Too Much TV!?

hello S.,
honestly my son watches t.v. for most of the day too! the difference between you and i is that i am a stay at home mommy and have a second child on the way! with you and your husband, you work, so it's understandable that he's in the living room watching t.v. still and playing his toys as you and your husband unwind! i think it's ok for them to watch t.v. especially when it's educational programs! but it's also good to interact with them, take the t.v. away for a couple of hours to play with him or go to the park or something. I know with your work schedule you're probably tired when you come home because you have to come home and be a mom, ie. cook dinner, clean up, take care of your son! I was the same way when i was working too, i'd come home and my husband would go to work and it would be nap time for my son, so we would go to bed, then when he woke up he would be watching t.v. and playing and i would be making dinner and cleaning up. I guess alot of moms or people (especially doctors) would say that that's too much t.v., yes i agree, but sometimes i watch my son as he's watching t.v. and he does learn quite alot of things from watching those educational programs, heck, sometimes i learn something too! haha..i don't know if this is any help, but i thought i would let you know that you're not the only one that does this!

2 moms found this helpful

I'm opposite of many on this... I don't think it's bad to watch tv. I think it's harmful for children to watch the news, but if they are age appropriate shows, I wouldn't worry about it. Take care, C.

1 mom found this helpful

OMG YES - all day TV is too much!! TV is a bad influence on behavior for children. They mimic the cartoon characters and the disrespect that goes on TV today. When your child starts being rude and rough and disrepectful and you wonder why, it's the TV.

Hi S.:

Watching TV isn't THAT BAD. It also depends on what your son is watching. Some shows could be educational...My 2 boys watch about 5-7hrs a week..mostly between Friday-Sundays and we have them do more "activites" whether it's playing ball or reading. I would prefer children to do other "activites" besides watching TV. Hope this helps.

all day? yes, absolutley that is too much tv. you may want to reconsider who is watching your child if the tv is on all day...no one, not even adults should have the tv on all day. talk to your sis and show her where the park is.

In my opinion it is too much, they are sponges and you would be amazed at what they will pick up from it.

I'm a little curious about how old your son is, but my guess is yes, that's too much television. Apart from the content (which is in itself huge), my personal belief is that TV offers too much pre-composed stimulation, meaning that children don't need to learn to amuse themselves. It's also just a lot of a certain kind of noise all day long. If you sister can manage it, I'd say have her turn off the TV for most of the day. Good luck!

It's not good to have the tv on that much. It's also a big waste of electricity. There have been studies linking heavy tv watching to problems later. I would stop the tv completely if possible and if not, 1-2 hours per day max. Our pediatrician agrees with this. Your sister should help you find healthy ways to help keep your son active and amused throughout the day. He would benefit from some physical activity, probably would sleep better too. Your sister is setting the stage for problems ahead. They should play games, learn and explore new things, read, talk, do arts and crafts, go to the park, play ball, etc. TV is pure garbage for kids. If I could take one thing back that I did as a new parent many years ago, I would have cut back TV to 1 hour per day, and would have gotten rid of certain TV channels that make your child think they can be a famous actor. These shows are plain junk. The promote being popular and being overly picky about fashion too. Best of luck to you.

I am surprised at some of the responses in regards to the TV being so OK. Everything in moderation. My daughter watches TV too but it is limited and the content is carefully chosen by my husband and I.

Having the TV on all day is absolutely distracting your son from his developing creative play. Another question is what is on the TV all day, is it really appropriate for him to watch? Sometimes there might be a show that is OK but the commercials are not.

S.,

I have two girls with learning disabilities. One is 19, the other is 11. My older daughter watched very little tv. We lived in an active neighborhood and she played outside most of the time. My youngest daughter has been exposed to much more tv, being the youngest of 3 children. Both girls have very similar learning issues. They both have ADD, high cognitive thinking skills and auditory processing. The results for both of them is difficulty taking notes, retaining information and general focus.

