i am a lazy mama...so i didnt look through past threads to see if this has been done or discussed. and i have never posted a poll...so forgive me if i bosh that one up as well.... so my question is do you allow your children to watch tv? how much? how old are your kids? and why have you made the decision that you have? ok, well forget the poll...i submitted without them....lol.
Yes, I have 2 1/2 year old twin girls. Thank Goodness for the TV. They watch TV, but I don't let it consume them. At their age I find TV less of an issue, only because they don't watch anything violent or corruptive. They enjoy learning shows, and music and dancing. Now that the nicer weather is coming I am sure they will not even notice that we even have a TV anymore. Everything is good in moderation!
I let my son watch Blue's Clues before his nap and bedtime. It is really the only show he will watch, and it has taught him a lot. He just turned 3 and can write so many words (including Blue and Joe), knows his planets, and gets so excited when he makes a connection in real life to what he has seen on Blue's Clues. The other day, he heard windchimes and told me "I know what those are, they're windchimes like on Blue's Clues"...LOL.
I don't think either, that all tv is bad in general. There is a lot that children can learn from some shows, and there are a lot of nice children stories out there. So the clue to good TV is, that parents have to controll and select what the children are watching, and they should talk about it with the children. TV is bad, when it comes to a point that it is the only thing children are doing. When TV becomes their all time babysitter, and also when it replaces other activities like crafting, playing with other kids, going outside, and using toys, and family activities.
I let C watch TV a couple times a week. We don't have cable, so all he gets is PBS...althought this weekend he caught Dora and Diego on CBS weekend or something, and much to my chagrin, he was totally fascinated! I have tried to keep him away from too much commercialism and make TV a "treat". But we still get stuck buying Thomas crap because he LOVES it! I don't think there is anything wrong with a little tv now and again. I find it helpful to make it special-ish so that when I REALLY need to get something done, talk on the phone, whatever...he really wants to watch. But I will say that I usually can't stand kids who do nothing but watch tv. They just seem....whinier, or....something I can't explain, but it is a feeling that I get around those kids I know watch tv almost 24/7. Like when I have watched someone else's kids and try to get them involved in art projects, creative play, etc. and not only do the kids not want to, but the parents say "oh, just turn on the TV, you don't have to DO anything with them!" Why do those people even have children? I have heard friends say that TV was a lifesaver early in subsequent pregnancies when they were sick or needed a nap. You know what I would let C watch more often (so I could watch it!)? Nickelodeon Pinwheel and Today's Special! Oh, how I miss it..... LOL!
Commercialism is my biggest fear when it comes to my three-month-old baby. I don't want him to get sucked into the whole sugary cereal, newest Disney movie, video game, balck hole that seems to be the WHOLE reason children's T.V. exists. I really am thinking about not letting him watch it at all if possible. When they're little it isn't really that hard. The future really worries me.
my children are 5 and 2.5. I let them decide how much tv to watch or not. I'm all about letting them make their own decisions, within reason. I used to have these high and mighty ideas that my children would not be those kids who know all the cartoon characters by name, but that changed when I actually became a parent. When I was pregnant with my second child, my oldest quit taking naps. The only way I could function was to put in a video and snooze on the couch while she watched a movie. I am picky about content, and I don't like for them to watch too many commercials, but Noggin and PBSkids, and Playhouse Disney have very few commercials in between their shows. I do explain to them that commercials are from companies that want you to buy their stuff, and that we shouldn't get sucked into that. They really do understand what it's about, and we take the opportunity to discuss commercialism and its impact on society and on ourselves (yeah, we really do talk about things like that, and they really do get it). I don't substitute TV for human interaction or let it babysit them all day, and I don't let them watch just anything, but I don't see TV as the big bad evil thing that some people do.
I feel the same, will very rarely watch TV myself for all the commerical breaks and crap. Only really use it as a way to play DVDs and catch movies. Which really you can manage just find in other ways [watching them through the computer]. Really want to avoid those pitfalls but still wouldn't quite write it off. So will be using it as an occasional thing and be involved. My brother was the same I was too actually, and that was like 15 years ago, not sure what it is about that whole thing. It got so bad that my parents can still quote from it after all these years. They've kept all the stuff in their attic from the grandkids. My kids are also going to be 'educated' in the appreciation of Gerry Anderson shows. They'd be third generation fans, and that'd be so cool.
