khaing, who works as a senior lecturer at the University of Computer Science in Yangon.

However, when she sent Thiha to nursery school, the problem quickly became apparent; his teachers told her that he was merely imitating what he saw on the television.

“They told me that children not only learn a lot of their language and vocabulary from television shows but also their manners and behaviour,” Ma Khaing said.
The decision to send Thiha to the nursery quickly paid dividends, she said.

“I noticed that my son sometimes sang poems and rhymes and was definitely speaking more often. He even asked me to play CDs of English songs for him,” she said optimistically.

The principal of Yin Thway Eain nursery, Daw Khaing Thwe Oo, said the number of children who, like Thiha, appear almost addicted to television shows has increased in recent years. The Yin Thway Eain nursery – which is run under the Department of Social Welfare – nurtures more than 70 children and Daw Khaing Thwe Oo said about 60 percent had been in similar situations to Thiha.

“These children seem to lack social skills and almost behave like robots.
“It’s important for children to be learning Myanmar when they are that young but most of the television series – especially the action versions – are all in foreign languages. This means children don’t practice their communication skills and only mimic what they hear and see on television,” she explained.

In her experience, Daw Khaing Thwe Oo said those children who watch too much television also suffer eye problems and have learning difficulties.
“Their attention usually wanders to things that are moving quickly and are brightly coloured. They tend to have low attention spans and are easily distracted,” she said.

However, she said that television was not all bad for children.
“I think that children who watch television sometimes think better and have a greater imagination. But the psychological harm is obvious – some children who watch too much television behave like robots,” she said.

Daw Khaing Thwe Oo laid the blame for the watching of too much television on parents.

“Parents think their children like watching television so they let them watch it for a long time because they are quiet,” she said.

To fix the problem, cooperation between parents and the nursery teachers is necessary, she said.

“Children are all different. We sometimes have to talk to parents and convince them to decrease the amount of time their children watch television. I’ve seen that some children who have been with us for six months will only watch television when their parents turn it on,” she added.

Often though, it’s unnecessary to even talk to the parents because the child is no longer so interested in television.

“This is a new experience for children and their interest in television reduces.”
She suggested that parents of such children limit the amount of time watching television to as little as 20 minutes a day.

“Parents can use give and take system and gradually reduce the amount of time their children are watching television. I’m not saying that it should stop altogether but it must be limited.

“And it’s better to show a variety of different programs,” she said.

Daw Khaing Thwe Oo said that many parents are aware of the potential problems caused by allowing their children to watch too much television and some, like Ma Khaing, even consult with teachers about how to overcome the problem.

However, Dr Aung Than Oo, a professor of psychology at the University of Yangon, said there was still plenty of work that must be done to educate parents on the effects of television on early childhood development.
Dr Aung Than Oo said children learn from their immediate environment, including the television and those around them.

“Children imitate the manners and actions of those they’re attracted to. And if that role model has bad habits, then the child will too. Parents need to recognise this and stop their children seeing these habits.

On the other hand they should also appreciate good behaviour and increase access to these role models,” he said.

But he agreed that the amount of television time needed to be controlled and suggested that other leisure activities like visiting the zoo or pagodas was better for children.

And even when the television is switched on, he said parents should choose what is seen.

“It’s better if parents choose material that supports the intellectual growth of their children. Television is a leisure activity but it should be used to benefit our children.”