I can see why parents tend to put their kids in front of the the TV - it allows you to do things!!
I have always been very careful of Beanie's screen time.
For the first 12-14 mos of her life, the TV in our house was never turned - at all!! I almost switched off my cable subscription since I never watched it.
Then at about 16 -17 mos I started turning on PBS in the morning. I would usually watch with her and point out things like, ducks, puppy, car, ball. She would watch for 5-6 min and then be off playing with her toys - only stopping if there was a catchy tune or song. She loved dancing to the title music of the shows.
Now at 2+ she can actually sit through a cartoon and follow the story and be entertained. We watch some PBS-Kids in the mornings together while she is having her milk and snack before school. She never watches any TV at night. She has also not watched any DVD/movies, eg Frozen.
Also while I would love to get myself a tablet, I don't want to because it will be difficult to keep her away. I just don't think she needs to be attached to electronics at such a young age. I am not worried about her technological skills since she knows how to turn on her CD player, the radio, keyboard, TV using the remote and view photos on my phone.
Anyway, last week with the time change and her being sick I allowed her to watch Cu.rious G.eorge on the laptop. I was worried since I did not want to open a can of worms, with her then constantly asking me to watch shows. We have used the laptop to watch live feeds of the pandas in the zoo, or Animal Planet, live feeds, but never cartoons. It went okay but there was the inevitable meltdown when it was time to stop.
Today, in the evening after she had an early bath and we had a long evening ahead, I let her watch about 30 min on the laptop and WOW, now I know why parents let their kids do it. You get TIME - time to put away laundry, make a phone call, empty the dishwasher, etc.
It is SO tempting. She would have sat there quietly for an hour if I had let her!
I just hope I can stick to my strict "limited screen time" plan and I don't get addicted to this new found freedom ! :-(
This is a BIG struggle at my home. I don't watch much TV. There is a few TV shows I like but I'm not one to sit in front of the TV for an extended period of time. However both my husband and my mom (who stays with us when my husband is away) are TV people. I hate it that the TV is on almost all the time at home and I especially hate it when I see my daughter just sit there and watch. Her play area is in the family room. When it's just me and her alone, I shut off TV and I notice how much of a nicer time we have. I've been meaning to establish some TV Time "rules" but I have been too busy and tired to follow through.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have to admit that I was guilty of using my tablet way too much around my daughter. But now I mind myself and put it away when she is around. I have friends whose kids are literally addicted to their tablets, I really don't want that to happen in our home.