What do you let your kids watch on TV?
Do you just do DVDs? Only educational programming? Only PBS? A Washington Post column by Lisa Guernsey, author of Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children From Birth to Age Five, explains that toddlers can be left traumatized or confused by the same shows which will merely entertain a sibling a few years older. Has anyone read her book? I am a TV-loving mom and after reading her column I wish I'd been a bit smarter about what I let my kid watch. She gives big points to Blue's Clues and Dora the Explorer, engaging shows which have my son yelling answers at the TV. What kind of TV diet do you feed your kids?
I too, love the TV. We are all "addicted" and often watch shows as a family. Our TV diet includes, but is not limited to - Discovery Network, TLC, Travel Channel, Nat Geo. - Shows like Dirty Jobs (my 5 year old wants to be Mike Rowe), Deadliest Catch, How it's made, Myth Busters and Naked Archeologist.... I worry about what it did when he was younger. Now, I feel that I am broadening his horizons and showing him that there is more to life than hunting and fishing.
I was super strict with my kids when they were young. We more or less didn't have a TV. These days, it's in a cabinet and used only for DVDs. Toward that end, they can watch pretty much whatever DVD they want as long as it's not too far R. Meaning, why the R rating. I don't mind language or even certain sex scenes, but there's something about certain types of violence that I just don't want them seeing, even as older teens. I know they'll see it at friends' houses and so forth, but they're pretty nice about understanding that here in our house, I just don't want them to be seeing that stuff. All this said, I think being more or less TV free as kids did them a world of good, though it's not for everyone!
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