Is Tv Really Bad for Kids?

My husband is the same way--the tv goes on as soon as his eyes open.
I hate that!
I have much more productive days when I do NOT put the tv on.

I usually keep PBS on and my toddler watches it sometimes. He especially loves Super Why!! I think its great.

TV, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad for kids. It's what they do, and what you do with them, when they're not watchng TV that matters.

Is tv really bad for kids?
yes.

When I decided to have children, I wasn't just signing up to be a Mom, but to also be their teacher. I wouldn't have the T.V. do my job as teacher. We're much too busy enjoying the outdoors and spending one on one time together.

To answer your question and in my opinion, TOO much TV is bad.

Enjoy and have fun with your kiddos! =-)

It seems to me that you're being really defensive on the subject, and I truly understand how busy we are and can't get everything done!
I usually give my daughter toys and activities (such as coloring books) in the kitchen area while I do the dishes and run the laundry.
The reason that TV should be limited is that it affects their concentration. The more and different background noises there are, the more it affects them, such as if there are people over the house talking, and tv, and their games (such as radio or computer etc), while the kids are also reading...it's too much.
Another reason tv is bad is that there's such a thing as "screen time", which means time spent in front of a computer, tv, hand held video games etc. The longer this time, the more it affects not only their development but also their eyesight and braincells--although not dramatically.
My daughter's pediatrician suggests no more than 1 hour of tv a day. To be honest, I think we watch about 1.5 maybe 2 hours if she's sick!
If you're very stressed out, maybe leave them for 2 hours but I would NOT recommend you leave the tv on for longer, even if they're not watching, again because the background noise affects their perception.

Hope this helps and hopefully it will be easier now that summer is coming and you can take them out for walks and the zoo.

I.

Wow- she must be watching television all day long... those shows you mentioned are on back-to-back for several hours straight.

That volume of television may teach your child some facts, but it is taking away from interaction time and imaginative play time. It is also "training" her brain to attend for 20-30 seconds at a time before changing "scenes". There was a study out several years ago that looked at how frequently television shows "change viewpoints" and it was really interesting to see how quickly the television forces you to change your attention/focus.

If you need sound in your house, turn on the radio. TV doesn't "teach" your child life skills- peer negotiations, conversational skills, social skills, trial-and-error thinking, how to deal with success & failure... you teach your child these things by allowing her to experience them!

OK, well I'll say it. I have it on all day, everyday, and yes, sometimes, it babysits my toddler while I tend to the baby. I have a nanny that doesn't put it on during the day. But the second I'm home, it goes on.
Call me a bad mom.

My 3yr old is incredibly smart, and has no problem focusing on something that he's trying to accomplish.
And I personally use TV time as a way to cuddle with my kids. The 3yr old loves The Wiggles and Thomas the Train, and we'll curl up for 1/2 an hr to watch an episode...and I LOVE it.

So, I guess that makes me a bad mom by a lot of standards. But, I don't care.

I hope not, my 2 year old is watching calliou right now, and in a couple hours when cat in the hat comes on she will watch that too. The learns a lot from pbs. In a more fun manner than i teach, i dont look or sound like elmo, and im not as curious and cute as george.

I think t.v. is good in moderation, it provides entertainment, education, and a little interval of silence so mommy can get things done.

I am just speaking on my views, I am not saying that I think I am "right" and that every parent should think like this.

IMO, to sit your kids down and have them rot in front of the TV all day long is wrong. I do not think having the TV on as background noise all day is wrong. There is a very big difference. For example: If I left the TV on with cartoon movies or on Disney channel all day - my 2.5 year old would sit there and watch it all day. If I put the cooking channel or the news on, he barely even looks at it.

TV is like everything else - too much of anything is not good.

Honestly, I don't know what I would do w/o the TV sometimes. My hubby works shift work which leaves me home alone a lot. If the kiddos are under my feet and not letting me get dinner ready, I'll throw the TV on for 30 mins so I can prepare dinner. To me, a healthy meal is more important than insisting on NO TV time

So, in your situation. No, I don't think there is anything wrong with the TV being on as background noise.

