Author Topic: TV really bad for kids?  (Read 7713 times)

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Offline Noahsmama09

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TV really bad for kids?
« on: September 22, 2010, 03:34:32 am »
I know I'm opening a HUGE can of worms by bringing this up, but I am wondering how bad is TV for kids? Now I'm not suggesting plopping your kids infront of the TV all day. But there is the odd time my son will watch a show (15 min in length). Is this harmful to him?
When he was a baby I would put "baby einstein" on once in a while. He loved it.
I have read up on this stuff, and I'm wondering if I've damaged my DS! He is very social, interacts well with others, constantly go-go. I have read that TV watching though can cause speech delay, obesity, etc.
Should I ban tv completely??
I am just genuinly concerned that I've done disservice to my DS...

Offline Deb_in_oz

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2010, 03:39:01 am »
how old is your ds?

assuming he is not a little baby 15 min is nothing in my opnion.

i do not think tv is evil for kids (i love it myself actually) and as long as your kids are leading a balanced life they will not be harmed by decent programming.  i avoid ads wherever possible (98% of the time for us) even at 7yo and everything is age appropriate (if in doubt i pre-screen)

 i would relax, enjoy the show with him and see if he even uses dvd/tv show as a jumping off point for creative play as he gets older.
Debra - a New Yorker living in Australia married to a Brit

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Offline Noahsmama09

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2010, 03:48:48 am »
Thanks for your response! :)
My DS is almost 15 months old. He's quite active and LOVES to play. I agree about the balance for kids. And screening what they see on TV. Thanks again:)

Offline linfran

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2010, 06:48:33 am »
Agree with pp, I think TV is fine but like many things in moderation.  We're in the UK and tend to stick to Cbeebies so I don't have to constantly censor what is on.

Offline Katet

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #4 on: September 22, 2010, 07:51:01 am »
My DS1 really didn't start watching it until he was about 16mo (I know when he refused a nap on Christmas day he watched Spot videos) DS2 was watching it pretty much from the day dot.
They are 5 & 7yo now, they don't watch that much on average, but when DS1 was 2yo & I had a new baby Some days I think it could have been 4hours/day - Spot, Thomas, Wiggles & Playschool mostly DVDs or Videos.  DS1 is a well above average student who has a group of good friends & is TBH an all around decent child... DS2 is much the same, above average intellegence etc & TBH they don't want to watch TV much they'd much rather be kicking a football around, where as cousins who have had TV limited, as 5+ you children ask to watch it much more.

I think being more selective about what they watch & talking about what they watch... they will watch the same thing over & over... is the important thing.
dc1 July 03, dc2 May 05

Offline *Ali*

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2010, 16:11:29 pm »
I think the problem comes when LO's are watching TV at the expense of interaction with others. As long as they get a chance to interact plenty as well as the TV watching it won't be a problem. Ideally you could sit and watch with him and talk to him about what is going on. "Watch with Mother" if that means anything to you in Canada.
15mins per day should be fine as long as it is age appropriate as you say.
Cadan Dec 2009 and Colby Aug 2011


Offline ~*Nicole*~

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2010, 16:27:45 pm »
There is some information out there that the constant changing of scenes on TV shows, which does not mirror the pace of real life, alters the way that the brain develops in infants and toddlers. The claim is that this leads the child's brain to expect that life should be as fast paced and "switch" as quickly as LOs short attention spans are. The theory is that this may be a contributing factor to ADD/ADHD. I don't know how much research has been done in this area, but I do know there is a concern with TV viewing up to about the age of two. My pediatrician actually told me to NOT allow DD to watch videos such as Baby Einstein as he had read/heard something about it causing detriment rather than any benefit, but I have not personally read any such information. DD rarely watched TV as a baby, but does watch now.







Offline Mashi

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #7 on: September 23, 2010, 16:39:31 pm »
I've read all of the same things as Nicole is mentioning above - that ANY television at all for under 2s is a huge no no, and for all of the reasons above.

