For Imperial Valley residents interested in the education of youngsters, recent research has found too much television and video games have a negative effect on children’s school work.

Dr. Iman Sharif of the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, N.Y., has completed a study seeing the effect extensive use of both TV and video games has had on middle school students in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Sharif reported substantial drops in school performance among children who spent the majority of their time after school watching the tube or flying their thumbs across their favorite video game controller.

“It’s not that they’re bad things,” Wilson Junior High School Assistant Principal Richard Hill said, “but we do need to limit their time in front of the TV set.

“When you compare watching TV six hours a day to the time they’re spending on their homework, it’s no secret that things are the way they are,” Hill said.

Jerry Johnson, principal of Ben Hulse Elementary School in Imperial, agrees.

“Obviously, if they’re sitting in front of the TV or playing video games, then they’re not doing their homework,” Johnson said.

“I know the kids love the video games, and that can be a real nice award if they can come home, get their homework done on time and then they can play X amount of hours,” he added. “But there should not be complete free time for it.”

The first step to fixing this problem, said Linda Menvielle, Imperial County Office of Education assistant superintendent for education services, is to heed the advice provided by such studies as Sharif’s.

“I think we all need to be paying attention to research to help students reach their maximum achievement, whether it is an educational issue, a home issue, whatever,” Menvielle said.

The most vital step can be challenging for parents who often feel stretched thin by the time they reach home, but it is a crucial one.

“The parents should be taking enough responsibility in their children’s education that they would monitor the amount of time they spend in front of the TV and the types of games they spend time on,” Menvielle said.

Hill believes that this can be bolstered by “setting aside a time every day where they would do their homework or where the family gets together and does something fun.”

Johnson, meanwhile, says that his request is for children to take that break from the electronic world and step outside every once in a while.

“Judging by the obesity of some of the kids, they can be out mowing the lawn, or playing outside,” he said.

With a focus on parks and recreational service occurring throughout the county within the last year, there’s plenty that can be done outdoors to keep our future community leaders busy.

“Right now our main goal is to provide activities like sports where they can stay active,” Imperial Parks and Recreation program director Ember Haller said.

“We’re looking at getting them outside, getting fresh air,” she added. “That’s a big emphasis for parks and recreation with all the studies coming out on obesity.”

Menvielle said television and video games “should be replaced with recreational activities, given specific time for homework, looking at the child and being sure that all needs are met, in an emotional way and a social way, so that we develop them to their potential.”

For that to happen, the onus must be put on parents.

“Children aren’t old enough to have the right priorities,” Hill said simply. “That’s why we have parents.”