Having worked at an early learning organization and reading all these parenting books, the infamous "they" recommend that kids do not watch television until the age of 2. And before having Camden, I was all over it.Well OF COURSE I don't want my baby watching tv! It'll melt their brain cells! Babies need one-on-one interaction!
While all of this may be true (esp the interaction part), I've come to learn that the whole tv-watching thing is a total gray area.
Some experts will tell you adamantly that TV is a definitely no-no. Forbidden!
Well, my take on it is this. I try my darnedest to make sure Cam watches as little TV as possible. I never plop him down and let him watch a full half hour of Sid the Science Kid or Sesame Street. But the morning after he, for whatever reason, decides to wake up at 1am and 4am, 10 minutes of Elmo so mommy can lie on the couch in peace is a necessity.
I definitely feel guilty when I turn on PBS Kids. And even when he is 2, I still don't want him watching a lot of TV. But if I'm reading to, interacting with and playing with Cam the other hours of the day, some quality time with Sid really doesn't seem so bad.
I heart Children's Educational Television. I know my kids learn the most from me and their other teachers but it's also nice to hear Marin use 5-syllable words she learned on Word Girl or explain a scientific theory she heard on Zulu Patrol.
ReplyDeleteI've never met a parent who was a TV Nazi. Only people without kids.