That said, my DS has been watching TV since about 15/16 months, regularly. It's a part of our day.  We watch shows like Teletubbies, Handy Manny, Brum (silly English pantomime show with a car), Dora/Diego, Mickey Mouse and of course dearly loved Thomas!  I do not let him watch things like Looney Toons/Bugs Bunny type shows with the aplat, bam, whack type animation/stories.

As Deb has said we use it for imaginative play, for instance he plays Handy Manny and we have to pretend something is broken and he fixes it (before he could say Daddy my DS said "Man" when Manny came on ::) ) and although he has few words, his vocabulary includes "broken" and "fix" (and still can't say daddy!!!) He could at 17 months narrate an entire episode of Brum with sign language.

My DS is definitely language delayed, but I don't attribute it to TV as the first words he has learned are from the TV and continues to learn more and more -- though I understand that the language delay that comes from it is that they don't learn interactive, social language.

TV does not come at a sacrifice for other things for him, either. There are rainy days when yes he spends a lot of time in front of the TV though he is playing with other things at the same time, usually with me or DH, but generally we are out of the house playing outside for 6-8 hours of his waking day....when he comes inside from running around the park for 2 hours or being at playgroup I find that 20-30 minutes alone to sit quietly and watch TV really helps him relax and recharge.

I also realise that there would be a LOT of people - professionals included - who totally disagree with my approach to TV and the amount my son watches, but at the end of the day I am comfortable with it, and as far as I am concerned that is all that matters! 


Offline ~Sarah~

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #8 on: September 23, 2010, 17:36:41 pm »
I too have been worrying about this lately.  We do not have an accessible tv for DS to watch, but-we have one downstairs were his sister sleeps.  My kids are only 12mo apart and in the beginning, I could put her down for a nap and leave DS alone to play quietly.  As time has moved on, he was beginning to have SA while I put DD down for a nap.  It also happened to coincide with DS getting interested in tv.  So you can see where this is going-he now gets to watch Tomas while I put DD down.

We also let him watch Sesame Street with us in bed in the morning with his cup of milk.  The whole family sits and watches and we talk about what is going on.  DH and I eat a bowl of cereal and it is kind of our way of starting the day.  We also let DS watch the Sprout Goodnight show just before bath.  He knows that Thomas is on and Kipper.  This kind of signals what time it is.  We watch our program, we sit on potty, we brush our teeth, we take a bath and we go to bed.  Every night the same thing.

In total, I think he probably watches up to 1.5hr a day which is more than I thought I would let my kids watch at this age.  But, he is VERY active and also is quite the talker...he has at least 20 words that we counted up the other day, I am not sure what is normal around this age, but I think he is about on par.

Sometimes he throws a fit bc he wants to watch Thomas (he has made up his own sign to let me know what he wants  ::) ), but I usually just have to tell him Thomas is sleeping or that we will watch before BT.

So hopefully I am not rotting my child brain!  I figure, at some point all of his little friends will know about tv and I do not want him to be socially out of the loop either.  But I also only let him watch the Sprout channel, they have no violent cartoons, there is a lot of signing ad there are no toy commercials or commercials for sugar cereal or fast food.

HTH

Offline We Three

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #9 on: September 23, 2010, 19:29:44 pm »
I have read those studies Nicole mentioned...I recall reading alot about how lo's brains suffer from seeing 2-dimensional images in movement?  I avoided tv for the most part until 2 yrs old.  The occasional Elmo portion of Sesame Street was all.  Because tbh, the studies did make sense to me, and having her stare at it just didn't feel right to me in my gut...JMO. She's kind of get a look on her face that she didn't have at any other times.   :-\  That said, she does watch now...mostly so I can get ready in the morn.  I have a HUGE issue with network tv, and we never have that on while she is awake...I never know when there will be a commercial for a horror movie or one of those "....coming up on CSI..." and beofre I know it someone is getting shot in the head.  :-\  I just leave it off at night, or she watches Dora, and on rare occasion dh and I will have on HGTV...the commercials there are safe!

Offline Mama2boys

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #10 on: September 23, 2010, 19:40:37 pm »
DS watched baby einstein form about 6-8 months maybe 10-20 mins a day at at 18 months started wtaching 1 show am and 1 show pm. Almost the same now and maybe about 30 min in the afternoon on some days.

