Is TV ok?

[marleyfloydbabe]

I worry about tv hurting her sense of reality... Am I just nuts?  My mom likes to play the Telletubbies and Blue's Clues for her, which she seems to enjoy!  My boyfriend watches tv with her sometimes (not kid shows) and I worry that they might have a negative effect or interfere with her sense of the world, or her imagination.... He tells me she doesn't know what she's watching, and it shouldn't matter if she sees a little violence here and there becasue she's so young.  I disagree, because she's very bright for her age and obviously responds to the baby shows. Get what I mean? Am i just being paranoid? How much tv is too much?

[jacks mom]

I dont think TV in general is bad. But violence and "adult" things I believe can be harmful, and they can really teach your young one things that you may not want them to know or to do. Some believe TV in general is not the best for your child, but only you can say what you believe is best for your child. But they are going to learn adult things eventually in life, why rush it?

[maggieruth]

i try not to let my lo watch tv yet, his dad and their family always have the tv on and when it is off have a tendency to watch the empty screen whilst you talk to them (maybe its just i am boring?) i would go so far as to get rid of tv if dh would allow it! thats just me though, and i know that, as a compromise we are getting a tv cabinet built (so i can hide it away)

a friend of mine came to stay for a while and her 4 year old had a kids tv show on one morning and when i came into the room ds (who was crying when i put him down to do something for a minute) was transfixed by the box!  had stopped crying and everything. 

anyway, what i was initially going to write about was a study that they did (for a tv series, i do watch sometimes, called "child of our time").  they found that kids watching adult shows definately understood the emotions going on but didn't always understand the plot (kids were shown a soap with a man being pushed over a cliff and thought it was a fight over some candy).  don't know if that helps or not!

[cwolff]

Most TV show are really fast paced, and that can be overstimulating.  That's I think why the Baby Einstein stuff is so successful.  I don't know if you've ever watched a video, but the are slow and steady.  With very calm music.  They are very enjoyable (can you tell I like them too).  TV is the only thing that keeps my DD happy while I do her neck stretches.  It's amazing how they zone out.  But I only let her watch the videos because even with the sound off, other tv shows just go too fast.  I watched her watch cartoons once, and her eyes darted back and forth so much and so fast I thought she'd become dizzy.  She then looked away, but looked back, and did that I few times.  I pretty much figured that even cartoons were a bit fast for her at this age.

[marleyfloydbabe]

http://www.whitedot.org/issue/iss_story.asp?slug=noTVforTubbies

A policy statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics has made clear what many parents have suspected for a long time: Television is bad for young children. In the Academy's journal Pediatrics the report's authors write: "Pediatricians should urge parents to avoid television viewing for children under the age of 2 years."

It continues: "While certain television programmes may be promoted to this age group, research on early brain development shows that babies and toddlers have a critical need for direct interactions with parents and other significant care givers for healthy brain growth and development of appropriate social, emotional and cognitive skills." The Academy also recommends that viewing for older children be limited to two hours a day.

Media commentators seemed unable to come to grips with the simplicity and directness of the Academy's message. Many were left clinging to their usual advice that 'moderation is best'. Anne Woods, producer of the Teletubbies, tried to reassure parents that watching her programme was somehow an interactive experience for children, and the programme's US marketer, Kenn Viselman, dismissed the advice of the 55,000 doctors as "a bunch of malarky".

But the Academy is not going away. They have also advised their members to ask parents about "media history" when treating eating disorders and obesity. Their report will add to concerns raised in 1996 by a study in Manchester showing that exposure to television causes delayed acquisition of language in toddlers. by David Burke