The Effect of Violence on Children.

By: Justin Swapp

If you want to prove something, you have to use the

scientific method, right? Observe something that you want

to measure, and then measure it.

Photo by: Keith Bacongco

There are many people who would water down the effect that violence in the media has

on our children.

If there is any doubt in your mind, just spend a little time applying the scientific method – observe them.

As we start this discussion, it's helpful to understand a little about child psychology.

During their earlier years, children are trying to understand their role in life by framing

it within what they observe in everyday life.

It stands to reason that if you feed your child a steady diet of bacon for every meal,

it's only a matter of time before the kid looks like a pig.

You are what you eat, as the saying goes.

If children have a steady diet of violence, it's only natural for them to experiment with

it as it relates to what they do every day.

If you think there is anything less than a buffet of violence out there for your children

to stuff their faces with, you are kidding yourself.

Here are some examples:

Internet, DVD, Blu-Ray, Wii, Playstation, Xbox, Gameboy, MMORPG, World of

Warcraft, Comics, iPods, Music, Online Chat, Magazines, Movies, School, Cell Phones,

and TV – Now in higher-than-ever definition.

That's right, all the violent detail you could ever want, accessible from anytime, or

anywhere.

Most recently my youngest son, Alexander, got a hold of the remote control and found

his way to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television show.

If you are not familiar with the Power Rangers, It's one of those

kids with martial-art-super-powers-and-costumes shows.

Alexander is two. At that young age, children copy what they see, and they test

boundaries. If you are a parent, you know this.

What do you think Alexander did? He got something he could use as a cape, and

hopped through the house, pausing occasionally to pose in a martial arts stance.

Then, he would find his nearest sibling, and practice a punch or a kick he had seen

on the TV show, complete with sound bites from the program.

He was acting out what he saw glorified on TV. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

seem to have the same effect on him.

TV and movies are arguably the most powerful mediums for communication that we

have today. The technology behind them now is extremely advanced, and made to

impact our senses to extreme degrees.

Trends in content seem to be advancing almost as fast as the technology displaying it.

It's more acceptable now than ever to show extreme content at all hours of the day.

Hack and slash movies are making a comeback.

Just look at movies like Saw or Hostle. These shows are out of control and

are the perfect example of gratuitous film making that marks our day and age.

It's well known at this point that violent situations cause a chemical reaction in humans.

This reaction is called fight or flight. We must act now.

We are surrounded by violence in every form of media. It's up to us now to either

fight, or run. As adults we have to protect our children.

We must fight this, not run. You have to fight this in your homes, but you have to also

find other avenues to fight the trend of violence.

Look to join forces with anyone fighting violence. Choose fight, not flight. Don't run

out on your children.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


JUSTIN SWAPP is from Ogden USA. He maintains a Writing and Literature blog - Finish Writing and a business blog - Swappratices.

In his blog, he provides invaluable articles about techniques and styles in writing and encourages aspiring writers to give out their best.

This is what he has to say for himself.

And I quote:

"I am a 32 year old with a BS in Business Marketing, and an MBA. Don’t let that fool you, however. I have always loved writing, and storytelling. I feel that reading and writing is extremely important, and I want to share what I can with those who find what I have to say useful. Write on, regardless of what they say. Write on."

End of quote.

Such inspiring words from a knowledgeable blogger. Thanks, Justin for accepting my invitation.

Violence on Television: Can it be stopped?

By: Nicholas Chase

Let me begin by stating that I have worked in the broadcast television industry for over thirty years, in a variety of roles including studio cameraman, producer / director of music videos, broadcast senior systems design and integration engineer, and senior broadcast television project(s) manager.

In my ten-year role as a senior post-production maintenance engineer, it was partially my job to screen hundreds of television programs and motion picture films to test and assess quality of the technical aspects of the program, video audio and FCC-mandated transmission standards adherence.

