Kids and TV

Modeps

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
17,255
44
91
My wife and I typically allow our almost-two-year-old about an hour a day, mostly when we need to get something done or she's calming down for the evening. Not a lot, but its getting to the point where she gets upset when we turn off the TV. When its not on, and she asks to watch it (specifically says "Manny tools? Ok!" wanting to watch Handy Manny and his tools), she gets upset when we say no. I'm guessing that her care giver during the day when we're at work is letting her watch more than we'd like.

We first went into it with the mindset that we'd rather her not watch TV at all and that she should just play, but after a while it just got to the point where we figured a little wouldn't hurt. Its inevitable anyway, unless I discard my 42" TV which isnt about to happen.

Its really not a big deal and she's easily distracted with chasing a ball around, and for the longest time she wasn't interested in TV at all, but I'm interested to know what you guys/girls are doing with your kids in relation to TV and how they react.
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
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At least put on something with some educational value.
 

rivan

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2003
9,677
3
81
My four-year-old daughter has been watching limited amounts of TV from the beginning. When she was an infant, she LOVED when I'd turn on the Weather Channel before work - she'd watch as long as there was a weather map on. She went through a long phase where she wasn't interested at all in TV. She picked back up around 2.5 years and has been into watching whatever's on Noggin. I will not turn on a channel for her with any commercials. The most she'll get in a day is an hour and a half, but that's only the weekends when we'll let her watch a movie; we've got a bunch of the Disney classics. During the week, it's rare that she gets more than 30 minutes.

The only time she isn't ok with walking away from the TV is if we don't line up another activity for her - if we pull out paints or a game or whatever, she's fine with switching activities.

Our 10-month old son also likes TV, again, when there are bright colors on. He's much more interested in his big sister though - anytime she's running around he's right on her tail.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,456
854
126
Originally posted by: jpeyton
At least put on something with some educational value.

:thumbsup: KPBS Kids is good programming. Definitely a worthwhile station and one I fully support.

Edit-The Baby Einstein series is also quite good but at 2 years old your daughter might be a tad bit old for that.
 

Modeps

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
17,255
44
91
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: jpeyton
At least put on something with some educational value.

:thumbsup: KPBS Kids is good programming. Definitely a worthwhile station and one I fully support.

Edit-The Baby Einstein series is also quite good but at 2 years old your daughter might be a tad bit old for that.

Pretty much all the Playhouse Disney shows are educational, albeit not shoving that down your throat. She's a fan of Little Einsteins and I swear I even caught her trying to sing a song they were about the planets.
 

RadiclDreamer

Diamond Member
Aug 8, 2004
8,622
40
91
My kid watches playhouse disney and noggin as much as he wants, hes 10 months old so that amounts to 30-45 minutes here and there and then *ooooo kitty is moving, time to go catch!*
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
2
0
Originally posted by: Modeps
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: jpeyton
At least put on something with some educational value.

:thumbsup: KPBS Kids is good programming. Definitely a worthwhile station and one I fully support.

Edit-The Baby Einstein series is also quite good but at 2 years old your daughter might be a tad bit old for that.

Pretty much all the Playhouse Disney shows are educational, albeit not shoving that down your throat. She's a fan of Little Einsteins and I swear I even caught her trying to sing a song they were about the planets.

We do the same. The Playhouse Disney and Noggin shows on Nickelodeon are about all our kids watch. We try to limit the amount of time they spend on the TV and video games though it can be hard at times. Especially during the winter when they get sick or my son's asthma acts up.

A show that we love to watch together is Ninja Warrior on G4. My 2-year old will jump up and down clapping when one of the contestants makes it through a stage or go "OH NO!" when someone falls.
 

Madwand1

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2006
3,309
0
76
When you've memorized some of the songs and they run through your head all day at work -- then it's time to get a babysitter who can read.
 

blackdogdeek

Lifer
Mar 14, 2003
14,454
10
81
we probably let our kids watch more tv than we're supposed to but it's only either the disney channel (for little einsteins, mickey mouse clubhouse or tigger & pooh) or noggin.

when we started we had grand ideas of letting them watch no tv at all. then we moved on to only 1 or 2 baby einstein dvds. eventually we moved on to dora, blue's clues and the backyardigans. but only those 3 shows. as our eldest got older, she would move on to newer shows and older ones would not get as much focus. now there is a large library of shows from which we let them watch (thanks to the benefit or curse of dvr/on demand) including:

dora
diego
blue's clues
backyardigans (this is my favorite; i love the music from the "into the deep" episode)
miss spider (our youngest's current favorite)
little einsteins (my eldest's current favorite)
mickey mouse clubhouse
tigger & pooh
yo gabba gabba
lazytown (this is my least favorite; while the fitness/good eating habits is a good message, i think the delivery is a little too quick-paced with rapid camera changes which i think isn't so good for attention spans)

in my own layman's opinion, i don't really see a big problem with letting our kids watch these shows. we do NOT let them watch things on nick like spongebob or fairly oddparents or danny phantom, etc. i think these are a completely different class of tv show. however, i could see someone calling me a hypocrite since some of the above shows are possibly considered similar. but i really do think my list of shows contains only educational or educationally-oriented types of programming.

