- Caroline giving her TV Kisses
“Limit your toddlers to two hours of TV a day.”
Umm…yea right. Who wrote that rule? A childless doctor?
In our house, TV is a LIFE SAVER. With two working parents needing to get ready for the day in the same hour and a half window…TV is our friend. Caroline may not focus on the TV for two whole hours a day but it sure as H E double hockey sticks is on more than two hours a day…probably more like three…
What is the harm exactly? Well, we’ve blogged about TV and Toddlers before in response to an Austin American Statesman article and I know what some of the arguments AGAINST it are BUT there aren’t an overwhelming amount of Pro-TV articles out there..so here I am Miss PRO TV Mommy with the 3 Reasons I think TV is A-Okay for our tots.
3. It encourages participation. Sounds odd right? Well, not really. Yo Gabba Gabba is a frequent show in the Barry home and in every episode they do something that encourages participation like “Dancey Dance Time” or “DJ Lance Rock Says” and 9 times out of 10 when we glance over at Caroline she is fully engaged in the activity and trying to follow along as quick as her feet will allow. It’s precious and it’s something we continue to emphasize during the week.
2. It teaches lessons. Every DVD we have has a slew of lessons it teaches Caroline. They span from manners to cleaning up to sharing to not biting, etc. etc.
And although Caroline may not be ready to open her own cleaning business anytime soon, the idea of cleaning and the request to clean is being emphasized by her favorite characters and not just by mom, dad and teacher.
1. Vocabulary. Caroline is exceptionally vocal. She said her first word at 9 months and has been non-stop ever since. A lot of my mommy friends ask me what we have done to develop Caroline’s vocabulary and other than it being a little genetic (her mama likes to talk!) the only other things I can attribute it to are the fact that she’s been in a socialized environment since she was 9-weeks old (preschool) and that we let her watch TV on request.
So there you have it, the top 3 reasons why you shouldn’t feel bad about letting your tot watch occasional TV during the day!
What are your thoughts???
Okay I’m totally distracted by her “creativity zone”. Sooo cute! Se does so much art! I really havent done much with V– i guess i thought 16 months was a bit early, but i guess not. Thoughts??
And giving kisses to the tv?? Lol, what a doll. Elmo or someone else AMAZING must have been on there. 🙂
TONS of art! We get at least five pieces a week from school and try to do one family craft a weekend.
FINALLY… An article encouraging TV! Yay! Thanks AMB! You’re the best!!
I think the concern is that watching lots of TV while young trains the brain to expect certain things and react in certain ways. There may not be negative effects now, and certainly there are plenty of shows that are educational, but when children rise to secondary school and post-secondary education and are expected to pick the right answer out of a non-light-up, no-blinking-or-sound-effects, “clinical” environment, they may find difficulty doing so (for example, the correct answers on the SAT and ACT and LSAT and MCAT and GMAT tests don’t light up and say “dingdingding!). Some research suggests limited amounts of educational shows are good for children, but there is also research that demonstrates that neural pathways forged in a way that is attuned to the way a television show operates (lights, colors, moving pictures, sound, talk, constant and immediate action) are more difficult to “retrain” than those pathways that are forged through other methods. There’s no right or wrong method to television and parenting, but different children will likely experience different consequences down the road. As long as parents are willing to accept that–whatever it will eventually look like for their child–then TV time in the home may be just fine.