Parental control needed: Psychiatrists

MUMBAI: Many psychiatrists feel that a blanket ban on adult content on TV is not a good idea. Parental guidance, rather than the state or the courts playing nanny, is the way forward.

Dr Yusuf Matcheswalla, president, Bombay Psychiatrist Association, says many parents complain that ever since the television set has entered their bedrooms, they have started having problems with children. But he doesn’t believe that TV is the root cause of the problems.

“The problem is that parents leave everything to the courts and the cable operators to decide. But the control should be in the hands of the parents. Due to the ban, pornographic CDs and other movies with adult matter will flood the markets.
The issue will also raise the curiosity of teenagers and attract them to such movies.”

Some psychiatrists say the real problem is that since both parents are often working, they have little time to keep track of what their
children watch.

Says Dr Bharat Shah, President, Indian Psychiatrists Association, “As compared to the West, parental control is very poor in India. What is needed is better education for better parental control.” He adds the ultimate losers are adults.

“It is they who will miss some good movies, because not all movies with an ‘A’ certificate show sex and violence.”