we haven't yet noticed any ill effects in either of the kids. our eldest is 4 and is already reading and writing small words and performs addition of single digits very well. that may not sound advanced but i know that at her age i definitely couldn't do either. she gets high praise from her teachers regarding both her academic ability and her social skills. in addition to school she enjoys ballet and gymnastics classes. and i think our youngest is going to be even brighter than her big sister (but don't tell anyone i said that). of course, they both have no problem going entire days without any tv or with turning the tv off to paint or play games or build castles or read books (or have books read to them). i'm sure some will say then why not do those things instead of tv? sometimes we just need to get things done like make dinner, make lunch, make breakfast, do the laundry, etc.

i know i sound like an overly proud father who is just making excuses for leaving his kids in front of the tv sometimes and is trying to convince himself that it's ok, but i really do think it is ok, especially with the shows we do let them watch.
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
2
0
Originally posted by: Madwand1
When you've memorized some of the songs and they run through your head all day at work -- then it's time to get a babysitter who can read.

Honestly, it takes hearing some of these songs from a kid's shows just once and it will get stuck in your head. Some of the songs (like from The Backyardigans) are so catchy that they are practically evil.
 

SpunkyJones

Diamond Member
Apr 1, 2004
5,090
1
81
Originally posted by: Madwand1
When you've memorized some of the songs and they run through your head all day at work -- then it's time to get a babysitter who can read.

QFT. I can't get "Fruit Salad" out of my head today. :(
 

Modeps

Lifer
Oct 24, 2000
17,255
44
91
Originally posted by: Queasy
Originally posted by: Madwand1
When you've memorized some of the songs and they run through your head all day at work -- then it's time to get a babysitter who can read.

Honestly, it takes hearing some of these songs from a kid's shows just once and it will get stuck in your head. Some of the songs (like from The Backyardigans) are so catchy that they are practically evil.

Lets get going and fix it right, twist and turn, make it tight...Trabajamos juntos,we work together now! Cut it, measure it, tap it flat. Bend and twist, just like that! Each of us has a special job... We work together -- todos juntos

We can fix it right!

 

xSauronx

Lifer
Jul 14, 2000
19,586
4
81
Originally posted by: Queasy
Originally posted by: Madwand1
When you've memorized some of the songs and they run through your head all day at work -- then it's time to get a babysitter who can read.

Honestly, it takes hearing some of these songs from a kid's shows just once and it will get stuck in your head. Some of the songs (like from The Backyardigans) are so catchy that they are practically evil.

god damn you for mention them. im going to have that one for an hour at least :(

 

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,928
23
76
my kids grew up watching about an hour or hour and a half of tv a day. they are 11,11 and 13 now, and watch tv as much as they can talk me into. luckily, i can get them easily turned on to a book or drawing stuff, or going out to play catch with me or something. there was a stage of my life when it was convenient to let them space out on tv while i caught up on work or whatever, but when my nephews first words were "3! tv! the place with more stuff!" i had to kibosh that whole tv time thing again. for the record, i wasnt raising or sittiing my nephew, he was under his parents control. this kid can pretty much beat any vid game made, knows all kinds of theme songs and is kind of rainman like half the time. his whole life has been spent either in front of a tv or a console game of some sort... the antithesis of how i wanted my kids to be, and luckily my kids arent that reliant on the tv.
 

rudder

Lifer
Nov 9, 2000
19,441
85
91
Originally posted by: jpeyton
At least put on something with some educational value.

Depends on the age. All those parents that ran out and bought those Einstein videos for their toddlers ended up actually doing the reverse of what was intended.

One article... but google and you get the idea.

Non-violent age appropriate TV is fine as long as its limited. My sister-in-law would plop her kids in front of the tv for hours because she was too lazy to play with them. The oldest one seems fine since he is in 1st grade, but the two younger ones can barely speak. One is almost 5 and the other 3.
 

blackdogdeek

Lifer
Mar 14, 2003
14,454
10
81
Originally posted by: xSauronx
Originally posted by: Queasy
Originally posted by: Madwand1
When you've memorized some of the songs and they run through your head all day at work -- then it's time to get a babysitter who can read.