I'm sure you will have the holier than thou moms rip you up one side and down the other, but I think a smart mom evaluates her child and their needs, behavior and reactions. I'm the same as you, that we have something going almost all day. My son (3 yrs) does go through phases, and if he is in a lazy phase, I will turn it off and take him outside, get out puzzles, or encourage other play. But 9 times out of 10, he likes the story going on in the background, but he is mostly playing in his own way -- coloring, playing make believe, reading, etc. OR we will have a movie playing - i.e. Toy Story, and he will get all of his Toy Story figures and act out the movie too. I think its strange to set hard and fast rules with no thought on the individual child and their personality.

Mamy, I agree with you. The educational TV can teach so many things in a child friendly way. I'm constantly impressed with what my kiddo knows. I'm a full time working mom and dd goes to daycare (they have preschool in the am). She does get some structured learning from school and me aside from the TV. I think it depends on the child and the program.

Side Note: I see some people think you are being defensive. I disagree. I think you are simply stating the factual events you have observed and have a natural question. Our family is quite like yours....and to top it off I'm a teacher that has the tv on. LOL You could have been writing about my home and my child! :-)

my son is extrememly clever and very good at problem solving, and where we might not have the tv on all day. (to much electricity we are trying to cut down on our bills) my son does watch sesame street and his elmo world dvd or baby einstien everyday, maybe about1.5-2hrs a day. and i dont think there is anything wrong with that, if it werent for sesame street I may never get to shower! and he is not a couch potatoe or obese. in fact he is only in the 15% for weight. because he gets up and dances with elmo or spins to the music on baby einstien

TV if not used for education at a tender age is a distraction and takes away from family time. The constant noise you have allows you to not hear your own self think. IMO, it has it's place and once used appropriately can be beneficial, but any thing excessive is never good!

I agree with Ilda H. You are being rather defensive. I admit I need tv as a background noise. It's fine. My son is used to it being on but will play with his toys and run around the house.
It's great that your daughter is that smart. Not every child is like that though. And parents. Some use tv as a babysitter so the only thing kids know is tv so they don't go out and play, color, use their imagination in general. That is why it's bad. I think tv in moderation is great. My son gets to watch it while I get ready for the day and maybe some when we get home while I make us dinner. And that's it.

Tiger mom, what a label. It cracks me up. I don't own a TV, we listen to a lot of music, I have an art room, grow veggies so we're in the garden a lot, etc etc.

My problem with TV is that I don't think it is a very productive way to spend our time. TV does not necessarily detract from learning or IQ, but it does, (finally has been proven in randomize tests) to increase aggressive behavior and most important to me, decrease relational/empathetic skills.

I'm also a quieter person and I think the art of listening to self, one's own creative process, being in tuned with our bodies, etc is suffering due to noise, noise, noise. This is all personal preference and the way I was raised.

Too, I am very aware of TV's influence with regard to consumerism. My daughter goes to a private school (because I love the curriculum, emergent education, social learning, Emilia Reggio) and will be surrounded by "the good life" and I do mean that in quotes. I don't want the "stuff will make you happy" message at home.

All that being said, my daughter can watch shows at nana's and her dad's house and i have no problem with that. Its just about personal choice and what I think is best in this house.

The great and sometimes scary thing about being a parent is YOU are the one who decides what is good or bad for your kids. Every family is different. I personally think TV is like sweets... fine in moderation. I'm very choosey about how much and what kind of TV my kids watch and what kind and how many sweets they eat but I'm not a nazi about either because I think that will just lead to rebellion and other issues. My kids are 4 and 2 and they are only permitted to watch Nick Jr or PBS- not Disney or Cartoon Network. My daughter is in pre-school so she is not watching TV there and at home she gets one 30 min show per evening provided her behavior was good as this is a privlage. On the weekends she gets more but we are ussually pretty busy so not too much more . I also will occasionally let her watch food network with me and the kids are allowed to watch sports if we are all watching a game as a family.

Dear Mamy of 2, You love your children. You are a good mother. Listen to the good advice, but trust your gut.

If you want to limit, try building one show in the morning and one before dinner. Tell your child this is part of his schedule -- in this way he knows that TV time has a start and a finish, just like bath time, just like breakfast etc....My son gets 2 DVDs a day -- enjoys them and tells the TV 'bye bye' when the dvd is over, because he knows that's it, and he is OK with it.

We also use lots of music as background, which he loves. Sometimes we dance, bang on pots and pans or boxes and have a good time. he also dances alone to the music...