Photo by Aaron Escobar

I was unfortunately subjected to many dark, evil and basically sick horror films, or so called situation comedies with poor moral values displayed. Now that I am a parent, with two children,I have always been hypersensitive to the movies and TV programs our children watch.
An unfortunate effect of all of this negative programming being produced in the first place is marketing.

The innate curiosity and viewing appetite of the general public is for mystery, murder, sex, violence, and depravity to be somehow only satisfied through the watching of this material.

The program producers feel that they are merely satisfying a need for these programs, as the so called ‘wholesome family entertainment’ programs have their place, but cannot be the only source of revenue for the production industry.

I have had extensive conversations with some of the top production and movie studio executives and production staff over my extensive career, and the general consensus is that this programming will continue as long as advertisers and the general public are engaged in making these productions successful.

Photo by woodleywonderworks

For me, the question of entertainment in general requires that I be either edified, and educated by the material, by example The Discovery Channel, PBS and others, maybe laugh or cry during a particular wholesome program, but never want to be a captive-witness to suffering or harm to another human, animal or life-form.

I certainly do not want to be forced to ask for my money back, after discovering the promotional materials left out the part about the violence, sexual-content or foul language that is so pervasive in the film and television marketplace. If more moviegoers would perform this simple act of outrage, perhaps the producers of this material would change their focus to the style of movies in the 50’s, where you never actually saw anyone harmed.

My wife and I seldom go to the movies anymore, and not just because of the high ticket prices. High ticket prices are the result, of special-effects-laden productions, where character development is pushed-aside, and the special-effects have become the ‘Stars’ of the film.

There are really only a few movies produced in the last twenty years that I can recall for exhibiting what I would call strong family values. The alternative-lifestyles portrayed in these modern productions have only served to diminish the traditional and biblical precepts for marriage between a man and a woman.

Children growing up today are ridiculed by their peers in school when they have to introduce their two ‘DADS’, or two ‘MOMS’ to their classmates at school events. I have witnessed this first-hand at school functions, and while I cannot rightly and in good conscience sit in judgment for the choices made by these ‘parents’, as an observer of human behavior, their children appear confused and believe that they are ‘different’ through no fault of their own.

A general ‘watering-down’ of moral, social, and kind behavior has been building for many years in my observation. Numerous alternative lifestyles and celebration of offensive actions are portrayed in music, television programs, motion picture films, and much of the literature on the best seller lists of Publishers. An unfortunate aspect of this ‘feeding-tube’ of sub-standard content is acceptance by the viewer that this is normal and acceptable.

My mother is 87 years old, and her generation demonstrated a deep concern for one’s ‘reputation’ in the world, values that have certainly disappeared from our current generation. Respect for authority, kindness, being humble, dressing in a manner that states, ‘I’m proud of my accomplishments in life’, are totally in absent these days. The language I hear being used in public places is so offensive, that I can hardly contain my anger.

The self-respect exhibited by my parent’s generation is gone. The manners, morals and lifestyle of this current generation are bordering on causing a collapse of society not witnessed since the ‘Fall of Rome’. Roman society became depraved, gluttonous, and perverse, forgetting their own history in conquering whole nations of people.

For a man living in 2008, who is currently in his ‘middle-age’, this is so very frustrating. While I remember living in the 1960’s, ‘when do not trust anyone over thirty’ was the battle cry, I observed even then, a gradual shifting of moral and ethical values starting to slip away.

Governmental and parental authority was being questioned, primarily due to a horrendous, ‘undeclared’ war in Vietnam, but also the infiltration and adoption of certain eastern philosophies and precepts as exhibited and promoted by popular musicians of that time.

Photo by daveynin

These new moral codes were embraced by a generation hungry to take charge of their own lives, and even the very country they lived in was affected by these choices. The display of public nudity on billboards, magazine covers, and easy access to pornography and criminal attacks against our children by predators, as well as ‘quickie’ marriages and divorces and the taking of numerous, recreational-drugs whose long-term, mental and physical health effects, were not considered at the time.