We do not watch anything that is non educational IMHO, so we watch shows like Cat in the Hat, Caillou, Word World etc and DS has actually learnt a lot from that kind fo stuff. he can use a computer and play simple learning games all by himself etc. and everyone he meets always compliments us on his vocabulary and command on English and clarity of thought etc,

So no I dont think TV messes you up, but depends on what and how. So a kid who no one speaks to, plays alone is pretty much in the same place as a kid who sits in front of a TV IYKWIM. We normally sit with him while he wtaches TV, now less but always did when he was younger and talk about what he saw on the show. Like Mashi said play games based on what he saw, bring books on the subject etc.

Tv is a tool if used right
9 and 6, oh boy!

Offline Mum-of-Two

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #11 on: September 23, 2010, 19:53:25 pm »
When DH is not home, we only do PBS or Disney -- typically he only ever adds sports or history channel into the mix and I typically only ever add cooking or home improvement -- but I am very sensitive about those horror film commercials and the like too.  Its bad enough when Scooby Doo calls ghosts into question, you know?  Its really not an issue right now because he works 2nd shift and I'm not home until dinner time so he and I don't ever watch TV when the kids are awake anymore.

So, to be honest, our TV is on a lot.  There are only 2 times a day that anyone actually sits to watch it though -- mostly morning cartoons and once in awhile I'll allow a half hour cartoon after dinner/before bed.  The little one pays attention so much more then DD did at his age, she didn't pay attention to it for a long long time.

But then, my daughter got into movies when she was about 3 years old (she's almost 5 now) -- mostly Disney although we have an Elmo potty time or Dora thrown in the DVD list too.  Those usually only come out when she's home sick or as a special occassion when Mommy's craft bin needs a refill.  We'll let her use the TV in our bedroom for a movie so she can lay down (since she's usually not feeling well).  I think she'll really carry her love of movies through her lifetime, which is neat, I've never really been into them.  The little one doesn't watch movies.

Since the TV has been fairly accessible to the kids, they don't ask for it.  Its not a struggle in our house, do we or don't we watch.  Both prefer to be outside or with some craft of some sort.  Provided that continues, that they prefer other activities over the TV, I don't stress it.  I firmly believe an occupied child (meaning activity) is a happy child so we just sort of live that way.


Angels 7wks-June07, 11wks-Oct07, 5wks-Jan08

Offline Deb_in_oz

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #12 on: September 23, 2010, 21:54:05 pm »
i just want to add that when i was heavily pg with liv alex started watching dvds more often because i was so tired.  she was bet 16-19 mo and the during those early months with 2 etc.  my mom said "do what you have to and deal with it later".  well, by then alex really loved dvd's and at 7 now is a real watcher - can sit for hours if i let her.  having said that - she is the most literate in her class (she is the only yer 1 kid in her class reading year 2 books and beyond, she is advanced in art - so creative it amazes me, well behaved and respectful of her friends, teachers, strangers etc.  at 7 i would now call her a heavy watcher still almost no ads and i never watch tv duriing the day if they are here - when sytycd or biggest loser is on air they may watch 1/2 hr or so with me

my point in mentioning this is to reassure those with younger kids who stress about every minute they are in front of the screen - it really is ok.  as long as their day also includes active time, reading, games, rest time etc they are still fine.  when you drop the napping and are faced with 12 hrs of awake time i honestly don't know many kids who have the energy or interest in being "active" for the whole day.  relaxing / down time is important too and for some kids the only time they sit is when they watch (and for others like spirited liv, they will watch passively while they are still playing and coming and going).  if i don't fight them on how much i will allow, it will run its course and they will naturally turn to the next thing (usually art related)
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Offline Jenn+Ethan+Emily

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #13 on: September 24, 2010, 01:17:07 am »
This falls under the category as to how TV might influence creative play. Negative or positive? You decide!

I just wanted to mention something I found very interesting in a small study that a classmate and myself conducted for a course project. I do not in any way mean to offend or make anyone feel guilty; I just simply thought it was interesting.

