Children
and Television
(Poem
from Roald Dahl's book, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory)
The
most important thing we've learned,
So
far as children are concerned,
Is
never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them
near your television set-
Or better still, just
don't install
The
idiotic thing at all.
In
almost every house we've been,
We've
watched them gaping at the screen.
They
loll and slop and lounge about,
And
stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last
week in someone's place we saw
A
dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotized by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink-
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSES IN THE HEAD!
IT
KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT
CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT
MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE
CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A
FANTASY, A FAIRY LAND!
HIS
BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HE CANNOT THINK-HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All
right' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please
explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to
do?'
How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?
Have you forgotten? Don't you
know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY. . . USED . . . TO . . .
READ! They'd READ and READ, and READ
AND READ, and then proceed TO
READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One
half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And
pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It
smells so good, what can it be?
Good
gracious, it’s Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix
Potter
With Mr. Todd, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling
Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How the Camel Got His Hump,
And How The Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad,
and
bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole-
Oh books, what books they used to
know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we
pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots
of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The
screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with
sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That,
in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the
need
Of having something good to read.
And once they start-oh boy, oh
boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They'll
grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever
seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you
did.
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