Now a generation of damaged people, who were the innocent victims of a society whose moral turpitude caused their exposure to cruel and inhuman, murders, crimes and other accepted violent solutions to their perceived problems.

As a result of the general meltdown of societal values and mutual respect required for a healthy functioning society, criminal behavior has caused our prisons to be filled to over-capacity with individuals who chose to take a path of destruction, having no doubt learned these actions from their peers.

In my opinion, the general decay of respect, kindness, and wholesome lifestyle choices has caused all of the current suffering our world is experiencing. The realization that things may never be as they were before should be a wake-up call to all. We may never again have the true ability to celebrate our freedom as our forefathers intended, "One Nation Under God, With
Liberty and Justice For All".

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

NICHOLAS CHASE is a new but dedicated blogger from the San Francisco Bay Area.

He has four active blogs with significant topics namely :

The Debt Blog, The Diet and Weight Loss Blog, The Guitar Blog,

and The Way To Success Blog.

This is what he says : "My purpose in creating these blogs is to populate them with rich content, and begin adding advertisements gradually."

And he does write well about his daily progress in his blogs - which is quite interesting to me.

Visit his site and take part in his blogging experiences and challenges.

Good luck to you Nicholas and I'm certain you will succeed in your goals.

Violence on TV and our Children

By Purpled Sky

Even before I had a daughter of my own, I have always been strong on my belief that children shouldn't be watching TV unless those that are designed for them.

And even so, TV watching should be properly monitored, after all, toddlers are more attentive to commercials primarily because of their catchy jingles. And hey, don't tell me I am the only one who hates commercials.


Read more of this...

About the Author:

Visit Purpled Sky's blog and read about interesting topics -one of them talks about TV violence - and many more.


Purpled Sky also says: "The best afternoon for me is spent snuggling with husband and playing peek-a-boo with baby X."

She is a great writer and I would like to correct an error which I had posted about her being a SAHM. Well, she is even more than that; she is also a working mom.

My hats off to you PS!

Thanks, for supporting this campaign.

THE IDIOT BOX AND HOW TO STOP IT FROM MAKING YOUR KIDS LIKE IT IS

By: Ma. Teresa Baniaga of Hot Momma

Photo by brandi666

One of the not-so-flattering but absolutely apt nickname of the television is “idiot box.” I am not exactly sure why but I can think of several reasons. Foremost in my mind is the fact that it creates idiots out of its viewers – particularly the impressionable young ones.

It is almost unbelievable how much influence that box has on the minds of children today. It has almost become their entire reality, totally erasing the real world from their consciousness.


Come to think of it, children are already watching TV long before they go to school. Nowadays, their first exposure to technology, science or the arts is usually through what they see on television.

But that is not all. Along with the stuff they are exposed to on a daily basis sitting motionless infront of the television, come all sorts of rubbish and scum – violence, sex and materialism.

The effects of TV is dangerous because if kids start watching violent or unsafe stuff from a very young age, the concepts they learn are imbibed at a subliminal level – very hard to unlearn and refute because it is already part of their psyche.

In the earlier days of TV ads, not a lot of advertisements are directly aimed at kids. Now, they have changed the rules of the game. Advertisements are already crafted with young kids in mind as their target audience. Since kids do not have purchasing power on their own, this is synonymous to saying: “Tell your mom and dad to buy this for you. You need this and you’ve got to have it” If that does not help raise a breed of manipulative and materialistic young ones, I don’t know what will.

What is more unbelievable is how majority of parents and child carers rely on TV to baby-sit their wards and charges and how they actually consider it harmless. C’mon, if you are really honest, you will admit to being guilty of this at least once in your life. How many times have we coaxed our kids to stay at home and just “watch TV” when we have somewhere important to go? Or banish them to the family room with the TV on as we entertain our friends in the other reception room? Or, allow them to turn on the TV the moment they get out of bed because it’s the weekend, anyway?


I am not being unrealistic here. Of course, TV is here to stay and it would not be normal to totally deprive our kids of the opportunities to learn from the informative, educational and healthy stuff shown on TV. By all means, they should be exposed because one way or the other, TV will intrude into their lives somehow, anyway.

