For the last year or so my kids haven't watched much tv, which seems odd as I'm not one of those moms who is against kids watching tv - i mean seriously have you seen Sid the Science Kid? That show is amazing, I even learn stuff from it. Even Dora in all her irritating explorerness taught my kids a lot about maps and sequences and girls who care about more than boys and lipstick (yay! for at least one solid female role model, unfortunately she's a child).
So why limit tv? Well, two years ago when P's asthma acted up (she was even hospitalized for a few days) she spent A LOT of hours in front of the TV inhaling steroids and other medications through her "breathing machine." So, for a long time, I associated children's tv with my daughter's illness, which wasn't fun. Thus, shortly after P's health returned to normal, when our big LCD TV broke, rather than replace it, we decided on a tv-less main floor (partially inspired by this blog, start from the beginning, it's a fun read). Since I wasn't strong enough to completely remove the boob-tube from our house, we took our OLD tv out of storage ("why isn't it flat, mommy? Something is wrong, tvs are supposed to be flat!") and set up a corner of the basement for tv viewing. At night this has become a lovely kid-free zone for me and Dan, but during the day we rarely use it, as I find it a drag to try to entertain T in the basement while the girls zone out.
The problem with limiting TV watching for kids is that by default you make the TV into something magical (much like McDonalds). Whenever my kids see one show they talk about it for DAYS. DAYS. And they reflect on every scene over and over again. Now that T's old enough to watch tv with the girls (yay! attention span) and P remains healthy, I'm slowly becoming more lenient with tv watching. But when I look ahead, I become uncertain - I see a preteen world of Disney shows where girls need to be popular and pretty and all anyone talks about is boys (and let's not even get started on Teen Mom). Which makes me nervous, maybe that type of branding is just what is ahead, regardless of tv. I know they can't stay young forever. But still the overhyped, simplified, materialistic, Miley Cyrus view of adolescence makes me uncomfortable.
What about everyone else? Maybe I'm overeacting and the preeteen programming isn't that bad? Am I just being a paranoid mom? And if I am please tell me.
I am ashamed at how much my kids watch TV. It started when my second was born and I was breastfeeding, and I needed to keep my oldest entertained. Now my oldest son has a very unhealthy relationship with Yo Gabba Gabba - he asks for it all the time. And I give in a lot, partially because he is engrossed by it, which gives me a solid 25 minutes of peace (which is hard to pass up at times). Now my 10 month old watches it in awe. Ugh. I feel it's too late to go back. Oh well, I am a bit TV obsessed myself. I can't imagine not having a TV on our main floor (but I do admire you for getting rid of it!). And by the way, I do love Teen Mom. Oh, how I love my Teen Mom Tuesdays. Since I have two boys, hopefully they won't be interested in those kinds of shows like their mom. :)
ReplyDeleteI am not against watching movies or shows but it depends pretty much on how much and especially WHAT. I grew up without TV and I can see today how much more creative stuff I did and I still do compared to others. Since 4 months we do not have a TV anymore. The girls never watched a lot anyway. They can watch things on the computer/ internet and I prefer it that way. Like this I can choose the good stuff. And as you wrote- it is/ becomes something magical, something special. Unfortunately my mother in law places the kids too much in front of the TV and I can see that more than 80% of those kids-tv-shows are just crap... yes- the shows for the grown-ups equally too.
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