how much TV do you think children should watch?

bylromarha

Mine are 3 and 5. TV is rarely on and when it is it is to watch something together. It's been like that since they were about 1 year old. Before that they never watched.

Makes it a treat when we do put it on - during summer hols last year we had great fun planning a TV day. DD chose something to watch, then DS chose next thing etc. We started after breakfast and they were bored by lunchtime!

I used to teach primary school - teaching reception I used to do home visits before children joined. I was shocked by how many homes I visited where the TV was just on - some kids ignored it and talked to me, other kids snuggled up to me as they stayed glued to it, some kids shouted at me over the TV.

I decided then my kids would have the TV off most days and only watch small amounts when it was on. I didn't want to wake up one morning and discover that the kids couldn't cope without a day of TV. Same with DS and playstation.

They do sing along to most of the jingles from Radio 2 tho!

Nicki

As others have said it varies from day to day, but on a school day, my DS (aged 10) would probably watch 2 programmes of about 30-45 mins in length each. My DD (aged 9) might watch one DVD as she is not that interested in what is on live TV. My DS2 (aged 8 months) is not interested at all in TV and it is never put on specially for him to watch. In fact, I took him to the Babylab recently who were doing some research on child development, and he couldn't complete the task which involved working out what parts of a cartoon were most fascinating for an 8 month old, as he was far more interested in what the researchers were doing than pictures on a screen in front of him!

tiamai_d

I remember reading (but I don't remember where) that under the age of 2, a small amount of time watching tv doesn't affect a child one way of the other so long as the rest of the time there is plenty of stimulating play and communication. Which, your doing.

The boys will watch tv from 3.30pm-4.30pm while I get dinner ready. It's cartoons. We record Something Special and watch it as a family (whenever we have time) because DS2 uses Makaton, it's been very useful for us to encourage his signs, teach the rest of us some signs and because it's on tv, it makes it seem more 'normal' to be using signs.

Personally I think a little tv won't do any harm, there are plenty of things for babies to watch that can be useful. And if it means you can get to do something then go for it.

Skinty, your not the type to dump them in front of a tv and leave them anyway, so don't worry about it.

Mrs_Imp

Various studies have been done which indicate that the attention span of a person can be shortened by tv. I have no idea if these studies are correct or not, however, next time you watch tv, count how many seconds each scene lasts before they switch to another scene or camera view. For most programmes it will be less than 3 seconds. This may encourage the brain to have a shorter attention span and for a person to want faster-paced viewing.

Whether or not you believe the studies, it's certainly quite shocking that programmes feel they have to stimulate the brain quite so much with such short scenes and camera shots.

bestpud

I've never counted tbh as I tend to think everything in moderation is a good guideline - similar to a good diet in many ways.

I'm not sure a definite link can be made between intelligence and TV watching as there is so many other factors to consider.

Dare I say it is a certain type of parent who severly restricts TV viewing and is very quick to condemn any family that does not...?

But in fairness, I guess there is a certain type of parent who uses the TV as a free babysitter too...?

Most of us will sit in the middle somewhere and that's fine by me.

travelgran

Interesting to see the difference between 'watching' TV and 'having it on' as background noise. The thought of the house never being quiet fills me with horror whereas some posters clearly feel just the opposite. Each to their own. What I do object to is people who never turn it off even when they have visitors and are sitting chatting. Somehow my eye is just drawn to that flickering screen, even if they turn the sound down. Perhaps they just want me to leave! I soon do!

jamespir

i learn by watching tv i find it very difficult to learn from reading books (i learn from doing hearing seeing things) each child is different so i diont think you can introduce a set amount for all as it would be unfair on some

Loopy_Lobes

I don't like the TV all the time either, we have quite a big one and I dread to think of the energy usage if it was on all day. It gets quite hot too which is worrying. If it's not being watched it gets turned off.

Ms_Piggy_2

pigpen wrote: »

I, as most of you will know, have a fairly large family .. and I have never had a TV in all the time any of them were growing up. !

Spot the link.... :rotfl::rotfl:

(only joking. I know you are more than able to cope with the "Don't you have a TV?" jibe)

pigpen

Ms_Piggy wrote: »

Spot the link.... :rotfl::rotfl:

(only joking. I know you are more than able to cope with the "Don't you have a TV?" jibe)

Where do you think the 2-3 disney films a month come in?!