But we should handle the matter of TV viewing as carefully as we deliberate upon or ponder on the next big investment we are going to make. As parents, let us not take for granted that TV is normally part of life. In the olden days, it wasn’t and they got by fine. At present, there is always that big influence of TV on our kids, but we must do our part to make the experience of it more rewarding and less damaging on the kids.


What I mean is, we should take to heart what kids’ TV shows show on the corner of the screen: Parental Guidance. We must make sure that there are guidelines to follow and boundaries they cannot cross if they are to enjoy TV. More often than not, making the rules clear will reduce the confusion more than inspire spirited protests in the household.

Laying the ground rules is just half of the battle won – imposing the rules without fail will get you the results you need. Include in the rules the list of TV shows they can watch and the definite no-no’s that they should not even consider watching. Making them aware of the dangers of TV in the long run will make them realize that the whole thing is all about their own protection.

Designate a place in the house for TV viewing and avoid putting a set in kids’ bedrooms. It is more difficult to police the stuff they watch and the hours they spend watching if you do that. The high energy costs should also be one reason for you not to do it.

Last but not least, as much as possible, sit down with the kids during their TV viewing. When a questionable scene comes up, you can readily explain things to them or warn them about the dangers of imitating the words or actions they have just heard or seen.

TV is a powerful tool for communication but it can be seriously damaging to our kids. Getting the most out of it involves your vigilance and tireless policing. Why should you entrust your kids to an idiot, much less an idiot box?


About the Author

I am delighted to have as my Guest Blogger Ma. Teresa Baniaga of HotMomma and Pinoy Around the World . Mathe is a freelance writer who plans to compile in one book the adventures of Filipinos all around the globe.

In her two blogs, she discusses a variety of interesting topics.
She writes fluently and garnishes her articles with a lot of personal, profound insights that could only come from someone who writes with a heart.

Here is an excerpt about her from Ezine Articles, - a popular website for gifted writers;

"She writes articles about parenthood, raising kids, cooking, healthy living, home management, relationships and just about anything that catches her fancy. This author also writes web content and online articles for her clients. "

Need I say more?

Thanks Mathe for this wonderful opportunity.

How Safe Are Our Kids From TV Commercials?

Posted by: Roy in Reflections, TV, outlet, thought & opinions, tags: ads, advertisement, child, children, cigarette, commercial, condom, dilemma, donut, health, ice cream, kids, milk, morale, safe, selfishness, television, TV, values

We see a mother giving her son a dozen donuts in a box, and told him to share it to his playmates. The boy then counted all his friends who are busy looking for a place to hide as they were playing hide-and-seek with the boy being the it. As they show his playmates one by one, hearing the boy’s voice on the background… coincidentally, there were twelve of them, including the boy!

Quickly he called all his playmates from hiding and announced that he has donuts to share. When they approached him, the camera showed all eleven donuts gone and just one remaining which was divided into 12 pieces. It seems the boy have consumed all eleven pieces and have left just one piece to share with his friends. Cute… or is it? I say it is an obvious display of greed and selfishness.

Next we see a young boy merely out of his toddler years, seemingly strong enough to pull the bedsheet off the bed and dropping both his parents on the floor. Then he is shown lying down on the bed comfortably… having the whole space all to himself. Is that cute or a blatant show of disrespect?

And what about the taglines “For Kids Only"… showing in the ads that kids should not share to adults. And is it really right to promote ‘Lampayatot‘ (weakling and thin) in the television? How safe really are today’s TV commercials for our kids? To think that I have only mentioned those featuring kids in the commercial itself. I have yet to tackle on those which show adults delivering various unchild-friendly messages.

Somebody is sleeping on his or her job. That’s all I can think of. Television, being the cheapest form of entertainment has access to young kids whose minds are like sponge and absorbed everything that they can see or hear.

