Model Answer 1:

In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the increasing amount of time children spend watching television compared to engaging in active or creative activities. This essay will explore the reasons behind this shift in behaviour and propose measures to address this issue.

Several factors can explain why children today spend more time watching TV than in the past. Firstly, the widespread availability and accessibility of television and digital media have significantly expanded the options for entertainment. With the rise of streaming platforms and on-demand content, children have unlimited access to a wide range of programmes and shows at their fingertips. The convenience and variety offered by these platforms make it tempting for children to spend prolonged periods in front of screens.

Secondly, the busy and hectic lifestyle of modern families plays a role in children's increased TV consumption. Parents often have demanding work schedules, leaving limited time for quality family activities or supervision. As a result, children may turn to television as a convenient and easily accessible form of entertainment and companionship.

To address the issue of excessive TV watching among children, several measures can be taken. Firstly, it is crucial to promote a balanced and active lifestyle through education and awareness campaigns. Schools and parents should emphasise the importance of engaging in physical activities, creative pursuits, and social interactions. Encouraging children to participate in sports, arts, and community programmes by parents and teachers can divert their attention away from excessive screen time.

Secondly, parental involvement is crucial in regulating and monitoring children's TV viewing habits. Parents should establish clear guidelines and set reasonable limits on screen time. Creating a designated "screen-free" time during the day, such as meal times or family activities, can encourage alternative forms of engagement and interaction.

To conclude, while it is true that children today spend more time watching television than engaging in active or creative pursuits, this issue can be addressed through a multi-faceted approach. It is essential to recognize the impact of excessive TV watching on children and take proactive measures to ensure a healthy and balanced upbringing.

Sample Answer 2:

Nowadays, television programmes have become the main sources of entertainment and leisure time activity for many children, unlike in the past. In fact, most children are addicted to TV programmes and have no time for meaningful or creative activities. The availability of numerous channels and streaming services, easy access to satellite TV channels, and the lack of proper guidelines for children have risen this phenomenon. Luckily there are ways to address this issue effectively and parents have to take the major role here.

To begin with the causes for children's addiction to TV programmes, it can be said that the availability of various channels, including satellite TV channels, with diverse means of entertainment attracts children to watch TV all day long. Consequently, youngsters become addicted to watching TV and are not interested in innovative, creative and sports activities. For example, both my nephews, who are around 6 and 8 years old years, spend their time watching TV rather than taking traditional hobbies or playing outdoors in the evening.

Again, bygone are the days when a small percentage of households in a country owned a television. On the contrary, TVs are ubiquitous, and they are connected to satellite TV channels and streaming services, giving young children access to virtually endless programmes. The easy access to TV channels has also been sparked by the lack of guidelines by parents who are too busy to spend quality time with their children and use TV programmes to keep their children busy.

Effective measures are there to curb this problem. First, parents need to spend more quality time with their children and get engaged in outdoor activities as well as good hobbies to deter children from watching TV all day long and have meaningful leisure activities. Parents should allow children to watch suitable TV programmes for a certain period of time each day, if required watch those programmes together, and set examples for their children by doing creative activities. Consequently, children will be more interested in spending time with their parents and in the process, break their addiction to watching TV.

To conclude, children spend much time watching TV because of the easy access to numerous channels and the lack of zeals and guidelines from parents to do useful things. To address this issue, children must be motivated, guided and accompanied by parents to do useful activities rather than watching just TV.

[Written by - Abdulaziz Alharthi]