We took a group of 5 four year olds who had TV incorporated into their daily life and then a group of 5 four year olds who had never watched TV before (other then maybe a passing glance so their parents say anyways) and we watched them play. We gave them a few suggestions and props to play with (example: a pirates hat, a treasure chest, and a structure that could be a boat) and then we let the play unfold.

The TV group busily started transforming to pirates and began conducting their play on the boat and finding treasures, etc. As we watched them, we began to notice that they were very busy telling each other where to stand and what to say and "no captain hook doesn't say that! He says X". It became very clear that they has seen Peter Pan and they were mimicking everything that took place in the movie. Can this really be considered creative play? We gave them several other props thus creating play ideas and the same thing took place with each.

The non-TV group also began transforming into pirates and they too started finding treasures and sailing the boat. The way these pirates interacted with each other was quite a bit different though. They didn't seem to have a script to follow. They just went along with what one another said and their play ran a lot smoother as they didn't have any expectations of what a pirate might need to say or do. Repeat with several other props and the same thing unfolded.

I just thought it was an interesting little bit to think about and it was definitely completely fascinating to see! Kids never cease to amaze me!



Offline Love, laughter, & PJs

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #14 on: September 24, 2010, 01:39:55 am »
Wow, Jenn.  That's very interesting.

I, too, have read those studies about TV for kids under 2 being potentiall detrimental.  TV is on in our house occasionally when Austin is awake.  Sometimes DH and I watch Ellen when I'm home in the afternoons and DH will watch and narrate sports games.  We mute all commercials anyhow so I don't worry too much about that.  DH will put on Planet Earth or something like that when they're playing sometimes. But Austin has never sat to watch it.  Actually, one time we were flipping channels and there was a cartoon on and he started staring at it.  It made me think a lot about how the people that make those shows for kids know exactly what they'll watch! 

All that said, I'm sure that when #2 comes along that we will need to use the box to help us out.  We all do what we have to do and as long as they're getting lots of interactive, creative play time I'm sure it will all work out.
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Offline ~Sarah~

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #15 on: September 24, 2010, 01:45:04 am »
Jenn-that is a very interesting way to look at it.  It kind of touches on (in my head) another hot button topic: the whole princess dilemma.  If you are seeing prince charming "save you" and you have to be the pretty one, how will that play to your inner self talk later?

I wrestle with this one a lot since having a girl.  It makes me think long and hard about even the "innocent" Disney movies.  

I have just decided there are at least 1 million ways to screw up your kids!!!  How does anyone ever turn out all right??

Offline Love, laughter, & PJs

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #16 on: September 24, 2010, 01:48:41 am »
I have just decided there are at least 1 million ways to screw up your kids!!!  How does anyone ever turn out all right??

I wonder this all the time. ::)
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Offline Jenn+Ethan+Emily

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #17 on: September 24, 2010, 02:14:13 am »
Totally! I 100% think that we all do the best that we can and the best is different for everyone. I also think that if we spend too much time worrying about what will mess our kids up, we lose that inner mom feeling that really knows best and I think that's when we end up confusing our kids! No one wakes up in the morning and think "I'm going to do the wrong thing for my kid today!". We all totally adore our babies and we are all doing the right thing for them regardless of what anyone else thinks!



Offline Deb_in_oz

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #18 on: September 24, 2010, 03:21:29 am »
Jenn-that is a very interesting way to look at it.  It kind of touches on (in my head) another hot button topic: the whole princess dilemma.  If you are seeing prince charming "save you" and you have to be the pretty one, how will that play to your inner self talk later?

I wrestle with this one a lot since having a girl.  It makes me think long and hard about even the "innocent" Disney movies. 

