Children and Television: Yea or Nay?

When Chris was a baby, it was easier to limit TV time because, well, he was a baby. We didn’t really limit him, and he tends to be the kind of kid who will do other things while watching TV such as stickers, play cars, etc. In fact, it is rare he will just sit on the couch and watch the TV. Despite this, he loves having the TV on and knows all the shows he regularly watches on Disney channel and PBS. Jack, on the other hand, seems to love the TV. And because we all spend time in the living room, it is hard not to have the TV on for Chris when Jack is there. We jokingly call Jack our couch potato which I’m sure should not be a joke or funny. But he’s like my husband. He is not interested in food and will probably have the metabolism like my husband who could eat anything while he was in high school and not gain a pound. My husband is embarrassed to say he was something like 125 when he graduated high school and though he was not his full 6’2″ height (he grew that summer), he as well close to it. For now, we try to limit the type of shows on such as extreme violence or inappropriate stuff. But I think we are of the mindset that while we don’t want to expose our children to this stuff, we don’t want to shelter them. It reminds me of a story of when I babysat a little boy while I was in high school. His mother was crunchy (hippie) and would not allow her son to watch any TV except PBS. She did not like violence, etc. But somehow her son, like other little boys, would use his hand to make like a gun (though he didn’t do it the traditional way like other boys). But he knew somehow. Some people say it’s the nature of boys. So I don’t necessarily believe keeping them from watching certain things will prevent them from learning about it. But I wouldn’t knowingly expose them. Just do what you feel best. Some days, unfortunately, the TV is your best friend and babysitter.

This is an excellent question . When my first son was a baby, I watched grown up shows (Law and Order and stuff) while I was nursing him or doing stuff, but I never sat him in front of the TV (like baby einstein or anything like that) because I read the same research you did. I was really nervous I was going to ruin him. And then I moved to Utah when he was about 10 months old, and started working part time…and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law watched him and started showing him Sesame Street (much to my dismay and against my wishes, I might add). When I got pg with #2, I was sooooo sick that the tv became a necessity…but by then he was almost 2, so I didn’t feel as bad. I try to limit the time he is in front of the boob tube, so I try to have him watch programs, not just tv. We DVR his favorite shows…Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, whatever, so when it is over, it is over…and we turn off the tv. I think I’m like most moms. I am sometimes guilty of using the tv as a babysitter so I can get dinner cooked or laundry folded, or so I can sleep a little longer in the morning (especially useful when you have a newborn . But for the most part, the tv is off more than it is on, and that in itself makes me happy. I’m trying to let my kids gain what they can from the tv that is positive, but still allow them the ability to have their own imaginations and not become totally dependent on it for their entertainment. Just go with your gut…I’m not even going to get into the things you deal with when you have 2 kids that are different ages. Ugh! That is pretty complicated…

oh goodness, i have no clue. when we watch burn notice drew will start to stare at the tv and i always reposition him so he’s not looking. it freaks me out to think of hurting his brain development in any way!

Oh goodness …

When my first was a little over two months, I read Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds by Susan Gregory Thomas.

*sigh*

Immediately, Julia did not watch ANY television AT ALL. Very strict rule. And we didn’t watch TV when she was awake. Very strict.

Annoyingly strict.

Then when she was six months old, I found out I was pregnant and promptly started with the morning (all-day) sickness. And Clifford the Big Red Dog became Julia’s best friend.

But because of that silly book, I felt so, so, so guilty every time I had to turn on the TV so I could be very, very still and try not to throw up.

Now, both my kids watch TV. I only let them watch Noggin and PBS because those channels don’t show commercials. And we sit down to watch ONE show and then the TV goes off. (If I have something to do, like make dinner, I set a timer so I remember to turn the TV off.) I do this mainly because if the TV is on, my daughter will sit like a zombie and not do anything else all day long. But it is also teaching them compromise and decision-making: “Okay, if you choose to watch Miss Spider now, that means no Little Bill this afternoon. What do you think?” and “Wow. We watched Julia’s show yesterday and today Dax wants to watch his show. You guys had better decide which show to watch or we’ll just have to skip the TV time today.”

I’ve learned to cut myself some slack. There are days when we watch quite a bit of TV and days when we watch none. As always, you do what works best for your family.
.-= Joanna´s last blog ..VBS a la Julia =-.

Law and Order and CSI are my favorite shows. Now that we moved into the city we decided to skip the cable to save some bucks (ah!)

I don’t know much about infants but for a child, I believe TV is not such a great past time. Outdoors. Playing. Socializing. So much better.

I was at a wedding this weekend and a six year old kid was glued to a gameboy (or today’s version of what was a gameboy). It was a bit sad because the wedding was outside and there were other kids running around and playing. But he was stuck to a screen!
.-= Carolina Baker´s last blog ..Social Exhaustion =-.

I have three little ones. My first didn’t see TV until she was 2, but that means that her sister was a baby and was around it, but she didn’t really watch it for quite some time. I do limit the amount of time and what they watch. We allow “Sesame” Street and sometimes “The Electric Company.” Then on Saturday we allow about an hour of cartoons, but we get DVDs so they don’t get the ‘gimme’s’ from all the commercials. There’s no TV on Sunday. That all goes out the window when we travel, but that’s not very often and we don’t plan our days around the TV, so we are gone during the shows sometimes too.

At Henry’s age, they were sometimes up for shows that we watched, but at some point before the age of 1 that ends and we don’t watch our TV when they are up…

My family thinks I’m a little over the top, but they don’t have shows like we used to watch anymore and I really don’t want “Barney” on all day–it would drive me crazy.
.-= Kristy´s last blog ..My Old Kentucky Home =-.

I can’t really say from a mom perspective (not having kids). But my family didn’t have a TV at all growing up (I’m now 30). I remember watching Mathnet or Mr. Rogers at the neighbors occasionally, and that was so exciting to me!

I think the plusses are that I started reading early and now love books a ton (what else were we going to do during the day?) Then when my dad came home, we’d all go to the pool in the summers or play games with each other.

I wouldn’t beat yourself up if you let him watch TV occasionally, but I can say there are a lot of upsides to not having had a TV when I was a kid.

Moderation is the key. Jack watches PBS in the mornings for about an hour, then that is pretty much it for the rest of the day. Of course there are exceptions! But moderation is the thing.
.-= Eryn´s last blog ..27 =-.

Oooh… good topic. I’ll chime in on my childhood experiences with this. We grew up without cable tv. We had tv’s and rented movies, so we weren’t totally cut off from culture. The upside, I read books like crazy and still do. BUT, when I got to college and finally had access to cable, I nearly flunked my first semester.
.-= Liz´s last blog ..My Friends =-.

sparkly jules…just to clarify (although a little late…sorry) it wasn’t Sesame Street specifically that I was dismayed about (I still love that show , but that he was watching TV at all when all the research I had done discouraged TV watching before the age of 2. And he wasn’t even 1 yet! Even the APA recommends NO time in front of the TV until after the age of 2. Some studies I have seen show that early TV watching could contribute to ADHD. It is still debatable, but I think there could be some validity to it because it is such an important time for brain growth.
Anyway, he does watch Sesame Street now, and I happily let him…unless his little brother is awake. I am still trying hard to limit his TV exposure (although I’m not as strict with him as I was his brother) until he is 2 in December.
And Joanna, story of my life when I am pregnant! I understand the necessity and guilty feelings of the TV when “all day” sickness kicks in . What did our grandmothers do?????