From what age can a child watch soap operas? I think soap operas are not suitable for children. You learn nothing from it except how to lie and cheat. My wife is okay with our son watching “Family.” I searched the internet, but did not immediately find an answer. Thanks in advance.
Answer
Dear Peter,
In any case, scientific research teaches us that being exposed to certain experiences does not necessarily have a negative influence on a person (child or adult). People are complicated and it is therefore very difficult to predict the effect of, for example, watching soap operas on television.
Practically speaking, I think it is especially important that you talk to your son about what you (preferably together) watch on television. And I don’t mean that you immediately give him your opinion, trying to correct for what you see as the wrong influence. It might be better to ask questions about what he thinks and feels when seeing it. And then to respond to that, not pedantically, but with answers to questions that might be bothering him. Or comment if you find something shocking yourself, so that he sees that a different opinion about it is possible — that it’s not obvious that people kill, cheat and lie, as you put it. In this way, watching a soap can also be an educational experience. Also don’t forget that fairy tales, traditional children’s food, are full of terrible things, such as a woman who imprisons children in a pen and regularly comes to see if they are fat enough to roast…
Kind regards,
Gert Buelens
Answered by
Prof. Gert Buelens
English and American literature American studies Gender and sexuality
http://www.ugent.be
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