A word about...TV for toddlers Children of all ages are constantly learning new things. The first 2 years of life are especially important in the growth and development of your child's brain. During this time, children need good, positive int

[Guest guest]

I guess we disagree here. I don't want to get into a debate either. I'm not

trying to change what anyone else does with their child. I simply won't park my

child in front of the television all day like so many mainstream parents do, so

we definitely limit TV. If we cut down to no videos a day, we would be

television-free. We're not that far from it. I was talking to a mainstream mom

last night, and her three year old sits and watches The Simpsons and whatever

else he wants to watch from the time he gets home around 5 until he goes to bed,

and that's considered fine. Matt and I won't let David watch more than 1.5

hours per day, so like I said, it all depends on your perspective.

 

You all probably don't think we're radical for being vegetarians, but both of

our famiies think we're crazy and that it's just a phase. Many don't agree with

DAvid being a vegetarian while people on my veggie lists think it's totally

fine. People have different experiences and perspectives. I never thought I'd

be debating about whether or not 3 short videos spread out through the day would

qualify as limited television. I know several full-time moms who are home doing

other things while their kids watch TV all day. That's not limited television.

I know parents who don't watch to see what their kids are watching. I know moms

who have cable television in their children's room and they can watch into the

wee hours of the morning. David will NOT have a TV in his room--we're " radical "

for that. David will not watch more than 1.5 hours of television per day. I

take him to the park, out on his swing, out in the wagon, and so on. We go, go,

go!! If he needs to watch Bear in the Big Blue House while I prepare his

dairy-free lunch of organic veggies and pasta, that's fine with me until he can

be more independent and play more with momma in the kitchen. I WON'T be one of

those moms that pops open a can of ravioli or mac/cheese. I can prepare a

nutritious meal for him and have it cooled off and ready by the time Bear is

over.

 

Back to what I said before...limited TV obviously means different things to

different people.

 

Jan

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> Vicki <mothersong

> 2003/09/11 Thu AM 10:24:57 EDT

>

> Re: Re: A word about...TV for toddlers Children of all

ages are constantly learning new things. The first 2 years of life are

especially important in the growth and development of your child's brain. During

this time, children need good, positive interaction with other children and

adults. Too much television can negatively affect early brain development. This

is especially true at younger ages, when learning to talk and play with others

is so important. Until more research is done about the effects of TV on very

young children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend

television for children age 2 or younger. For older children, the Academy

recommends no more than 1 to 2 hours per day of educational, nonviolent

programs.

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