Even though I'm a TV mom, I always said I would limit how much I let my kids watch. I always thought like 30 minutes a day or something was plenty. If that...
Then came the Little Einsteins. Then Diego. Then Team Umizoomi. Now it's Bubble Guppies
Because I'm about to confess that I've been relying on TV waaaayyyyyyy too much. Two-year old sassafrass couldn't care less about television. But four-year old terror-turned-sweetheart loves his shows. And dealing with the terrible twos right now, the DirecTV remote control (or "mote troll" as my baby girl says) is my slave.
I found this & started panting...
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF):
- two-thirds of infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of 2 hours a day
- kids under age 6 watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day, primarily TV and videos or DVDs
- kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost 2 additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) and playing video games
What is quality programming anyway? And what happens if the little people watch more than 2 hours?
So I wanted to ask how much you all let your children watch. Share and let's start a discussion about whether these guidelines make sense..
My children are older than yours, but I do crave that down-time when they're all parked in front of a movie.
ReplyDeleteAbout the statement by the AAP, I think it's baloney. There are some fantastic educational programs out there targeting infants and toddlers. My son, who is now 11, watched television as an infant and doesn't seem any worse for wear. As a matter or fact, he's a brilliant kid and an avid reader.
I think tv starts becoming a problem when kids can't live without it. Maybe have a tv blackout for a week here and there and test the kids a little bit. Find out how truly attached they are.