I have just decided there are at least 1 million ways to screw up your kids!!!  How does anyone ever turn out all right??


first - i highly reccommend reading :free range kids"  to sort through what you might genuinely need to worry about and what you can just relax a bit more - there has been such a shift in expectations on parents in our generation.  parents just let us get on with playing and life as kids and we all seemed to find the balance. more of an issue than access to tv and screen time is trhe inverse issue  - in many parts of the western world kids are not given time to just play and be free outside anymore.  that is more detrimental in my mind.

about the princess thing - i have heard this argument many times over the last 7 yrs. - IMO my kids are intelligent girls and i have told them that it is all make believe, there are real princesses and princes etc but they are rare.  we actually have an australian who went to a bar in sydney during the olympics, met a guy and he turned out to be the prince of denmark, she is now married and is due to be queen so it can happen LOL, but certainly they are smart enough to know pretend from reality and are being raised to be strong, independent girls.  as they get older the issue will be readdressed if need be, but i do not think dressing up as cinderella from age 2-8 will make them superficial or looking to run off with the first boy who "rescues them" from suburbia.  we have tons!! of barbies and all the disney princesses and my girls have never even noticed the boobs or body issues that are forever debated. i think that comes down to the rest of howthey are being raiseed. i never talk about weight, fat etc and watch biggest loser with them to discuss the health issues - they actually call it "mommy's healthy show"

tv / toys / friends everything comes down to what else is going on in your house as the kids are raised.  any of those things can be in an issue in a house where there is no love, no time invested, no good messages to balance or explain things, but in most families these things do not occur in a bubble so the kids are just fine. :)

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Offline Katet

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #19 on: September 24, 2010, 04:09:37 am »
Jenn that is interesting... I know my Boys fit in the watched TV catagory & are in NO WAY creative... but I never watched TV until I was 5yo (we didnt' have one) AND I am not creative or imaginative  either ... really struggled with trying to encourage it my boys... when you look at all our family we have strong "analytical" minds... my 7yo self taught his times tables before he turned 7 & my 5yo is well on the way to that too (from working out sporting averages BTW)

 DS1 is  & always has been a stickler for the rules (as was I & my sister)... so one could also extrapolate that a parent like me who wasn't exposed to creative play as a child (my Mum is so not imaginative) & is not strong on it herself wouldn't have exposed her children to it as much as say a friend (M) who does have a creative Dad (Artist), who has been exposed to TV, but writes the most amazing made up stories... my DS1 will only write no-fiction & when M has been to play she can get my boys involved in imaginative play but she is the "director" & they go along with her & take her lead.

So I do think the personalities of it would come in to it too, so if there was a child who said "Captain Hook said X" it that child was the dominant one the others would follow KWIM.

But by the same token my boys have been read Peter Pan for all their lives... I read it to DS1 from 3mo as part of his going to sleep routine... he could quote the book so Pirate play would be dictated by that... because he has never seen it on TV KWIM.

I agree with Deb, the biggest issue I see with DS1's peers is the "over organising" of children, the most problematic child in his class does FIVE extra cirriculum activities (at age 7) & his Mum says "because if he & his brother are at home all they do is fight" UMMM this child actually has NO IDEA how to play not on his terms & it really is a problem.

I actually would say if you give them plenty of opportunities to be children & play & be "free" to run around in open spaces & climb & be a child then a bit of TV is not that going to be that bad, esp if you pick wisely.
dc1 July 03, dc2 May 05

Offline MLK

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #20 on: September 24, 2010, 10:48:56 am »
I was talking to a doctor recently who subscribes to the theory that ADHD is "nature deprivation" - from the lack of access to free unsupervised play outdoors. I think there is a book on the topic. So I guess TV/PC exposure could fit the bill  - BUT only if it comes at the expense of having unstructured play outside. And older kids really need unsupervised (or only loosely supervised) play, too.

So if your child is having lots of free play, esp outside, I wouldn't worry about the TV (unless of course he/she is refusing to do anything else.)

I was thinking the same thing about the pirate play - if they had read the book Peter Pan wouldn't they have followed the script too? My DS2 hardly watches any Thomas (his older brother dictates the TV!) but we read the books a lot - I've noticed he acts out the stories from the books with his trains.

Offline MLK

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #21 on: September 24, 2010, 10:56:42 am »
Here's the book on "nature deficit disorder"

http://www.amazon.com/Last-Child-Woods-Children-Nature-Deficit/dp/156512605X/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285325642&sr=8-1

THe doc I was talking to (he's in his late 40s/early 50s) was telling me as a child he used to roam the streeets of Sydney with other kids from the age of 4 - not suggesting anyone nowadays should let their child roam the streets unsupervised from 4 yo, just mentioning to show how much society has changed.