I am not a moralist nor am I a holier-than-thou-soul, but do we really need a bikini-clad lady eating an ice cream for a commercial? And the discussion on the flavor of condom to be purchased, like they were just buying candy. And with a great cigarette, you can get the women that you like!

Alcoholism is also such a big issue, as children are made to believe that it is what bonds friends, and is a great reward for a hard day’s work. Clearly, there are more and more TV commercials being shown today without regards to value whatsoever. And unfortunately, they have access to our children’s attention.

So how safe really, are our kids from today TV commercials?

This entry was posted by Roy of The Struggling Blogger. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Roy of The Struggling Blogger is a blogger with a number of varied interests.

His 6 blogs speak of joy, sadness, inspiration, nostalgia and many more.

Visit his blogs below and come to know more about the man behind these cool blogs.

REFLECTIONS
Be Inspired Now!
Subukan Taya Ing Kapampangan!
The House Of Puroy Enterprises
Letters To Mama
Sugar Coated World

NON - VIOLENCE ON TV

By: Kathleen Milazzo

There is no doubt in my mind that children should not be exposed to violence on TV or anywhere for that matter.

The sad fact is, violence is a part of human nature and society and appears in the news, TV shows, and movies. Even music videos are not exempt. Impressionable teens and younger children are very much affected by seeing this violence.

Photo by: Jeff Sandquist


I can remember when I was younger, sneaking by my parents room to watch a movie they were watching on the TV. It was a murder mystery and I remember one scene where someone was killed in an elevator and when the doors of the elevator closed the blood from the victim poured out.

I not only had nightmares that night but I couldn't get that image out of my head for two or three weeks. I was afraid to sleep and even afraid to close my eyes for bed. I stopped sneaking by their door after that.

Parents have to be vigilant about knowing and monitoring what their kids see on the TV because everyone knows that as long as something is getting high ratings, it will not be taken off the air.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

KATHLEEN MILAZZO OF TYPED RIGHT and 9 other blogs.
is a "Certified Activity Director and worked as such at Lexington of Chicago Ridge, and Oak Lawn Nursing Home".

She has written numerous articles for several web sites that included a variety of topics on web pages, reviews for retail stores, and even wrote educational trivia for Microsoft among others.

For more of her impressive qualifications - read here. Visit her blogs too and be amazed at her expertise in almost all topics!

TV VIOLENCE AND CHILDREN

By: JANICE WATSON

I remember when our children came along, our house suddenly became like Fort Knox, a hive of gadgets were rapidly purchased to prevent doors from slamming on tiny fingers, to keep cupboards firmly shut to make sure that household chemicals were safely out of the way, along with any other pills and potions that would hurt them.
But there are other things we have to protect children from which are just as dangerous, I’m talking about TV.

We tell our children about stranger danger, to stay away from people they don’t know and we would never consider inviting a stranger into our homes without checking them out first, your TV in this case is the stranger.

If we allow kid’s to watch TV unsupervised, without thinking about it’s long-term effects upon them It’s little wonder that violence is increasing. We can’t wrap them in cotton wool of course, but by choosing carefully what we allow them to watch we give them higher standards and a better moral compass.

TV does have its good points, there are the educational programmes for example just be aware what they are being educated about.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

JANICE WATSON OF MIDLIFE MISFIT (A RECORD OF MY HORMONAL SHENANIGANS AND MIDLIFE OBSERVATIONS.)
Janice, is a middle-aged woman, but "dripping with hormones"(according to her). She has a zest to write about a wide range of topics. She writes about heaven, fathers, animals , flour etc. (see how varied her topics are?) She discusses her topic simply, but very well.

She says and I quote :

"If you are a man who has accidentally stumbled upon this hornets nest
of "women's speak" . . . may the force be with you. "

Unquote.

Thanks, Janice for supporting the campaign. More power to you.

UNDERSTANDING THE BAD EFFECTS OF TELEVISION ON OUR CHILDREN

Just like any other invention, television was created to be useful to mankind. It gives us immediate information and a good form of entertainment especially for our children.