Honestly, it takes hearing some of these songs from a kid's shows just once and it will get stuck in your head. Some of the songs (like from The Backyardigans) are so catchy that they are practically evil.

god damn you for mention them. im going to have that one for an hour at least :(

1. <doot doo> Hi, I'm Pablo! <doot doo> I'm Tyrone! <doot doo>
2. there's an echo <there's an echo> in this canyon <in this canyon>
3. if you want to be a pirate get up on your feet, you can't be a pirate if you're sitting in your seat
4. we gotta hold on tight <hold tight> we gotta hold on tight with all our viking might!
5. hush now little darling, you've had a busy day, the sun is a-fallin' and it's time for me to say...hush hush hush little mermaid good night....hush...hush little mermaid sleep tight...hush
6. it's the call...it's the call...of the mermaid, the most enchanted creature of the sea

and many more :-D

i actually think the writers are brilliant. the music and lyrics definitely are evil.

ps - what's up with Tyrone's voice being replaced by Uniqua's? i'm thinking he must have left the show.

pps - yes, i know. it's sad i know this stuff so well.
 

se7en

Platinum Member
Oct 23, 2002
2,303
1
0
I have a 2 year old boy and he doesn't watch much tv at all. Usually the only time he watches is while I get ready in the morning I will turn on a music channel for him to watch. He loves music so he dances alot but he still runs around between his favorite ones. He loves him some Kanye!

Other than that I dont let him watch anything but he would much rather do whatever Im doing than watch tv. I have an old laptop I let him type on while I respond to calls / emails and he has his own toolbag when I have systems to work on.
 

skace

Lifer
Jan 23, 2001
14,488
7
81
Originally posted by: Modeps
Lets get going and fix it right, twist and turn, make it tight...Trabajamos juntos,we work together now! Cut it, measure it, tap it flat. Bend and twist, just like that! Each of us has a special job... We work together -- todos juntos

We can fix it right!

This is the song that never ends, it goes on and on my friends. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, but they'll continue singing it forever just because... this is the song that never ends....
 

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,930
7
81
My daughter generally watches one episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse every morning during the week unless her and my wife are heading out somewhere right away. Then sometimes at night we'll watch a Disney movie or something like that. We canceled out cable so there's nothing actually on TV for her to watch. It's all recorded or movies or things like that.

She's 2.5
 

LeonarD26

Senior member
Feb 12, 2004
826
1
71
My 19 month old daughter loves Noggin and Disney shows like most others have described, but her favorite is Sesame Street....

That's Elmo's world!!!!!!!!!!!!! ugh....
 

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,856
4,974
126
we have a 4 and 6 yr old... honestly as long as the TV is moderated and your conscience of what you are putting on for them I don't see a problem. Nearly every damned show is educational in today's age. I have no problems with letting our kids watch TV. They watch in the morning when they first wake up, after school and at night to wind down.

They know 10xs the amount I knew at their age and lots of it coming from watching educational shows on TV I'm sure (though I'd imagine they get a good portion of their smarts from school and from us working with them on "projects" too).

Edit: My 6yr old is just enamored with nature shows too. Stuff from discovery channel, walking with dinosaurs, "how the earth was formed", dirty jobs (a 6yr old and "Poop Jobs"? That just goes hand in hand), Spongebob (ok he needs to laugh too... no education there), and his #1 is ANYTHING basketball related.
 

Joemonkey

Diamond Member
Mar 3, 2001
8,862
2
0
my 2.5yo watches mickey mouse clubhouse, dora, diego, little einsteins, sesame street, and a spongebob here and there. She is pretty interested in The Simpsons as well, so we let her watch select ones. However, i've noticed that since she can do everything they ask her now, she gets bored after about 5 minutes and wants to play on her computer, my computer, my wifes computer, plays barbies, reads her story reader, asks me if she can read a book to me, if i can read a book to her, or asks me to go to her room with her and play ball (its the only room in the house where we're allowed to throw things). I also try to get her interested in discovery and history channels, watching stuff like planet earth or something similar. I don't time spent watching TV is a good measure, I think which shows you choose matter more.
 

nakedfrog

No Lifer
Apr 3, 2001
58,055
12,244
136
Get yourself They Might Be Giant's "Here Come the ABCs" and "Here Come the 123s" on DVD.
Non-conventional, but educational, and the songs don't drive one insane the way so many kid's product songs can.
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
2
0
Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Get yourself They Might Be Giant's "Here Come the ABCs" and "Here Come the 123s" on DVD.
Non-conventional, but educational, and the songs don't drive one insane the way so many kid's product songs can.

Incidentally, these are played on Playhouse Disney now. They're also responsible for the theme songs for some Disney Shows like Higgley Town Heroes.