Toddlers & Tv

Posted by Vulnadia on Feb 23, 2011 at 04:33 PM There is soo much in the way of conflicting advice on whether or not to let your kids watch TV or play video games... Now they are saying not to let kids under aged 2 watch any TV in an effort it would seem to encourage learning/exploration using all of the senses etc. Yet they also turn around and say that for preschoolers, TV is a great way to prepare for school... So what's a Mom to do? Personally, I let my kids have TV...not LOTS of TV, not withholding it to the extent that it becomes such a novelty that all they want to do watch it whenever they get the chance (kind of damned if we do damned if we dont situation if we arent careful!) So, what are we to do? I watch our programming...I cannot stand things that appear mindless or have children that act out & arent constructive in problem resolution...If the characters habitually act out, we don't watch it... That being said, I love Backyardigans and my kids actually act NICER when it's playing in the room-they don't even have to be actively watching it for their mood to change...it also paved the way to transition them over to watching Gilbert & Sullivan DVD's... I actually ended up with a Pirate King over that one...they love Pirates of Penzance...too funny really-and they can launch their own production of it in the nursery...added to their repertoire of Annie and a few other musicals they have taken a liking to... I also let mine watch musical theater productions on DVD -Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, Into The Woods... But as a parent we also have to be very careful-did you know that Cartoon Network will air older programming after a certain hour? Much of it isn't suitable for little people at ALL and some is even scary!!! So what do you do? Do you limit your kids TV time or do you let them have at it? Have you had any problems with them watching anything? article