More than once, I've been accused of being a "hippie" mama. Yeah, I'd agree, I guess I'm sort of the "crunchy" type. Cloth diapers? yup. Breastfeeding? pretty much.. Co-sleeping? sorta. Natural wooden toys instead of plastic battery toys? oh yeah.
No TV watching? Check.
There's a lot of reasons that we try to limit Cole's exposure to TV, video games, and other screen time as much as possible. There have been multiple world-wide studies linking TV watching to the onset of disorders such as ADD and ADHD. There have been studies that show that TV on as background noise interferes with language development. There have been hundreds of studies that link TV watching with increased overeating, childhood obesity, and sleep problems. Even programs geared especially toward infants and young children can do a lot of damage to a developing child's brain.
One of the problems I face as a teacher is having students who are so used to being so entertained and stimulated by screen time that it is difficult to engage them in any other way. Their brains are so used to not having to do any work to think and learn that it makes my job very difficult - especially on a limited budget.
But most importantly, television watching interferes with a child's normal brain development and attention span. How difficult is it for you to concentrate 100% when reading a book or having a conversation when the TV is on? Ever noticed how your eye is continually drawn to the TV when it's on, even when you're not "watching" it? The same is true with babies and kids, and this can truly interfere with their ability later on to focus and concentrate. Babies are in such a constant state of learning, and the neural pathways are all being developed - once those pathways are developed to learn through something as stimulating as TV, it's really hard for kids to be stimulated in any other way (like books).
Over and over again, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends absolutely no screen time for children under the age of two, and limited time thereafter. But by the age of five, 90% of American children have watched over 5,000 hours of television - the equivilant of what it takes to get a four-year college degree!
But more importantly than all that research is my mother's instinct. And as a mama, I just don't feel like it's ever necessary to expose Cole to TV. I'd so much rather he play or read or interact with me instead of a television.
And I have never, ever heard of a parent who raised their child who said, "Boy, I sure wish I'd made my kid watch more TV! They really missed out!"
I agree...to an extent. Sometimes it is nice to have that "babysitter" especially when Baby #2 comes along. Movies are a special thing for us here. We made ratatouille then watched the movie while it baked and while we ate it. We watch Shaun the Sheep in the cool darkness of our living room when the sun is too harsh for baby skin. We watch Discovery for DirtyJobs, MythBusters and Dual Survivor--all shows that Isaac has learned more about abstract ideas, basic survival skills, and the scientific process of an experiment.
ReplyDeleteTV can be good, and it can be bad. It depends.
I had plans for absolutely zero tv ever until age of 2 and now I find myself trying to find shows that occupy him for 10-15 minutes at a time just so I can get SOMETHING done. I haven't found anything that he'll watch for more than a minute, which is really a good thing in the long run (other than for my housekeeping). In all of his 15 months, he's probably watched half an hour of TV, despite my best attempt at finding something. So maybe he knew the plan all along was for NO TV for him?? Who knows!
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