Be Selective in Choosing Entertainment

What effect does entertainment have on children? Alvin Poussaint, an educator and doctor who has worked with children for some 30 years, is convinced that watching films containing sex and violence teaches youths that such behavior is normal. He also points out another danger: “I’ve seen children return home from such movies to become fearful—or extremely aggressive. I’ve seen others regress to clinging or thumb sucking or bed-wetting.” According to this doctor, experts have documented other events that can cause such behaviors—physical or sexual abuse or living in a war zone, to name just a few. “None of us would willingly put a child into those situations,” he explains, “yet we do not act to keep them from watching movies about things we would be horrified to have them see off the screen.”

Christians have good reason to be selective and to be sure that the entertainment they choose does not violate Bible principles. For example, Psalm 11:5 states: “Jehovah himself examines the righteous one as well as the wicked one, and anyone loving violence His soul certainly hates.” And the Christian apostle Paul wrote: “Deaden, therefore, your body members that are upon the earth as respects fornication, uncleanness, sexual appetite, hurtful desire, and covetousness . . . Put them all away from you, wrath, anger, badness, abusive speech, and obscene talk out of your mouth.”—Colossians 3:5, 8.

Parents, therefore, should be cautious that the entertainment they choose for their children—and for themselves—does not promote “the works of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:19-21) They should be selective, considering both the quality and the quantity of their entertainment.—Ephesians 5:15-17.