Anak TV does not flinch on its duty to remind TV audiences that it is ultimately the user, not the content provider nor broadcaster, that should be blamed if their children become adversely influenced by what is shown on television.

By the same token, pharmacists are not to be blamed if toxic chemicals fall into the hands of children at home. Broadcasting is not baby sitting. Television producers should not be given the additional burden of parenting. If that were so, imagine the billions of adults worldwide who will complain about the absence of programming suited to them.

Then come recent reports from Australian and American research groups that “TV can kill“.

The Aussie report said that people who spend over four hours watching TV each day have a far higher risk of dying early than those who limit their viewing.

If the report were true and scientifically accurate, this is cause for alarm to many Asians, Filipinos included, whose children post the highest daily TV viewing rate. Thai, Chinese and Filipino youth are among the most voracious TV viewers, watching on the average from 4.5 to 5.5 hours a day!

The findings come from a six-year study into the viewing habits of some 8,800 Australians which stripped out the influence of other health factors such as age, sex, smoking, weight and exercise. We wonder why the Philippine Pediatric Society, which for the longest time had been considering a similar study, has not started on it, preferring to use US or British findings to support their advocacy messages.

“Watching TV for prolonged periods is also bad for the heart”, this time according to the Journal of the American Heart Association.

“Compared to people who watch less than two hours of television per day, people who watch more than four hours per day have a 46 percent higher risk of death from all causes,” the journal reports. "They also have an 80 percent increased risk from cardiovascular disease. Sitting down for long periods stops the body from using its muscles and adequately processing sugars and fats,” the report added.

There is no doubt people who lead sedentary lives run the risk of acquiring a number of modern-day ailments like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and the like. Filipino children are now among the most likely candidates for shorter, less healthy lives because many of them are kept indoors, watching TV or playing with the computer.

DOING ITS SHARE

Anak TV launched Larolympics last year not only to re-introduce our well loved games like patintero but also to show parents that kids can have a good time outdoors with inexpensive games that force them to move muscles while enjoying themselves.

Cities like Butuan, Tagum, Davao, Iloilo, Marikina, Olongapo and others have rediscovered in these heritage games an antidote to sluggish behavior among children. Their youth are livelier and can socialize more with people their age. Rather than allow kids to make friends dangerously with total strangers through the social mechanisms of the internet.

CAN TV KILL?

Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski has a ready answer. A knife can kill; it can also be used to peel fruit. Fertilizer can kill, especially if there is too much or too little of it in plants. Medicine can kill if administered wrongly.

In fact, nearly anything can, if not used in moderation. Television included.