Kids and Tv

colder days and winter she is infront of the tv more often, but when the weather is nice, we have zero tv going when she is up...we are outside after school. I will say seems like some TV is good. my kid LOVES dora and at age 28 months she counts to 12 in spanish and will say "Vamos" and other Dora words...its not because I taught her. Im not mad at the TV but I try to not let her watch it...somedays i wish she would so I can get some housework done.

I think it depends on her age, and if she is actually overweight or not already. I don't know her situation.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has guidelines on this. Here's a link for you to look at:
http://www.aap.org/family/smarttv.htm

I don't worry about what everyone else says about TV.

My kids are in daycare or school all day. In the evening after dinner & bath, we all cuddle and watch for an hr or two. That's all of our relax time.

The weekends, we'll 'wake up' for about an hr & if it's a nice day, we go outside after breakfast. But there are just NASTY days (esp. in MI) where we'll have a Disney Day and watch a bunch of Disney movies together.

But everyone's different. There are some that won't even own a TV because they think it's that bad.

Congratulations to you -- keep it up. She doesn't need TV except as a treat, if she's old enough. You don't say her age, which does matter. Go to the web site healthychildren.org (the American Academy of Pediatrics) for what doctors recommend: Zero television before age two:

"The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly discourages television viewing for children ages two years old or younger, and encourages interactive play. For older children, the Academy advises no more than one to two hours per day of educational, nonviolent programs, which should be supervised by parents or other responsible adults in the home."

At our house, our 10-year-old doesn't watch TV during the week; her job during the week is schoolwork and dance classes and instrument rehearsal. There just is not time for TV after that and it's too distracting. On weekends she watches videos but probably not more than two hours total over a weekend most times. Maybe one movie or parts of a favorite movie or TV show (on video, not broadcast or cable). She wouldn't know Zack from Cody from Carly from whatever. And she gets along just fine without them!

More than your daughter wants is too much. Less than she wants is not enough. But if You are more fun than tv, and you come up with lots of fun things to do that are more "sparkly" than tv, that's good, too. :)

I don't think it is crazy to worry about this issue at all! We did not let our son watch tv AT ALL until he was 2 (he is now 2 1/2). Now, he gets to watch one thirty minute show per day. I am thankful that even during that one show, he is usually playing and running around at the same time.

I will admit that there have been days where he gets to watch more than normal - such as when we were snowed in for a week and I had to work from home. However, I try to be sure that once the tv does go off on those days, we do something especially active, like playing hide and seek or building a fort.

I think as long as you use good judgment and ensure that your daughter still gets lots of time for active play, a little tv now and then will not hurt her.

When my grandson becomes grouchy we turn on his favorite show, which is a learning show anyway, and he drinks a few ounces in a bottle. Once he calms down he could care less. As soon as I see he isn't watching I shut it off and find something for the other daycare kids to do. Because his mom (my daughter) works late, she has a habit of turning it on first thing in the AM. I really hate the idea of my daycare parents coming in and thinking that it's all we do. As soon as she leaves for school I rarely turn it on again until around the time the parents pick up. Sometimes I do it then and sometimes I don't. Once again I fear they will think that's all we do.

I turn it on sometimes when I'm mopping the floor or making lunch. It's just my way of keeping everyone safe. Maybe once per week and occasionally twice we'll rent a movie. But we rarely watch all of it in one sitting. I rent them on the tv and we have 24 hours to watch the whole thing.

I'm no tv prude. But I would rather the kids be working on the computer. Most of my kids have taught themselves to read and have learned early math skills with learning programs online. This is another reason I limit tv. I figure they are getting enough of it there.

By the way, my 10 year old daughter never watched a whole show until she was around the age of 6 or 7. Now she's hooked and we argue about how much is too much all the time. She watches shows on Hulu.com and Netflix. So even if you don't do it when they are young, you won't be out of the woods.

It depends a lot on your child and her age. My son will be 3 next month and he watches one 20 minute show when he wakes up (little zombie) and two shows at night while he's winding-down. We tend to have the t.v. on when we're home b/c we forget to turn it off- I know, wastes electricity. He will actually get the remote and turn it off for us b/c he really doesn't like to watch t.v- rather be doing something active.

Just be aware of it and don't feel badly if you pop on a show so you can make dinner.

