Junk Food, TV and the Internet 'are poisoning childhood'

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• But isn't insisting that children grow up at their own pace also a kind of romanticization of childhood? Children who worked the family farm or staffed the family store had a lot of responsibility, but they also spent more time under the direct supervision of their parents.

  You're right, though. Before video games, it was comic books, ragtime, and pool tables in River City.

• Kids have been deprived of the right to grow up at their own pace for centuries. Not that long ago, we had child brides and child labor. In some parts of the world, kids are assuming levels of responsibility that are unheard of in "developed" coutries. Every generation romanticises their own childhood, and when the younger generation's experiences are radically different, the cries of "Ohh noes!!!11! Won't somebody think of the childrens!" start in. The internet, TV , and junk food aren't ruining childhood, lazy parenting is. If you don't want your kids to be fat, lazy, and stupid, don't let overeat or stare at a screen all day.

• I saw this report twice on TV here in the UK. The first time was on the surprisingly good BBC news show targetted at children ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/default.stm ) where it got a reasonably complete and balanced presentation - the full "hit list" of items and a few sound bites from some of the better-known signatories.

  Later in the evening, on the adult TV news, they blatantly omitted TV from the list, instead showing video clips of games consoles and stock pictures of junk food with a filler piece about a school where they serve "healthy" food and play outdoors.

  More reasons to give up TV, I guess.