What is with children & TV?

My 3 year old would sit in front of the TV all day if I would let her.  When she first gets up in the morning I hear “can you turn on my show?”  When we get in the car “can we watch TV?”  “Can I watch a movie?”  When the word that comes out of my mouth is not always YES, she throws a complete fit.  Then she follows me around begging to watch TV.  What is with this?  I believe TV has become a babysitter to a lot of people and without proper management we are going to have a lot of problems.

How much is too much TV?  I’ve heard nothing more than 2 hours.  That seems rational to me but, can people really pull it off?  I put the TV on when I’m making dinner so that I can actually succeed at making something.  Maybe I need to find another activity for her to do during those times when I’m busy.  By all means, I don’t let her watch hours and hours of  TV but, I’m looking at knocking off some of the time.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 10:44 pm and is filed under blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “What is with children & TV?”

1. Nicole Says:
   September 8th, 2009 at 3:00 pm

   This is always a problem! Especially during witching hour (dinnertime) I find that play-doh, colouring,lego,k-nex,straws and connectors or some simple crafts are excellent substitutes for television and can keep them occupied for a good length of time.

2. Michelle Says:
   September 22nd, 2009 at 4:36 pm

   Hi Terri!
   We don’t have TV. Or rather, we don’t have cable and don’t get any channels. Our television is used exclusively for videos, which are mostly educational.
   Our kids don’t miss it because we started off when they were young not having it.
   Having grown up in front of a TV myself, it was harder on me at first, but even I have adapted. And you know, it’s amazing how many extra things I can get done!
   You could try doing a trial – say 2 weeks, no TV – put them completely away so you won’t be tempted to give in during that special time of the day when it’s really easy to give in.
   I think you will be quite pleasantly surprised (after a few days of whining and complaining) how busy your kids can stay on their own!
   Being a homeschooling family, there are many families within our support group who do not have TV , so it CAN be done successfully!
   That said, the kids do get to watch Treehouse, Discovery Channel and sometimes Retro Teletoon when they visit Grandma’s house mostly because that’s how she babysits them.
   Make sure there are options for her – maybe a special box of toys/activities set aside that only come out when mommy is making dinner. Then she will look forward to that time.
   I’m unofficially challenging you to try a no-TV trial! I really think you will be surprised!