Offline deb

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #22 on: September 24, 2010, 11:02:02 am »
Oddly, Josie wouldn't watch TV till she was 2-1/2. That in itself is supposed to be one of the hallmarks of ADD or similar neuro issues. She wasn't interested, couldn't attend to it long enough to get diddly out of it.

Now the girls are older I do find it a relief for them to have something safe to do while I teach music lessons - I do chase them outside when I can and I know I should do more of it, and our backyard is fenced but right now we're infested with stinkbugs and mosquitoes and frankly none of us wants to be out there long, and our neighborhood is relatively safe but not safe enough that I feel OK about letting them spend the hours unsupervised that I did in my old neighborhood growing up.

That said, I do try to make an effort to limit screen time, and what they watch is markedly different from what their peers watch. At karate yesterday another kids's younger sister was offering to let Natalie play with her Leapster (which Nat had never seen before) and asked if she wanted to play the Dora game or the Ni Hao game or the star Wars game - and in true SyFy geek fashion, she picked Star Wars as she hasn't ever watched the others, has only heard of Dora in passing. ;D Heck, they like Food Network! Seriously, I've started teaching a music lesson with them watching CyberChase and come out to find them watching Giada DiLaurentis! :) If only I could get them to appreciate the DIY channel we'd get along better TV-wise. LOL

Offline MLK

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #23 on: September 24, 2010, 11:08:29 am »
I tihnk computer games/nintendo/xbox etc are worse than TV - for some reason it's very addicitve! We spent time with my brother a couple of months ago and DS1's cousin spent so much time on his DS - much to the annoyance of DS1, who wanted to play outside!

Offline Mashi

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #24 on: September 24, 2010, 11:17:30 am »
I was thinking the same thing about the pirate play - if they had read the book Peter Pan wouldn't they have followed the script too? My DS2 hardly watches any Thomas (his older brother dictates the TV!) but we read the books a lot - I've noticed he acts out the stories from the books with his trains.

I wonder about this, too. My DS has never watched any "kitchen" cartoons but everytime we play kitchen (ie/ with his toy kitchen and plastic food) he wants things done a very certain and very exact way...and that particular way is the way the DH did it early on and made DS nearly wee his pants with laughter. So playing kitchen has to be just like that every time - and that's not come from TV.  When we play with his train set, he does things a hundred different ways every time or plays things in one certain way for a few days and then changes it up to a different way for a few days, and I assumed that was because he sees soooo many different things on Thomas that he knows there are all sorts of different things to play.  ???

Offline deb

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #25 on: September 24, 2010, 11:20:54 am »
I do get a kick out of watching kids act out stories with toys. The first few times will often follow the script and then variations will often creep in as they begin to manipulate the story or the characters or the situations.

Mashi, maybe Mini-Mashi is one of those who doesn't "fit the mold." He has his own wavelength and agenda and stuff that makes him "tick." Josie was never regimented in that way, but she definitely has always had her own set of idiosyncracies. :)

Offline ~*Nicole*~

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #26 on: September 24, 2010, 13:37:48 pm »
I do know that DD watches Calliou and acts out the scenes she remembers from that. We have a lot of torn pages in books b/c of the time Calliou and his little sister fought over a book in the library and tore it. By the same token, she is now afraid to sleep without her nightlight on b/c I read a Calliou book with her where he was afraid to sleep in the dark with his door closed.

Of course they pick these things up from EVERYWHERE. That's why we call them little sponges! :)







Offline MLK

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #27 on: September 24, 2010, 13:45:27 pm »
There is a chapter in the book Nuture shock (it's being discussed in another thread) that talked about a study done on kids who had watched a lot of "educational" TV - well those kids were actually more verbally aggressive than kids who watched "normal" TV. Why? because the educational TV was trying to give a moral message by showing kids fighting, teasing etc and how the kids resolved it. The problem is that the message goes over the heads of pre-schoolers and all they take out of it is the teasing and aggression!

So the message is - make sure the TV (or even books) shown to young kids is pretty innocuous - they are not going to be understanding moral stories at that age.

