Tuning into the debate about babies and TV

1. Posted by fishbowl_fish on Sat, May 26, 2007

We're in Ottawa. Good weather drastically reduces the amount of television watching we do around here! The youngest, who is in 1/2 day Kindergarten watches an hour or two of commercial-free TV in the morning a couple days a week. The older one doesn't watch any during the week. But if we're not doing anything we let them camp out in front of the TV for a few hours (say 3?) on Saturday and Sunday mornings.... again, it's commercial free. They relax. We get to read the paper. It's win win. :) Our daughters are 8 and 6 now, but when they were toddlers I'd sometimes pick a day and stick a no-TV sign on the TV. (It looked like a no-smoking sign, but with a TV in the middle.) They quickly learned that it was going to be a no TV day and that they had to find something else to do. They were perfectly happy with that. I think TV is fine in moderation, but if the kids are watching TV it means they're NOT doing something else. Like playing outside, reading, or just hanging out, and I think all of those things are really important for a kid's physical and mental development.

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2. Posted by Angela on Sat, May 26, 2007

My take on this issue is that we live in a media filled world. Children need to learn how to interpret what happens on all sorts of media. I've seen some interesting TV related behaviours in my ten month old son. He's fascinated with the physical TV ... the smooth screen (which has been test-licked!), the fuzzy static feeling near the screen and, best of all, the on/off button. Occassionally we have the TV on while he's in the room and we realized recently that he thinks the people on the screen are in the room and able to interact with him. He tries to get their attention with various sounds and increasing volume. We explain that the "TV people" can't hear him and its ok. He's still puzzling it out and probably will do for some time. That's ok too ... its all part of his introduction to this media filled world where messages are conveyed in many ways. Over time I hope to teach him that TV and other electronic media (he's equally fascinated with my computer) are ways of communicating and that the media itself influences how we perceive the informaiton. Sounds like a tall order for little guy, right? I think he's up to the challenge ... in baby steps, of course.

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3. Posted by Mia T on Sat, May 26, 2007

Interesting point...two different debates. As a parent I can say, my 16 month old watches a Baby Einstein video every night, it has been part of our bed time routine since she was 4 months old. I love it. Now we sit and cuddle and drink our milk and talk about the different items on the TV, when she was little it was a half hour of “mommy and daddy” time. It’s my daughter’s trigger that it’s bad time. It helps her adapt to any environment we’re in, regardless or whether it’s a cottage or a hotel- video, story, bed. I know there’s a debate: marketing vs. helping our babies learn. My thought is this: it’s a half hour a day of TV that makes an attempt to teach. Maybe she’s not learning from the video, maybe it’s us and our repetition. That’s ok. It works for us and it’s not hurting our daughter. To me that’s all that matters!

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4. Posted by anndouglas on Mon, May 28, 2007

Wow, you all make such fascinating points. You all recognize that TV is a tool and that today's generation of kids are going to need to find ways to manage it in their lives (and hopefully benefit from it, too). I think the Media Awareness Network (www.media-awareness.ca) does a fabulous job of giving parents tools, tips, and practical advice on raising media literate kids. Angela -- I think it's fascinating that your ten month old wants to use all his senses to learn about TV. I loved how you explained TV people vs. real people. Great stuff.

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5. Posted by Momma_Sunfyre on Tue, Nov 06, 2007

We intentionally do not have cable we don’t feel that the TV adds anything to our lives. Our son gets TV at daycare (we are ok with that). Our TV is generally not on in the evening and if it is it is family time. He is very good about “reading”, he sings and plays very well by himself. I have purchased some of his favorite characters videos (Bob the Builder, and Thomas) and we get to watch them on the weekend, in the morning, when momma is making breakfast. More often than not he will turn the TV off after the intro music is over. Are there times when we wish he was more interested in TV? Sure!!!

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6. Posted by Nikki on Tue, Nov 06, 2007

As a first time mom, I feel there is nothing wrong with letting my daughter watch tv. It does help first thing in the mornings when I need to tend to a couple other things around the house. But it is always after we have our morning cuddle time. Also, it is always on treehouse, allowing her to watch only the "learning" types of cartoons. Generally, she is too busy playing with her toys to really pay any attention to the tv anyways. It is when they sing and dance on the show that she really watches. I believe that tv is ok, but in moderation. I have a little brother who lives for his video games (same idea generally speaking) and it bothers me that he misses out on so much. So for me and my daughter it is a morning and evening routine for us to watch a couple of shows. Other than that our daily routines include our play time and visiting with grandparents and great grandparents. Reading your comments has gave me some ideas to remember for when my little girl gets a bit older. I definately do not want her to think tv is the only thing to do. I want her to love the outdoors, we are avid quadriders, and I want her to love books as I do too. Thanks to everyone else for there point of views, its good to see what others think.

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