How much TV is to much for kids to watch. I saw on the news that a study was done linking ADHD to watching to much TV. I have the TV on all day, because I like to have some sort of background noise. I caught myself when my daughter first came home, using it to keep my son entertained. Am I damaging my kids because of this?

By Texannie on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 06:29 pm:

I think most of us have popped in a video or turned on a program so it could do a little "babysitting" when we needed it. Did it damage our kids? I guess it depends on how many times you do it. I think tv watching time is another one of those "what works for my family, may not work for yours" types of decisions.

By Amecmom on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 07:22 pm:

A lot has to do with what you have on. My son, age 2, has picked up a lot of language and a great deal of knowledge from watching TV. It has also contributed to developing his imagination. I have it on as background some of the day. We don't watch fast paced cartoons, but rather, show with lots of music and dancing, or good, simple stories.
For example, we were shopping the other day and I picked up a helmet for him (he just got a tricycle). He looked at it and said, "my helmet, my helmet" I have never used that word around him. My guess is he learned it from watching an episode of Rolie Polie Olie about using a helmet.
Also, one day, he hid his face and started counting to play hide and seek with me, again, something I did not show him.
Like anything, TV can be used or misused and it depends on your child and your view more than anything else.
Now, if I had him watching violent shows, or shows where characters did nothing but chase each other, then, you bet, he'd be running around like a lunatic and hitting everything in sight. The content and quality of the programming is even more important than how much time they spend watching.
Ame

By Tink on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 09:52 pm:

I think Ame said everything that I would have said. It depends on what he is exposed to and how often. If its on all day, what is on and how much attention is he paying it? It's on alot at my house but usually Nick, Jr. or Playhouse Disney and my dd only watches for a few minutes if something catches her eye as she zooms through the room.

By Kaye on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 11:05 pm:

I think the reccomendation is children under 2 should not watch TV at all and kids up to age 6 should watch no more than 1 hour a day. I don't recall much more. That being said, what you choose to watch is important. Also you have to remember that even good TV shouldn't be on too much. Yes they are learning games, songs, and vocabulary. But all of this they can get from a much better source...YOU! The schools are seeing a much larger trend of children who are watching 3-5 hours a day which also tends to be paired with less book reading. As a mother of three I know that with my oldest we followed these guidelines, not that I knew them, but didn't see why she needed TV, but then number 2 came along and we ALL needed TV. It was easy to sit and read for an hour or so with one, but with two it seemed crazy, then we had another. I remember thinking well if they watch one movie they should still be able to watch sesame street, and blues clues...LOL..start adding that up, we are way past the limit. My point is I think you just have to be careful, monitor, watch with your kids, talk to your kids etc.

By Mommyathome on Tuesday, April 20, 2004 - 11:15 pm:

I tend to leave the TV on during the day for noise as well.
I think it depends on what you have on.

By Ladypeacek on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 01:02 am:

I have the tv on all day too, for background noise! I guess after being a mommy..quiet is hard, lol. But my kids rarely pay mind to it so i don't know that it affects them too much. My dd is too active to sit watching tv all day and my son couldn't care less about the tv.

By Emily7 on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 01:00 pm:

DH & I find reading is very important! DS would rather read or be outside than watching TV. The worst that is on is "Days of Our Lives", well & then the 6pm news!

By Mommmie on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 01:42 pm:

My son is ADHD and has never had an interest in TV. I have known moms with ADHD kids who spent a lot of time in front of the TV bec that would be the only time those kids were under control, calm and quiet. You just can't give an ADHD kid some colors and say sit quietly here and color while I make dinner/go to the bathroom/make this phonecall/feed the baby. They have to be doing something they are very interested in - stimulating their brains in a specific way for them to calm them - in order to be willing to be parked so the mom can get stuff done.

For some ADHD kids it's TV and the moms have to use that in order to get things done. The ADHD came first, not the TV.

By Pamt on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 02:19 pm:

Sorry, but I strongly disagree with the idea that how much TV they watch doesn't matter as long as it is "good TV." I grew up in a home where the TV was on 24/7 and still is. Now I very rarely turn on the TV during the day unless I am ironing and it gives me some way to cope with that task I hate. People in today's society don't know how to be quiet or rest. Even if you just keep the TV on "for background noise" you end up getting lured into a show and wasting time and I guarantee that your kids are picking up waaay more than you think, even when they seem not to pay any attention to it. My DH and I watch TV most evenings after the kids are in bed. The boys watch a little in the afternoon after school and no more than 2 hrs/day in the summer, except maybe if it is raining or something. We go totally without the TV every August and have done so for 6 years. I can't express to you what a difference it makes in our home!! DH and I go to bed earlier, we get more projects done around the house, we read more (and we are all big readers anyway), the boys play better together, creativity flows, etc.

I agree with Kaye. Yes, there are some good educational shows on that aren't necessarily harmful and may even be beneficial to children in small doses. However, unless you are watching PBS 24/7, then your kids are exposed to a lot of garbage in commercials, previews, and trailers alone. And there is nothing taught on TV that parents would not do a more effective and interactive job of teaching at home. Hands down!