Sounds like the same thing happened to you Nicole - she wasn't scared of the dark until she read a story about a kid who conquered her fear of the dark.
« Last Edit: September 24, 2010, 13:50:24 pm by MLK »

Offline ~*Nicole*~

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #28 on: September 24, 2010, 13:48:47 pm »
Lan-Exactly...and she of course missed the point of the book tearing lesson as well. They had to go to the librarian, admit their error and help fix the book. She just thinks imitating the WHOLE scene is fun b/c she is being like Calliou. Not realizing that she is breaking things and not doing the "right" thing!







Offline MLK

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #29 on: September 24, 2010, 13:52:19 pm »
Yep - most of those messages are really for school aged kids. I try to keep it to stuff like Wiggles or Night Garden - even the original Thomas stories were written for 6-7  yos.

Though it's unavoidable he watches some TV that his older brother chooses!

Offline We Three

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #30 on: September 24, 2010, 13:56:35 pm »
I remember a loonnggggg time ago when I was a nanny, the lo I took care of watched an episode of "Rugrats"..(Lord how I hated that show), and out of nowhere my little 3 year old friend became TERRIFIED of the bath, because the little brat on the show was afraid he was going to fall down the drain.  Worst part was that the show went thru all these scenes that took place in the child's imagination, with him actually being down the drain in the dark and wet...ARRRRRGGGGGGG!!!! Makes me SO mad.

My dd is not afraid of bugs at all, but recently acted like she was afraid of a spider because Calliou's little sister is afraid of them.  So we had a chat about that, and how Rosie is a just a little baby who doesn't know that spiders are useful.   ::)


Offline Jenn+Ethan+Emily

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #31 on: September 24, 2010, 16:25:09 pm »
I totally agree that the play can come from books as well! That's why I can't decide if tv us good or bad when talking about creative play!



Offline deb

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #32 on: September 24, 2010, 17:11:29 pm »
TBH, I've gotten fussy about the books we read as well. I don't really care for, say, the storybook versions of the Disney/Pixar movies, but there are lots of great "generic" books that don't really have plots or characters as such (Sandra Boynton comes to mind). There are picture books for every subject under the sun from flowers to construction vehicles that kids can enjoy. There are tons of arts and crafts the kids can be DOING instead of reading or listening to or watching. And there is TONS of good kids' music out there that's not even remotely-Disney-related, even not-written-just-for-kids classical music, that can be playing in the background if one needs to have background "something" going on (although there's a lot ot be said for peace and quiet, or for listening to birds sing).

That said, DH and I have only just introduced Star Wars to our kids. We watched it with them, showed it in smaller chunks, took 4 showings to get thru it, talked about what was going on while it happened, had the kids guess why this or that might have happened, or had them guess what would happen next. It's not a passive viewing at all, but very participatory.

A good storyteller, telling a story "the long way" and not just from a book, is a true gem if you can find one, say at a library or bookstore storytime. Once in a while our Barnes & Noble has a guy who does storytime with no book, just from memory, lots of drama, draws pictures to go with the story as he tells it - no Disney-like anything. A totally different concept of stories than either TV/videos or computer games or even many books.
« Last Edit: September 24, 2010, 17:14:16 pm by deb »

Offline Mama2boys

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #33 on: September 24, 2010, 19:29:37 pm »
to PP;s point its the kids way of procesisng what they see and hear. DS for a short time suddenly started calling me ' MUM' because of a book he had fallen in love with where the baby monkey is looking for his mum and being an english book it said mum...
9 and 6, oh boy!

Offline ~Sarah~

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Re: TV really bad for kids?
« Reply #34 on: September 24, 2010, 20:19:30 pm »
nd there is TONS of good kids' music out there that's not even remotely-Disney-related, even not-written-just-for-kids classical music,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Caspar Babypants.  It is great kid music that I honestly listen to even if the kids aren't around.  Catchy tunes and good upbeat music.  The guy who sings it is from the 90's band The President's Of The United States.

Deb, how lucky you are to have a storyteller like that.  I never even knew that existed.  I am going to look for that.  My guess is there has got to be somewhere in the greater Seattle area that would have that!