This will probably sound crazy and extreme, but we don't have a TV. We do let our son watch children's movies via Netflix or iTunes, but only on "Movie Night," which we have once, maximum twice, a week. I'm trying to walk a fine line between the fact that TV really has a deleterious effect of children's appreciation of books, their ability to learn and concentrate, etc., and the fact that in order to relate to other kids, my son needs some exposure to pop culture. I know this won't be the solution for everyone, and I'm not criticizing people who have more TV in their lives, but it's something to consider.

Please don't worry too much or let the "TV police" guilt you into thinking it is all bad. Contrary to popular belief, esp on this board, TV is NOT ALL BAD. Of course, don't let her sit there all day in front of it either.

I have seen it play out time and again that when you severely limit something, be it TV or junk food, you will have the exact opposite effect. Your child will crave that thing even more. And someday they are going to be making their OWN decisions and you want them made from a place of moderation-not going overboard b/c they have been deprived of something so undeniably enjoyable all of their lives.

Furthermore, I am much less concerned about limiting everything as some of my friends are and I kid you not-my boys are MUCH better adjusted than their children. For ex: a woman in my neighborhood loves to brag that she doesn't have cable and that their kids eat all organic. She is a thoroughly modern parent who gives her kids "time outs" and "choices" too. Guess whose little girls are horrendous??? Yep-hers. They are obnoxious and demanding and expect the very planet to revolve around them. I can cite another example-a little boy my son is friends with has had his TV severely monitored all his life (only PBS-no sponge bob, etc.) Hi mother keeps super close tabs on just about everything he does....guess who is one of the biggest passive aggessive bullies in the third grade?? Yep, him. So I guess my point is to just do what YOU think is right rather than listen to people that will try to make you feel bad because your kids watched a show and had a cookie. Their kids are by NO MEAND as perfect as they would like you to believe.

I don't know if their is a correct answer to your question. But I didn't let my daughter watch any TV until she was about 2 and she stopped napping. I let her watch a movie now in the afternoon for quiet time while I study. The TV is never on other than that time. I also heard that kids are not supposed to watch any TV until after they are two because of brain development.

i think a lot of people make too much out fo the tv issue. i have my tv on all day. i like the background noise when the kids are in school. when the kids come home, i have them do homework, and then i turn on cartoons for if they want to watch them. most of the time they are in their rooms playing or outside. my kids will stop playing for a while and watch something, but we play board games, do artwork, etc. tv is not a bad thing unless a person lets it become one with what they allow kids to watch. i don't do cartoon network, i do pbs, disney, nick (some things) and nickjr. and my kids aren't overweight at all.

Hi M.,

When my son was really young (about 2 or so) we only let him watch about half an hour of TV a day. As he got to be 3 and 4 he got 1 hour....of his choosing. He still gets that much, but he is in school so he doesn't always get that so we do a special movie on the weekends. I wouldn't worry about her being too lazy....only if she refuses to do any kind of activities.

My kids watch more than they should. Probably 2 hours a day, sometimes 3...but that is only the days they are home. On the weekends and while in school they don't watch much. My daughter is home 3 days a week and she watches from the min she gets up and then around 10 I tell her it is time to turn the tv off and color or go play. I make sure that if she watches, she also has to do something that uses her brain. My son watches after homework and after playing outside. Just don't let her just 'sit'...give her a schedule. Tell her after that specific show she has to do a puzzle, etc My kids play outside enough that they are not lazy or overweight at all. When they want to eat junk, I make them eat fruit first. I had junk growing up and I still ate good too.

Well, it looks like your daughter is 3 months old, right? If you were sitting her in front of a TV already I would be worried!!!!!

My daughter didn't see the TV at all - except for the 'musicchoice' channels until she was about 18 months old and then we did watch Barney etc and then sponge bob & fairly odd parents. I would she would watch a show at a time - but she was in daycare for the full day while I worked and then I spent a year at home when she was 3, but we were NEVER there, so we rarely watched TV.

Now she is 11. She probably watches 30 min a day. Not because I put "limits" on, per say.... but because TV can't be watched until everything else is done. Some days if she is on her game and gets everything done then she can watch TV.

I will say this..... TV (depending on the show) is an EXCELLENT way to initiate CONVERSATIONS with your kid about stuff to open the lines of communication.

So, she NEVER watches TV alone. I always sit down and watch it with her - and some of those shows I HATE - just try to make through 30 min of suite life of Zach & Cody - bleeeeeech.
However - sometimes its while the show is going on or sometimes its the next day in the car or sometimes its a week or two later I can refer to that episode and talk about the decisions they made or what she would have done.

