A word about...TV for toddlers

[Guest guest]

Hi - I don't post very often, but I thought I would join in on this one.

 

Obviously, there are a wide range of opinions regarding television viewing, in

general, and particularly for young children. I guess where we fall depends on

what you consider the norm. As a number of you have mentioned, to some people

we would be radicals, because we greatly limit what television our children

watch - both in quantity and quality. (I just met someone who told me, proudly,

that his 6-year-old daughter has over 100 videos-one wall of her room is covered

with them!) To others, we would be overly permissive, because we do not ban all

television. I too grew up in a home where television was the sole source of

entertainment. What surprises me is that I was an avid reader and did very well

in school, but almost all of my reading and homework was done in front of the

television. I remember being oblivious to it when I was in the middle of a good

book. Also, our house was very, very small, so if you were inside and the TV

was on, there really was no way to escape it. To this day my mother cannot

understand people who have to always be doing something; she prefers to spend

her time watching TV.

 

Our children are 4 and 2. Their television viewing is limited to PBS and

videos/DVDs that we have selected. During the week, the only television they

usually see is 15 minutes to 1/2 an hour of PBS in the morning. If they are up

early enough they sit on our bed and watch while we all get ready. On a rare

occasion they might get to watch a video at night when we all get home, but that

might be 1-2x a month. On the weekends, it really depends on what we are doing.

If we are on the go alot they might see no TV. On a rainy Saturday, however, we

might hang out and watch a few videos. It's never an all day thing.

 

We certainly recognize the negatives of television - even what many would

consider to be good television like PBS. The more they watch, the more they

want, which is why we limit it. They also can become very absorbed by it. I

have seen that glassy stare. Once the children are in school (1st grade), there

will be no TV on school nights at all.

 

Like anything, however, there are positives. I think that most televisions

programs are at best worthless and some do a good deal of harm by teaching

values I do not support. There is, however, television that is of value. For

example, my daughter learned the alphabet from us, but after she was beginning

to make sense of it, watching a Sesame Street video about the alphabet helped to

reinforce, in a fun way, what she was learning. What I like about some of the

PBS shows is that they emphasize solving problems intellectually rather than

physically (e.g. superheroes). Whenever I tried to introduce some Spanish words

to my daughter, she was resistent, but when she watches Dora (she has one Dora

video) she's yelling " salta " and she will point out to me that Dora speaks

Spanish. Some of the other shows, such as Arthur and Clifford reinforce values,

such as sharing and honesty. I would have no problem with a program that showed

animals in the wild, because they could not get the same sort of images from a

book or the zoo (which raises it own ethical issues as well). I took her to see

Dragon Tales Live, and she expressed surprise that the children on stage were

bigger than in the cartoon, so we talked about the differences. If she sees a

movie based on a book we talk about the differences and how everyone's

imagination allows them to see the same thing differntly.

 

The next two things might bring some criticism, but here goes. TV also provides

us with some family time together. For example, tonight we are going to watch a

video and have popcorn. My daughter considers this a party and is very, very

excited. We do many, many things together as a family, so it is not the case

that our only interaction is sitting around the TV together. Right now the

children are a bit young for games (although they have been introduced), but as

they get older we will also have game nights and other such activities. To be

honest, I look forward to the day my kids are old enough to sit back and watch

Casablanca with me on a snowy winter afternoon.

 

My other thought is that not everything a child does has to be highly

educational. I realize that this is a crucial time in a child's life and that

she is very open to learning, but I also think that, just like adults, kids

sometimes just need to " veg. " TV is not the only way to do it, but I don't

think that allowing my daughter to watch an Angelina Ballerina, Winnie the Pooh

or Bob the Builder video now and then while she relaxes on the couch is going to

do any harm. During the day at school she is constantly presented with learning

opportunities - puzzles, nature walks, Spanish, role playing, reading, art, etc.

At home, we read together, they help in the kitchen, we talk alot about what we

see, thoughts, feelings, etc. For example, my husband had is Go set out today

and just that allowed the children to talk about color, sorting, placement on

the board, texture, sound, etc. I certainly need down time, and I think kids do

too.

 

So, those are my thoughts on the subject. I've really enjoyed hearing the

different opinions and seeing what works for different families.

 

Karen (mom to Rebecca and Jamie)