This prevents them from leaving the house which makes them safer. Not to mention that it still does not cost much. Nothing can take its place even now that we are in the computer age.

But television has also its negative effects on our children.

Here are some of them that we as responsible parents should be aware of:

Laziness in school

This is not a surprise to me if your child is a TV addict How to avoid your Child to be a TV Addict. Although he might be going to school regularly, his mind is full of thoughts about his favorite show that is not really suited for him.

He will start to loose his interest in his studies which will eventually lead to laziness. He will spend more hours in front of the TV rather than reviewing his notes. His excitement in going to school will be replaced by the enjoyment he is getting from these shows.

You must teach your child how to balance his time well.

Negative behavior

There are other possible behavior changes other than lost of interest in school. Being violent is another major negative effect. This is because violence is also present in some cartoon and superhero type of shows.

For a young boy, imitating a superhero is nothing but normal. But it differs when he does the action. Superhero in cartoon shows are now different, not only in their attire or appearance but also in the weapons that they use.

Showing disrespect and early awareness of sex can also manifest in our child. This is because of the language and romantic scenes that are not being regulated properly.

Neglect of Health

Watching TV can also make your child lose his appetite in his food. That is why you should not watch while eating. It will divert his focus - and worst of all; your child may skip his meals.

Since your child is spending long hours in front of the TV, exercise will also be taken for granted. His time in running, walking and other daily physical activities will be reduced. In addition, he will not get enough sleep if we will not limit his watching time. Since we are working the whole day, we might not notice that we are neglecting the health of our child.

There may be other bad influences our child can absorb from watching television, but one thing is for sure we must control them.

Stricter rules for television shows should be implemented by the government but show producers and the TV industry should cooperate.

We as parents have also a major responsibility. We should be the first ones to take full control of our children. We can only do this if we give extra care to them by monitoring their daily activities very closely.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Guardian Angel of- Happy Family Matters is a Filipino engineer who found himself more comfortable in writing letters instead of numbers; and interacting with humans rather than machines. He maintains two very succesful blogs and does well with both of them.

For more effective parenting tips, successful marriage tips and other family issues, please feel free to visit his blog at Happy Family Matters , and for successful blogging and blogging tips read his very informative posts at Humane Blogging Tips.

A Campaign For Nonviolence On Television

By: Mel Avila Alarilla

Children are vulnerable to what they see on television. Since they are in their formative years, whatever they see and learn from television, become a foundation in their lives.

Good or bad, they affect the future behavior of the children. Sex and violence must be banned on television for they leave seeds of evil in the young minds of our kids. How many times have we seen or heard massacres being perpetrated by youngsters at their school campuses because of the culture of violence that was inculcated in their minds when they were still young and vulnerable.


Photo by: Bogdan Suditu

Television must instead be a main source of educational, moral and motivational medium to develop and nurture kids to be peace loving and law abiding citizens of their countries. They should bring back TV shows like Sesame Street and the Muppet Show to give kids, not only entertainment but also, lessons in character formation and values.

Let us all become united in our efforts to force a ban on sex and violence on television and bring back the glory days of television as a medium for developing citizens who are good, honest and law abiding.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mel Avila Alarilla of Random Thoughts- International Blog is a multi-blogger. He successfully maintains 6 blogs!! He is a Christian who has the zest to write, read and share his dynamic ideas and beautiful thoughts about life, love, trivia, spirituality and just about anything under the sun.

Mel thank you for taking time out from your blogs, to write this admirable article for my campaign.

More power to you!

You can visit Mel in his following blogs below:

Reflections - A Christian Blog

Random Thoughts (International Blog)

World United Bloggers

Points of View (Discussion Blog)

Literati - An Artistic Blog

K.I.S.S. - Keep It Short and Simple

TV VIOLENCE AND YOUR CHILDREN

By: Tony Fowler

I remember the days when the violence controversy on TV was Wiley Coyote getting blown-up, flattened and buried over and over again as he unsuccessfully tried to make the Roadrunner his dinner.