You are a great mom for asking and caring.
HTH. Jilly

I don't think it's a black and white issue - is it bad or good? I think it can be both. I have a 3-month old and he's my first and he's already starting to watch and I've been worried about it because like you, I have it on for background noise. It keeps me company when I'm alone, and it's just been a habit for me!

I've ordered some Baby Einstein videos since he's started watching already. I think it can help, because if you think about it - they're drawn to it because it has motion, color, shapes, contrast, sound, music, etc. and all these things have never been seen as inherently bad at all for kids' development, and like you said, she's learning! I think the key is just moderation and not to just flop them down in front of it for hours. If its interactive and challenges them, I don't see why it's bad. If they're just zoning out, yes, then I see it as a problem. I think it can be a great learning tool, and let's face it, our kids are going to be exposed to screens for the rest of their lives... they may not even see a book! they'll read them all on screens!

When I first decided to stay home with a 2 1/2 year old and a newborn, it was on a lot...to keep my 2 1/2 year old happy. But, I found that he behaved worse the more the tv was on. I began to leave it off and play music instead. Now, he watches about 1/2 hour when he gets up, 1/2 hour at lunch, and occasionally 1/2 hour while I'm fixing dinner. Sometimes, he'll want to watch a movie and we'll do that in the AM before lunch. He did learn some things from the tv, but not anything I can't teach him.

i think it depends on the programs the kids are watching, there are MANY educational programs out there, but some that are just for fun, the rules at my house is that the kids have to be ready for the day and tv is off no later than 10 pm, the earlier they wake the more tv they can watch

mine is on almost all day too! but my son doesnt watch much because hes playing with his toyss..

i have always had the tv on all day long. my son is now 8 years old and does fine in school. he is to this day not a big tv watcher. sure there are some shows that he likes to watch but for him to sit in front of the tv for even a half hour is hard for him. he would rather be outside playing or building something out of his legos. i need the tv on for noise and some days i pay attentiion to it other days i don't. i think it's to each their own!!!

I'm a SAHM that home school's my boys ages 4 (Kindergarten) and 6 ( 2nd grader) Yes we watch TV, but it's monitored and not on all day. Found that children don't learn much social skills sitting in front of anything being simply entertained all day, not good for us grown ups either. I use TV as something earned and a privilege now. Found us having it on all day and then the boys would throw a fit if it was turned off even if they were not watching it. I felt it wasn't healthy so I decided to cut back and make a TV chart for the week. They each have special shows that they like to watch. Rules are listed above and if three marks (braking rules) are by their name a TV program is taken away. Works good for me right now.
Now if I could just somehow figure out how to get our 8 month old German Shepherd to stop barking I'd be really happy. lol
C.

my tv is on almost all the time too. I cant stand it to be quiet, I think it's because I have 4 brothers and sisters and it was never quiet growing up. I didnt realize how bad it was until last night when our power was out from 4 pm to 2 am. I couldnt sleep because it was so quiet!

My daughter barely pays attention to the tv, except when I'm cooking or something and I put on something that I know she wants to watch, otherwise it's mostly on the history channel, discovery channel, or food network.

Years ago my husband and I were invited a social event. We didn't have children yet at the time and I overheard some moms bragging about how Sesame Street and Barney taught their children their ABC's and how to count and how to talk, etc. Listening to them brag about how the TV helped teach their children made me take that estance that I would never, ever be such a mother to put my child in front of the TV and let the TV do the job that I was supposed to do. I quit my job 11 years ago so I could be a full time SAHM. Everything my children have learned is from what I've taught them, not the TV.

I understand your point about needing noise. Honestly, I have found myself putting on the TV during the day for me, not for my children, but just to hear adults talking. It can be a bit, dare I say it??? Frazzling to hear children talk all day long. Sometimes I long to hear the voice of an adult. However, when I have put the TV on for me (for the noise), I put on shows that are adult (Lifetime, HGTV, the Food network, etc.), not the Disney channel or PBS. In the past few years I have resorted to leaving the TV off completely and turning on music instead. The music is the noise distraction I need and it also tends to be quite soothing for the kiddos, sometimes even lulling them to a nap! How great is that??? My ped always recommended NO TV until the age of two because TV can, according to studies conducted, interferes with the brain development. As a family, we are not big TV watchers anyway so my kiddos can take it or leave it.