My kiddies are a bit older - 10.5 & 6 and I have mixed feelings about the TV. I use the television as a small part of our homeschooling. There are tons of things that I can show them through channels like Discovery & The Learning Channel that we just don't have the money to go see in person. When we had cable, the kids would beg to be allowed to watch television during lunch, and it wasn't cartoons that they were asking about, it was stuff like a special on fetal development, Cyberchase, or a documentary on the life of the killer whale. I cannot see a problem with this kind of television, if watched in moderation. On weekends though, my husband wanted to give the kids free-reign on their television watching and they did watch a LOT of "junky" television. Stuff like Spongebob Squarepants, and Dora. I didn't have a problem with them watching this, but they would have watched ALL DAY if I had let them. That's a problem. We disconnected our Cable TV last September to save money, and haven't been able to watch the television at all since then - our local reception is awful. We do have a VCR & DVD and are still able to watch movies... and we do, about 3-4x per week. But this past 7 months have been a breath of fresh air as my kids are once again playing outside, and their imaginations have blossomed without the outside influences of television. I am considering signing up with sattelite service however, because for about a month now we have all been missing a few shows... and it's not the cartoons, but things like Kratt's Creatures, and Histories Mysteries... things that my husband & I both agree would be helpful to have back in the house again. We have not decided yet, but if we choose to reintroduce the television it will be with strict limitations to channel & amount of television allowed, 7 days per week. I think our problem before was that TV watching was only limited during the week, and my husband agrees. So I guess I feel that SOME television can be appropriate, when monitored for content (of course) and limited. To me, more than an hour per day - unless you are watching a movie or something like that - begins to be excessive. love, mom
After watching my friend's 2 year old son E, who is a HUGE tv junkie, I've had reservations about keeping a tv in the house at all. However, we don't have cable, or very good reception for that matter, I think as long as it's limited to maybe one or two hours a day, a couple of days a week, it's okay. E watches obsessively from the time he wakes up until he goes to bed, even during meals. He wants every toy he sees, he knows every character. He has no imagination. He can't draw a picture or build anything. He can only destroy. He's fascinated that I can draw even a simple stick figure and say it's his daddy. But while I'm watching him this summer, I'm going to try to change that. He won't be at his home with cable anymore, because of the baby, I want to stay close to home. So we have some old sheets to make a fort under the kitchen table. I'm going to invest in some cheap art supplies, like finger paints, construction paper, stamps and ink, safety scissors, glue, and glitter. We have a pool here, so I might get some pool toys for him. And I'm going to hide our videos. I want him to experience a breath of fresh air, I think. His brother, who is 7, was raised the same way. Has no imagination, and constantly plays his videogames or watches tv. No imagination. And at 7, it's hard to grow one back! So, I'm going to see if I can't make a small impression on at least the youngest child. Use him as a creative bounceboard for how I might raise the little girl once she gets to that age. My biggest worry in having a little girl is the barbie/bratz doll/princess with no self-esteem/all about the beauty aspect of girl toys. I don't want her growing up with that image in her mind, especially if she's facing even the slightest chubbiness (it's something to be aware of, even as I try to prevent it, that she might be chubby). Are there dolls out there that I can invest in that aren't so...commercial and fake? I know that once she's about 5 or so, I'll invest in a little sewing machine and show her how to make some of her own doll clothing from scraps that momma uses. But I don't want her making barbie-esque clothing. I'd like to see her with a real image of what women are like....
We use videos so we can be sure what the content is. Lately he has gotten in the habit of watching PBS in the morning before we go to work. He's learned a lot from Elmo and he really hasn't made the connection to all the many things you can buy with Elmo on it. So I don't mind. However, right before we leave Cyberchase comes on. I don't consider this responsible tv for kids at all. It is mean and nasty and violent. But if I put a video on he will want to watch it all the way through. And we usually have to leave 10 minutes after Cyberchase starts. So he ends up watching this for 10 minutes or so every day. Dakota really isn't into the cartoon type shows. His favorite video is Apollo 13. He does like some Thomas and Dora, but prefers "moon" movies. Punishment for him is to say that he can't watch any moon movies that day. He hates that. Kathi
I think videos are a very good option to filter what your kids are seeing, because you not only get to select, you also skip commercials. And most serials can be bought on DVD.
I agree with using videos instead of TV. You can control some commercialism that way and know exactly what they are watching. My son rarely watches TV, but watches his videos every day. Honestly, it is nice to have the break.
My son has been sewing for 2 years now. For Christmas in 2004 he made his sister a wooden doll cradle, and a teeny tiny quilt to go with it. He was so proud of this, and my daughter loves it. She tells EVERYONE that her brother made them just for him. love, mom
Awww that's adorable He sounds a really wonderful, I'd be proud to have a brother like that. My brother isn't 'craft-y' but is very caring. He played with my dolls and stuff as a kid; and now is really good with people, senior citizens. Homosexuality is not contagious, so everyone should just raise their children to be good productive people and not care about some outdated stereotypes.