Surprisingly enough, I have heard people use violence on cartoons as a reason to downplay the current violence on TV. It's crazy, but we'll use illogical arguments if they help relieve our own conscience.

So what is the big deal about violence on TV? It's just make-believe. Most kids know it is all make-believe. Sure there are rare examples of kids copying the violence they see and hurting other people.

Photographer: Ian Britton, Freetfoto.com

However, a case could be made that those troubled kids would have acted violently with or without exposure to violence on TV.

I'm not a psychologist. If you want psychological proof, there are plenty of studies that show that violence on TV negatively affects our children.

However, I am a parent and common sense tells me there is a problem with the level of violence on TV today.

Our brains take pictures of everything we see. Once we see it, it's there forever. We may forget it way back in our subconscious but its there. Remember the horror movies you've seen. Close your eyes and picture the violent scenes. Does that bring back happy memories? Are those the thoughts you want prancing through your head as you go to sleep tonight?

The problem is that the violence on TV does much more than leave your child with scary pictures and nightmares. It makes your child immune to the tragedy of violence, which leads to the loss of compassion for the real violence in this world. If I'm not a psychologist, how do I know this? Because it happened to me.

Growing up I watched just about anything I wanted. Violence on the news was just as artificial to me as violence on my favorite TV shows. My heart did not break when I saw tragedy around me. It was as surreal as prime-time TV.

A couple of years ago we made a decision to not have any TV (cable, satellite or network) in our house. You can kid yourself as a parent but the truth is that if you have cable TV, your kids are going to watch shows you do not want them to watch.

My wife and I have noticed now that we are much more sensitive to tragedy in the news and the plight of those in our world not sheltered like we are in suburbia. Our heart breaks more for those in need. Real life has become more real.

This is what TV can steal from your children. Not just with violence but with sex and off-color humor as well. If your children are immersed in pseudo life-like make believe, they'll lose their heart to care for reality.

Let's not fill our children's minds with what is violent and hurtful. Let's fill our children's minds with what is true, honorable, just, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

About the author:

Tony Fowler of Seeking Things Above, works as an executive in a large computer company. He is married to a wonderful woman and has 4 "awesome kids".

I was enchanted of how he described himself so I decided to copy an excerpt instead of his "about me" page from his blog:

Start of excerpt:

"Now you know everything you need, right?



Let me dig a little deeper and see if I can stretch my machismo a bit and give you little more. After all, on most of these blog pages I’m bearing my soul; why not provide a little more insight on the famous “About Me” page.

My name is Tony but then I already told you that. I’m an executive of a large private computer company. I don’t do any programming (hence the struggles with finding a good blog template and no clue how to get Google to see my blog) but I do get to help think of really cool stuff for our programmers to work on.

I try to make God the priority in my life. I often fail miserably at this but I pick myself up and keep on seeking. I have a beautiful wife and I don’t mind if I told you that twice now. We’re going on 12 years of marriage and I love her more each year. She’s a great Christian sister as well and we work to keep each other accountable.

Our kids are all less than two years apart in age. Three of them are home-schooled with the fourth ready to start next year. I don’t know if we will home-school all the way through high school for each of them. We’ll be counting on God to guide us on this as we go.

I’m an Aggie (Texas A&M former student for those of you outside of this great state). This means I love Aggie football which means I usually have my share of heartaches each fall. However, each year I bounce back ready to give it another go.

I’ve felt called to write biblical social commentaries on the net since the internet first became popular. However, until the advent and popularity of blogging and social networking I never had the time or technical know-how to make it happen."

I don’t know if God will use my blogs to touch anyone. However, that’s not my concern to worry about. I’ll just blog and let God take care of the rest."

End of excerpt:

Well said Tony, I am highly appreciative of Tony 's desire to contribute his article to this blog.

People like him are gems on the face of the earth. Men who deeply care about others and who have a burning desire to spread the good word. May your tribe increase, Tony!

Accept my heartfelt gratitude.