Young Children & TV - does it hurt?
By TRWilliams02
@TRWilliams02 (349)
United States
March 2, 2009 6:04pm CST
I am watching CBS news as I'm doing my discussions & responses. They are currently doing a story on children watching television. This is young children under the age of 2. I can say that I am one of those moms who turn my tv onto Noggin (For those who don't have this - it's a channel that plays child friendly shows that teach them manners, problem solving, music, physical activities (ie. dancing, exercise), colors, shapes, etc.) They have always said that tv is no good for your children but they said that it now does not help with any motorskills, etc for those under the age of 2. Do you agree with this? My daughter who is 8 months old now, has her "tv time" from about 8 am - 12 pm. No, I do not sit her infront of the tv. But, while I try and clean the house, doing my motherly chores, etc. will put this on while she plays with her toys in her playyard or in her bouncer. Please note that within this time frame we also do "tummy time", and breakfast. So it's not a four hour block of nothing but tv. That just how long I put on Noggin. I don't see how her watching tv has done anything bad. She is learning how to clap and says yeah, we encourage her to do this when we play with her as well but when they do it on tv, she tries to do it herself. When the music comes on she bounces & "dances" to it. She can nod her head to the beat of music when it plays. I don't see how tv doesn't help, especially when it encourages children to do things. How do you feel about tv and young children?
3 responses
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
3 Mar 09
I think that certain show are good for young children. When my kids were little Barney was a big show. It taught them colors, numbers, motor skills, manners and songs. They loved Barney. I would have it on during the morning like you do~ they would play and stop to sing a song and then go back to playing.
My friends daughter loved to watch a Big Bird video when she was little. When she was 3, she knew how to speak some Chinese words because she learned it from this video.
So I don't see anything wrong with young children watching tv as long as the shows are appropriate.
@irishfury187 (375)
• United States
3 Mar 09
completely agree, i grew up watching barney, thats how i learned the majority of my shapes and colors, even though my parents were teaching me the same thing...a big purple dinosaur is more fun to learn with, i think that most other young kids feel that way too, parents arent goofy fun looking cartoon characters, so shows on noggin, and barney, and sesame street are more appealing to kids so they'll pay better attention to it making it easier for them to learn, but im not a specialist, thats just my opinion
@TRWilliams02 (349)
• United States
3 Mar 09
I myself was also raised with television shows such as sesame street, fraggle rock, etc. Barney was a little after me but I would watch it with my younger brother. I don't feel like it had an affect on me. I did well in school when I was younger and I wasn't over weight which was another claim they made. I think the programs they have today especially on the Noggin channel are very educational and I don't see how it could harm her.
@dismalgrin (2604)
• United States
3 Mar 09
For me, TV is a babysitter. Haha. I don't think it's the best thing for your child to be glued to the tv at a young age, but then my kids haven't really been the type to be glued to the tv until they were about 3. Then they started liking to watch movies with me and sitting still. We pretty much pick out movies at our house. That way I can choose exactly what types of programs they watch. I have some sesame street DVD's, but I like to choose the Elmo 'learning' ones, like ABC's and 123's. We also have a few entertainment DVD's for fun as well. When I'm having a tough time getting what I need done for the day I've always just popped in a movie for them to watch while I hurried up and got my cleaning done so I could sit with them and watch for awhile too. Some of my fav movies are kids movies right now, but I have 'tricked' my oldest (at age 6) into wanting some stuff that isn't so cartoonish. Hehe. So, while I'm not a huge fan of TV for young children, it does have it's benifits to me!
@TRWilliams02 (349)
• United States
3 Mar 09
I completely understand where you are coming from with the "babysitter" remark. It helps keep them occupied in my eyes to where they hear people talking, etc. so you can leave the room and do something. They said in their study that it caused children to have seperation anxiety. I don't agree with this totally. You can't sit there with your child day in and day out. I know I can't atleast. So the tv to me gives her the chance to occupy herself without me being there beside her. I don't know, I guess there are so many things these days that are questionable.
@Lore2009 (7378)
• United States
3 Mar 09
I'm sure that moderation is good. I don't have kids of my own yet but I've read that turning the tv on causes dependence on it and takes creativity away and quality time with people. There's so much information coming in and out from sound and visual that the brain become dependent on that and people end up running to tvs for emotional and 'social' support.