We have a friend that just came home from being on the mission field 13 years with his family in Papua, New Guinea. They have never owned a television and had limited video games and movies. They came home because their youngest was struggling in school on the field. He has very similar issues as our girls. Very high cognitive thinking skills, with auditory and focus issues. I have always wondered (even though there are no conclusive studies that TV causes learning issues) if TV had an impact. It was a relief to talk to our friend and find out that his son has never really watched TV.

J.

Hi S.,

You should turn off your t.v. and put on children's music so you and your child will sing and dance. My children only watch 1 hr of tv each day. 30. min so I can shower and 30. min. when I cook dinner.

Good Luck
M.

Yes, too much TV.

Garbage in, garbage out. That's what we're doing to, and going to get from, our kids who are exposed to the junk on TV all day long.

In my house we have NO TV channels, the only thing our TV is used for (and it's on plenty, really!) is for movies and as a videophone.

Get KID-friendly movies. As an added benefit - NO COMMERCIALS! Kids not gonna find more things each day that they "HAVE to have" for Christmas.

If your sister wants the background noise, use a radio or stereo. (I just have my favorite music compiled into one long playlist that I play off my computer.)

Breaking the TV addiction will be hard but after a while, you'll go somewhere and see it on and be shocked at the junk that you used to invite into your home all day long.

One more thing. The TV or computer screen BOTH have an addictive quality (yeah, I'm addicted to the darn computer screen too) and when my son gets too much of either, he then becomes most awfully uncooperative and just totally unpleasant to be around. So as a consequence for that kind of behavior, TV/computer time is OFF, for a few days if needed. After a day or two of extreme crankiness and unpleasantness and whiny-ness, he then becomes a wonderful sweet self-entertaining & more imaginative child, more willing to help and do things with me. Then oddly enough, he will actually not ask for his hour of tv/computer time, because he's enjoying the other things more.

S.

You've gotten some great input here, I want to say kudos to you to ask a question! My kids somedays watch too much (though limited to Sprout, Noggin & sometimes Disney), but even if it is educational, it can still be too much. Other days I think I get it right! But turning it off completely and telling them to go get a toy/go outside or best yet, interacting myself with them more is better for all of us. I get to be here with my 5, but when I hire someone, I cannot control all of what they do, that has to be taken into consideration as well. Your sister, bless her for coming into your home to watch your son! Have you discussed this with her? Maybe if you went and picked up some new 'auntie toys' or games that are special to encourage them to interact without the tv??? Or picked up some pre-school or craft materials to help them interact? Just throwing out some ideas that we have on hand and try to put into play and get them off the constant bomabardment of images and marketing.
Take care, I'm confident you will do what is right for your family.
D.

Sounds like the TV is used for background noise. Most people are very uncomfortable with silence which is why I decided to make sure that my daughters are exposed to silence for awhile every day. When we want background noise, we use the radio, children's CD's or even the music cable channels. This way, I can expose them to different types of music. At two and a half, both girls love country, jazz, and classical. They really love the Broadway show tunes because I sing along and dance. We make it part of our play time.

This morning my nearly 3yr old came into the living room (where yes, the tv was on, football) pretending to play a flute. She had the fingering down perfectly. My mom who was over asked how on earth she knew that, and I told her it was from "Little Einsteins" her favorite show. She has watched (commercial free) kids shows all her life, PBS and Disney. She isn't too much into any of the movies, more interested in her old fav's like Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She knows all about the moon, mars and the other planets, pointed out sand dunes on a recent road trip, is curious about everything! She has a fantastic imagination, will tell stories to her "friends" -her dolls, stuffed animals etc. in her room for HOURS on end, her vocabulary is way advanced and she uses so many descriptive words (properly), she is so articulate and smart, you can have a convo. w/her and you forger you are talking to a baby!
My husband and I are tvholics. I have to admit we have it on all the time. My daughter has "her shows" and also loves to watch tv. But she would choose to play outside 100% of the time over tv, she plays in her playroom by herself or with us, we read 3 stories and a "make-up story" (we make one up and then she does) every night.

