I’m going to be an aunt for the first time come November, so suddenly, I care about children. And how I can enhance (or scar) their lives with entertainment. (Do I have to wait 16 years to empower my niece with the gift that is seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Grrr argh.) Anyway, that’s why I read this ABC News report titled Turn off the TV for Toddler’s Sake. You might find this hard to believe, but a recent study showed that children ages 1 to 3 have a difficult time tuning out the background noise of the television (the test show was Jeopardy!) and focusing on whatever they need to be doing (playing with educational toys, I’m guessing). "You actually can see sometimes more aimless behavior, walking around like they’re not quite sure what they’re going to do next," explained one coauthor of the study. The fear is that by distracting our children, we’re impeding their ability to learn. Makes sense, I guess.
So, what rules do you — or will you — have regarding kids and television? And if you were raised without TV, at what age did you become someone who would read PopWatch?
My parents had a decent rule – we only got an hour a night of TV. Anything from 8-10 was fair game, but they had to approve as well.
My kids (ages 6 and 2.5) get to watch about 20 minutes of TV on weekday mornings after breakfast. Then on Friday and Saturday nights we have “movie night.” We usually watch the first half of a movie on Friday, then finish it on Saturday night.
Hey, if my 22-month-old would be interested in Jeopardy!, I’d be thrilled. Doubt she’d be able to answer any questions, though.
Yes, we do have the TV on occasionally. Last night, I told her I’d let her watch a DVD (she chose Ratatouille – or as she calls it, “mouse”) if she let me clip her nails… you’d be surprised the amount of bargaining I have to do to accomplish a toddler mani/pedi. What was cool is that she hadn’t watched it in a while, and it was the first time I’d seen her laughing at something she found funny on the screen. So there is discovery, learning, etc. through the TV. It’s really not that bad – but when we’re playing with toys, coloring or reading, the TV is off. One thing at a time, definitely.
My daughter was watching Buffy at age 7-she even did a little dance in the opening credits.
It never scared her. Now she watches Heroes and Lost-good TV.
I mean you just have to use your judgement-I wouldn’t let her watch Sex in The city. I think many parents are too uptight…it’s not that hard to figure out what your child can handle and what is appropriate
Hmm, the study showed children wandering around aimlessly, like they didn’t know what to do next? Maybe that’s because, oh, I don’t know, they’re CHILDREN? Have you ever seen a 1 to 3 year old at play? They’re distracted by everything – not just tv!
I was allowed to watch wishbone in elementary school, and Sabrina the teenage witch in middle school. I wasn’t allowed to watch real TV until 11th grade when I started watching The West Wing. I became a junkie in college which the dorm got cable. I don’t think I’ll let my kids watch TV for as long as humanly possible.
My 10 y.o. son watches just about anything on the Science Channel or Discovery. We love Nova Science Now on PBS. I am not going to refuse him watching anything educational. We do tend to TiVo the shows and then watch one each night, so there are no marathon 4-5 hour tv fests. He has also been watching the Tour de France this year, again nothing for me to complain about. He doesn’t like cartoons or WWF, so anything he does watch is generally fine with me.
I’m with you Patty! My 6 y/o daughter and I watch Mythbusters, How It’s Made, and Dirty Jobs. Other than a few awkward moments (the trout fishing segment on How It’s Made was a bit early for her, but we turned it into a learning experience), I wouldn’t give up this chance to have my daughter enthusiastic about science for anything!
I had a TV in my room by age 10 (which I bought with my own money). So I got to watch just about anything I wanted. When I was younger, my parents made sure to keep my sister and I busy. More stuff to do = less time for TV. Although, I did catch a few cartoons after school whenever I could.
Rule #1 Husband must turn off “The Godfather” whenever the kids walk in the room. This rule pertains to I, II & III.
Rule #1 Husband must turn off “The Godfather” whenever the kids walk in the room. This rule pertains to I, II & III.
My husband was without TV growing up. They went to the neighbor’s to watch the Olympics or other “big events.” Once he was out on his own, he became a TV addict. He still has hundreds of video tapes of things he taped, saved and never watches.
Sibs and I were allowed some TV, but none during the day in the summer. TV came on only after dinner. This was an attempt to get us outside playing, but instead, we stayed in our bedrooms reading. Considering some of the stuff we read, we’d have been better off watching TV.
My daughter was allowed to watch pretty much any PBS show or cartoon she wanted, and she was born just before The Simpsons came out, so yes, she grew up on The Simpsons. We watched TV together and discussed it during and after. I think a key is watching with the child, and not using TV as a babysitter. It also depends on the child, and what they can handle. Mine ended up as her HS class valedictorian, so TV can’t be all bad!
I let my son watch Buffy, too. He’ll be 8 in a couple of months. He loves horror/sci-fi, but I do monitor what he watches. I agree with the previous poster not to let the tv become a babysitter, but if you watch with them and talk about it with them, it can be educational. Mine falls asleep each night watching Star Wars. I think he’s destined for greatness.
My Catholic parents were actually stricter with movies than they were with TV. We grew up on Full House and Nick at Nite (back when they showed fun stuff like Green Acres and Get Smart). Also, when The Simpsons first came out and there was all the controversy, my parents watched it with us–and laughed.
The big issue was balance–we didn’t have an allotted amount of TV, but we also had to read (no hardship for me there, I loved reading) and play outside. Plus, we had dance classes during the year and theatre camp during the summer.
Now, I work for a children’s media nonprofit, where one of the things we do is teach parents how to watch TV with their kids and make it a learning experience.
I don’t have kids yet but I rememember not watching a lot of TV when I was as young as that. We didn’t even have cable until I was 12. I do remember Saturday morning cartoons and (ocasionnally) watching 60 minutes with my dad…but that was because I loved the tick-tick-tick sound of the stopwatch. After 12, it was max 2 hours a night.