Those who dont let you lo see/watch the tv...

[Louppey]

I can understand that! eBay fees are pricey

 

[Louppey]

Natsku :wave:

I loved dangermouse I too have a brother lol

Sent your teething bits n bobs earlier this week, hopefully they'll arrive soon-ish for you

 

[Natsku]

Dangermouse was great!

Yay can't wait til they arrive, Maria is being such a pain with her teeth at the mo

 

[JASMAK]

When I was a SAHM, the TV was rarely on. The kids were allowed to watch TV after school to unwind, etc...assuming they never had playdates and we weren't at the park etc.

Now that I am at work and it's hubby at home...I bet the TV is on all day long. I hate that, and it upsets me to think about it. Hubby is one of those people that needs noise...ALL FRGGIN DAY. Drives me up the wall. I have heard those studies too, about delayed language development in toddlers who are always hearing a TV. Something about them not actually listening to, and instead tuning it out. I don't know if it is true, or not. Kelana says lots of words so far...but, it still concerns me.

That being said, I am home alone with the kids on the weekend and I will let the kids watch some cartoons, and Kelana loves the Wiggles. She will dance and do the actions. She even sings...lah lah lah...it is very cute to watch. But, most of the time the TV is off. I grew up with no TV and I don't want to be anal like my parents, but at the same time, I don't want my kids gaping out all day infront of the tube.

 

[Sarahkka]

Some really interesting points made.
I follow the American Pediatric Association's recommendations of no TV before age 2, then very limited amounts after that.
I grew up without a lot of TV and never had any issues of being bullied or left our of conversations, etc. That seems like a very odd argument for advocating for TV-watching, because you could say that about anything really.
But I agree with moderation, in general. There are some great shows out there, both for kids and adults. What I won't do is watch them on regular TV, where I have to sit through the freaking ads - that makes me crazy. (I love Netflix and other streaming sites, where I can watch episodes without the ads. ) I also think I would go nuts if I had the noise of the TV in the background all day - it's so chaotic and annoying to me - really gets on my nerves. I know lots of people do like it and good for them, but it would have my teeth on edge after about 10 minutes. (I am like that about electronic toy noise, too - there's something about it that really irritates me - my poor children, eh? No fun in this house! )
I think TV is only part of our challenge of parenting this next generation. Screen time in general is poorly understood in its implications for our brain and social development. I think it's good to read and question as much as we can about it. Right now, I know that I'm not crazy about the way my almost 3-year old behaves about the very limited programming we let him watch. He gets really cranky and whiny for awhile afterwards - it's really weird. Maybe TV and my son aren't a great match right now. I'm not going to ban it forever, but I think it's my job as a parent to observe and make connections. Hey, if your kid is acting out of character every time they eat a certain food, you'd think about eliminating the food for awhile, right? Right now, my parenting/teaching philosophy feels very strongly that it's incredibly important to get outside and play in the dirt and do stuff in real life, not just as experienced on a screen. I see my son make a lot more connections when we do that than when he watches TV. That being said, I really appreciate the quality of some of the programming out there and think it can be an aid to learning. Certainly not the main way to teach something, but an aid.