My point is this: we are totally a tv watchin' family, but it depends on the situation, child, and other interactions your child is getting. I have never felt tv was detrimntal to her, as a matter of fact I think it has helped her imagination and taught her a lot *Ducking while being "booed" for that one!* She can count to 20 and beyond, she can "read" her favorite books back to us (via memorization) has known her colors for at least a year, can recognize the letters in the alphabet and can write her own name, points out letters everywhere...I'm not trying to tout my daughter's "brilliance" just pointing out that she is a contradiction to all the negative aspects of tv watching.

You know your own kid, do what feels right to you. When and if mine ever turns down a visit to the park or a teaparty with mom for tv, I will re-adjust her habits and mine. Until then...viva tv!!

It sure is a different world today than when we were wee. I got 1/2 an hour of supervised TV a night, and, if we did all our chores all week, 1/2 a can of soda on the weekend. It is a proven fact that we model behaviour that we see. Is every show that is on (not just actively watched) teaching good, kind, loving behaviour? No.

When I was young, if we got bored or restless, we got shoved out the door and told to "go play". We cant do that as readilly today, but the concept still holds true; learn to entertain yourself and you will build creativity and inventiveness and be a better more rounded human. Isn't that what we want for our kids?

I have cable but have been known to have it shut off for months at a time so we can remember how to act and interact without the Boob Tube.

On the other end of the scale, if you limit the channels they are allowed to watch ( a friend of mine was only allowed Discovery and National Geographic) like Noggin where there are no commercials, it can be ettifying. My son learned his ABC's from Blues Clues when he was 2.

I personally like TV myself, but it is probably too much TV. Study shows that kids under 2 shouldn't watch any TV, because it effects their vocabulary development. I know that no TV is not reasonable, because TV gives parents (including myself) a much needed break. I do limit my daughter to an hour a day, and she usually is not interested in it that long anyway.

Oh my goodness YES! I do not want to hurt your feelings, especially since I've been where you are. Children's imagination and deep play can not grow in a room with a television on. There have been many studies showing that television also interferes with learning. Television is 100% passive (even Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues). Pick one to three shows a day that your child really, really can't stand not to watch and then turn off the television. If it is play time and the adult wants to watch TV; then seperate the two. Child in the bedroom playing contentedly, adult in the living room with sound low watching contentedly while checking on child every so often. As you've noticed your self, your child will interrupt his play to watch television for a few moments then return to play. This is not supporting the development of sustained play or growing attention span both of which are needed in school for later development. I really hope this helps. Take care and best wishes for you and yours, Angi

I dont thiks is bad. As long as the shows that r on are educational. like pbs . My daughter who is 6 does the same thing. but she is in the top of her first grade class. i think they like the background noise. Dont worry i think as long as the tv is being monitered on what they watch then its ok.

Here's a link to a website (one of many) on the link between TV watching and the development of ADHD by age 7.

http://www.whitedot.org/issueiss_story.asp?slug=ADHD%20To...

My daughter has learned so much from TV. It's amazing. I use to be against TV for children. However, since I've had my youngest I've changed my mind. We make sure she watches learning programs. She's learned some dance steps from Barbie and Dora. She's learned manners and how to be a good friend from Strawberry Shortcake, Miss Spider and the Doodlebops. Dora has helped her with counting and shapes.

We've also been letting her play on the computer since she was 2. (She's 4 now.) She has amazing computer skills. She goes to websites for the TV shows that she likes and plays their learning games.

We have three televisions and five people in our house. One TV or another is on at any given time throughout the day.

As long as your little guy is still active and still learning I wouldn't worry about it.

My husband and I.....

Maybe you do have the TV on too much?

This is too much T.V. Get up with your son in the morning and don't turn on the television and see what happens. You can sing songs instead:)