Parental Perception and Attitudes toward Children’s Television Viewing Habit: A Case Study of Pankshin, Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Television viewing has positive and negative effects on viewers. Considering its negative effects, this study examines parents’ perception and attitude towards children’s television viewing habit, drawing insights from Pankshin parents in North-Central Nigeria. The study is anchored on Vygotsky’s Social Learning Theory, which postulates that people learn from one another through observation, imitation and modelling. A structured questionnaire was administered to 300 parents. Also, some library and internet materials were relied on for secondary data. Descriptive survey design and mixed method were employed. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for the data analysis. The results show that parents perceive children’s regular television viewing habit as wrong and harmful to them; their attitude towards children’s viewing of television is moderate; and location influences parents’ perception and attitude. The study concludes that consistent viewing of television exerts adverse effects on children’s reading habit, cognition, behaviour, performance and mental health. Based on the findings, the study recommends proactive parental monitoring and policy interventions to mitigate the negative impacts of excessive television viewing on children.