As I write this, Evie and Mack are dressed in their pajamas, fresh out of the bath and quieting down for the evening. At this point in the day, the three of us are usually snuggled in my big bed to read books and sing our ritual nighttime songs. But, tonight is special because “Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” is on television.
However, if the American Academy of Pediatrics had a vote in how this evening went, the TV part would never have happened. In a report released last week, the group said that screen time provides no educational benefits for children under age 2 and leaves less room for activities that do, like interacting with other people and playing. Of course I agree with this sentiment – to a point.
Surveys suggest that 40-60% of households have a TV on throughout the day, and some families allow their babies and toddlers 2+ hours of screen time per day. With disturbing statistics like that, I can certainly understand why the AAP made such a bold statement. Unfortunately, if you give some people an inch, they’ll take a mile…so it is probably wise for the AAP to advise no television for little ones. But, that doesn’t mean that reasonable mothers (like me!) can’t bend the rules every now and then…
TV should never be a replacement for quality time as a family. TV should never interfere with a family’s ability to communicate and interact with each other. Plopping a kid in front of the television will not make him smarter or funnier or more intuitive. But, TV can be an occasional treat for the little ones.
Here’s why a little bit of TV every now and then really isn’t the end of the world (in my opinion):
1. I limit what the kids watch. The only channel they are allowed access to is PBS. The cartoons on public television are sweetly entertaining and mildly educational, and they aren’t full of obnoxious voices and fast-paced action. But, the best part about PBS is the lack of commercials; I don’t have to worry about Evie wanting a Bratz doll or Mack going crazy for some idiotic plastic monstrosity.
2. I strictly limit how long the kids can watch. The television isn’t turned on every day, and when it is its just for a brief amount of time (usually when I’m trying to get work done). Plus, the kids lose interest in it after a little while, and they usually leave the couch for the play area on their own. Tonight, after just 10 minutes of Charlie Brown, Mack decided that his fire truck was far more fun.
3. Sometimes I need a break. Sometimes the kids need a break. Sometimes we all just need a little break! TV gives the kids a little downtime in an otherwise busy day. While we spend much of our days visiting friends, playing at the neighborhood parks, exploring our city and reading books, some days we all need a few minutes to decompress. I don’t think its reasonable to expect parents to devote 12+ hours per day – every day- to constant thoughtful, creative and imaginative play with little ones. Can’t we all just chill out every now and then?!
What’s your opinion on the American Academy of Pediatrics report? How do you handle TV in your house??
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I would agree that the American Academy of Pediatrics will play it safe, because limiting TV time probably doesn’t happen in many households. We don’t have a TV but we do watch programs online. I feel like I have a little more control that way. My two year old won’t sit down and watch anything on the screen for more than two minutes.
We love PBS but not Caillou.He’s a whiny brat…that turns my kids into one. But I am okay with minimal TV. The kids are in heaven playing outside anyways. You are the best mamma Maureen!!!
Honestly, my kids watch PBS every day. I can’t imagine how they wouldn’t. But I just really feel in my heart that it is a decent part of their routines. Our kids wake so early (4:30!!!) and when we leave them to play by themselves they are loud and wrestle (not okay with our neighbors) so we let them watch a show on PBS while we shower and pack their lunches. While Jimmy takes his nap, I let Charlie choose a show on my computer and snuggle in my bed for quiet time. He doesn’t nap anymore and we’d both go crazy without that 30 minute break. Then, at 5:00pm, after they’ve run like crazy outside and while I’m making dinner, Billy and the boys watch Wild Kratts together. They sing the song and talk about the animals on the show the rest of the night. It’s one of their favorite parts of the day! During the day we play, go to school, have playdates, cook together, read together (probably 50 books a day!), go for walks, etc, but I can’t imagine filling hours between 4:30 and 8:30 with no TV. I might be on the heavy end of how much they watch, but I don’t see how it’s hurting them…and honestly, we all love the shows on PBS!
Okay, I must have more emotions about this than I realized! Another thought I wanted to share–I read about the article advising parents to avoid TV before age two also. I have to say, my 20 month old totally gets something out of Wild Kratts. Besides singing the song and shouting “Wild Kratts!” throughout the day, he likes to pretend to be the animals featured on the show, and has even asked to see specific animals at the zoo after watching an episode about them. Also, he and my three year old love acting out the show with each being a Kratt brother. So, he might not get the plot, but the show is peaking his curiosity and leading to imaginative games. So, I’m not sure about TV being useless before age 2!
Courtney, I totally agree with you. Because we live in an apartment building, we also have neighbors in close proximity. There are some times when the kids just want to harass each other and makes tons of noise, and if I’m unable to occupy them the only way to quiet them down and avoid mean looks from neighbors is to turn a cartoon on. And, I also don’t think an occasional PBS cartoon will ruin them for life.
Thanks, Maureen! It’s good to know I’m not alone. It’s hard to shake that mommy guilt sometimes!
I approach it in the same way you do. It’s very limited. Definitely not everyday. Occasionally, I need to get something done without him trying to grab at things underneath me. My son is 16 months & LOVES Thomas. So we have some Thomas and Friends DVD’s that I will put on one episode of for him sometimes. I’m 26 weeks pregnant, and sometimes I do it just to rest for 5 minutes, lol. He’s so full of energy right now and I adore that most of the time. Sometimes though, I desperately just need to sit down! We don’t watch much TV anyway. We’re more into books and an occasional movie. My husband and I occasionally watch a cooking show or discovery channel after our son goes to bed. The TV doesn’t come on otherwise.
Thankyou so much for writing this post! I have been struggling with guilt so much for allowing my 22 month old to watch Sesame Street. We only allow PBS as well. But being pregnant and just not having any energy, sometime I need it to give myself a break. My daughter is extremely high energy and demanding of my attention. I just need it occasionally to calm her down and allow myself to get things done-like cooking and other chores that are too dangerous for her to engage in-like emptying the dishwasher-too many sharp objects. My daughter is still very intelligent, creative, very social and has an extensive vocabulary at her age. I have not seen any negative effects from her TV viewing.
I have found that the occasional PBS cartoon hasn’t harmed my kids. While I know this is purely anecdotal, my kids are both very chatty and engaging and engaged. I think its all about balance and being reasonable. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!
When I was growing up, my parents had much the same approach to TV that you describe. We could watch PBS (a few shows a day, max) and we watched family movies together. I thought this was a great, healthy approach and planned to do the same with my own kids. But it turns out my husband is really anti-TV for little ones. And we honestly rarely turn our TV on (except for ND football!). Any shows that the two of us watch, we watch them on Hulu after the kids are asleep. So TV is just not part of our family’s daily life (not having cable and having the TV away in the basement helps with that, too). The flip side of that is when I was so sick with morning sickness for months, I kept trying to put on Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers DVDs to occupy my son while I laid on the couch, but he pays no attention to it! I’m hopeful that movie nights will become a part of our weekly rituals when the boys are a little bit older.