So, Glee is the big rage and all her friends at school are watching.... YES I KNOW 4th GRADERS!!!!! And some of that subject matter is pretty adult. But we had the BEST conversation the other night after the show when Kurt and his dad talked about sex - he gave an EXCELLENT talk to his son (well, after they both got through the awkwardness!).

Now - I don't advocate starting a TV habit to have discussions with your kids....lol. But I do think that if you do watch TV with your kids it can open up a TON of opportunities to talk about good decisions / bad decisions.

As far as having a kid that won't do anything else but watch TV.... TV IS addicting. The key is to not let them START watching several shows that are 'series' based, because then they want to follow the characters.

I also find that if you just make it so that the 'work' your kids has to do (ie - self-care, room clean, shower, practice piano, homework, etc) comes FIRST and ANYTHING else comes second it will naturally take care of regulating itsself!!!!!

My son is 14. I have always let him watch TV...PBS when he was little, and later, when we got Cable, cartoons and Discovery Channel. He also reads, and plays, and practices music, and does a host of other activities so I don't think the TV has been detrimental to his development. TV can be fun and engaging family time. We watch shows that make us laugh or spur discussions on today's topics.

It is all about what else you engage your children in. I began taking my son to the library at an early age so books have always been a part of his life. We did, and do, art projects together, go to local festivals, and art shows, and more.

Some days, when I am worn out from the week, and it is raining outside, we curl up on the sofa and have movie afternoons via Netflix. It is fun and harmless and has not made him overweight and lazy. LOL

Just practice balance and moderation and your daughter will be fine.

Have fun and God Bless

Current recommendations (American Academy of Pediatricians) are zero screen time for children under two years. DS did not watch any tv until he was about 3-1/2. He currently sees about 30 minutes a week of Jean Michele Cousteau videos. Since we don't watch tv - he doesn't expect it and we have no whining about it.

From the Mayo Clinic website:(referring to children over 2)

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting a child's use of TV, movies, video and computer games to no more than one or two hours a day. Too much screen time has been linked to:

Obesity. Children who watch more than two hours of TV a day are more likely to be overweight.
Irregular sleep. The more TV children watch, the more likely they are to resist going to bed and to have trouble falling asleep.
Behavioral problems. Elementary students who spend more than two hours a day watching TV or using a computer are more likely to have emotional, social and attention problems. Exposure to video games also increases the risk of attention problems in children. Children who watch excessive amounts of TV are more likely to bully than children who don't.
Impaired academic performance. Elementary students who have TVs in their bedrooms tend to perform worse on tests than those who don't.
Violence. Too much exposure to violence on TV and in movies, music videos, and video and computer games can desensitize children to violence. As a result, children may learn to accept violent behavior as a normal part of life and a way to solve problems.
Less time for play. Excessive screen time leaves less time for active, creative play.

Maybe one hour at night when I get home from work. Weekends I am pretty generous in the a.m. but then with dance and gymanstics and Church on Sunday that is not a long time. The only time we've watched a lot of TV as couch potatoes is if someone is sick. Otherwise we stay pretty busy throughout the day.

our tv is always on, the kids watch about an hour a day tho. my girls are VERY active and its mostly for back ground noise...

I didn't let my child watch any TV until he was 18 months old. I know the AAP recommendation is 2-years-old, but when he was 18 months, I was newly pregnant and suffering from hyperemesis. The only channel I allow him to watch is PBS. He enjoys PBS Kids, Sesame Street specifically. I only let him watch 2 hours of TV daily (max). Oftentimes, he watches PBS Kids first thing in the morning upon waking, and doesn't watch anything else all day once Sesame Street is over.

Personally, as with anything, I think TV watching should be in moderation. I pay special attention to content as well. If my child is watching television, especially with him being only 2, I want it to be educational. If the program can help foster his literacy skills, then I encourage it. He's added several words to his vocabulary from watching Sesame Street. My son could also identify every letter of the alphabet and the numbers 1-10 by 23 months. I work with him a lot, but I attribute some of that to the letter and number of the day on Sesame Street. He is very active and 25th percentile for weight. Television is used as a learning tool in our home, in addition to reading books, and a variety of other activities.

we have treehouse on quite a bit. DD doesnt really watch it, aside from the opening and closing credits, when there is a song for the show playing. We like the four squares program, its a play along of exercises etc, and these Bobs & Lolo singers (which are local to us). The one show she seems to like, its a certain character, Upsy Daisy, so we have a couple upsy daisy dolls she enjoys. There are no commercials, and the shows are all educational in one way or another. We dont watch anything else.