I have recently really been concerned about this because even when DH and I weren't planning to watch a particular show we could always find something on HGTV, TLC, Discovery channel, History channel, etc. to watch. We both love documentaries and would find interesting educational shows, but it still robbed us of time to talk, take care of things around the house, sleep, sex, etc. We dropped expanded cable a couple of months ago (there is nothing on during the day!! LOL). My kids have survived without Nickelodean and I have broken free of my "Trading Spaces" addiction We only watch TV now when there is something we really want to watch on. We don't just turn it on and flip around to find brain candy anymore. And no one ever has or will have a TV in their bedroom, parents included, in our house.

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 02:43 pm:

We only have basic cable in our house. Nobody watches that much tv, though. We are by out computers more than we are by the tv. So, maybe we ought to take computer breaks now and then! LOL! (kids included!)

My 14yo complains about the lack of Nickelodeon and Disney channel. The 12yo would probably like watching Animal Planet. I have seen enough Trading Spaces at other people's houses to know what it's all about, so I don't need to watch it here. We save a ton of money not having expanded basic and we certainly watch less tv.

ER and American Idol is about all I HAVE to watch, plus a little bit before I go to bed.

By Debbie on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 02:50 pm:

My dks would much rather play outside or play board games then watch TV. Now, I will say that when it is really cold or raining, they watch a little more. However, when the weather is nice, they will go days without watching it. The last few weeks it was really nice here, so my boys didn't watch any TV. However, after our long weekend in NYC, my youngest did watch TV most of the afternoon on Monday. We did so much walking and they stayed up really late, so he was just exhausted. It doesn't bother me if they spend an afternoon here and there watching TV, especially if they are tired or sick because they go so many days when they don't watch it at all. I think, like everything else, it is all about moderateion.

I do strongly agree with Pam that kids absorb a lot more then we think. My oldest was 3 when 9/11 happened. I first heard about it on the car radio. When I got home, I turned on the TV to see what was happening. I too thought that ds never paid attention to what was on. Well, I turned the TV off after a few minutes because of how extensive the coverage was. When dh got home, ds went running up to him and said "Daddy, did you know that it was a sad day in America, many people lost their lives". That was just from having the TV on for about 30 minutes. I am now very careful about what is on when my dks are awake. I rarely watch TV during the day. I would much rather have the stereo on. My boys and I love music and I get a kick out of watching them dance around.

By Amecmom on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 02:55 pm:

PamT has a good point about commercials. When the TV is on, it's Playhouse Disney, Noggin or PBS Kids, all commercial free. Commercials can be deadly, now that they're advertising things that were once only whispered about.
Ame

By Monicamomof3 on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 04:53 pm:

Just thought I would throw out a couple of good books: Amusing Ourselves to Death and The Plug in Drug.

By Emily7 on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 05:09 pm:

I never even thought about the commercials. I try to have it on a channel that won't have programs that would be bad. In fact my DS does stop & look up at certain commercials. Maybe I should think about the radio, CD's, or tapes for background noise! Watch the news after the kids are in bed. But I don't think I could go without Trading Spaces or Clean Sweep!

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 05:30 pm:

When my 14yo was almost 2 (August birthday and this was a summertime commercial), she loved the Pepsi commercial (They're out there having fun in the hot California sun.) They had everyone in the commercial doing this funny thing with their hands. She loved that commercial and one time was spazzing out about something and then heard the song, stopped having her fit and went to watch the commercial! I can't remember anymore what she was even spazzing about, but I remember it became unimportant when that commercial came on.

By Texannie on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 05:31 pm:

You will realize the power of commercials at Christmas when you child can recite them word for word!!

By Colette on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 05:44 pm:

Interesting topic. I only allowed my kids to watch pbs when they were younger, I started to allow them to watch Nickelodeon, until my ds told me what kind of detergent I should be buying. That stopped me cold. Dh and I do not watch mainstream tv. We watch some british comedies - but not around the kids, discovery, TLC, etc. But we really don't watch tv much at all and it can be days before the thing is turned on (and then it's usually to watch a movie we rented). I do not watch news programs when the kids are around, they are to violent and a lot of the news shows are very biased. When my kids now watch something other than PBS, like TLC or Discovery, they mute the commercials - they do this on their own, without prompting. I read to them every single day, until they were old enough to read on their own (I still read to my 6 yr old - even though she can read on her own). I tried to foster a love of books and I think it has worked.

By Amecmom on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 05:49 pm:

Enjoyment of TV and love of books are not mutually exclusive. I love to read and I enjoy certain TV programs. My son loves books and will sit for 10 (or as many as I can stand) in a row. He also likes certain tv shows - the ones I let him watch. IMHO, I don't think this has to be an either or proposition.
Ame

By Pamt on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 05:53 pm:

Some TV watching tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

http://www.aap.org/family/smarttv.htm

By Colette on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 06:23 pm:

I never suggested a love of books was an either/or situation. I was just stating that my kids prefer reading over electronic media.

By Carolk on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 06:34 pm:

I'm with you Colette. I only let my 5 year old watch PBS and Noggin(until the older shows come on). They don't show any commercials for toys. When he would watch Nickelodeon, he was constantly bugging me about wanting this toy or wanting that toy. Even cereal and candy too. So now it's strictly PBS or Noggin. We also get the PBS kids channel. One of his favorites is Between the Lions.

By Amecmom on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 07:32 pm:

I'm sorry, Colette, I thought that's what you were implying. I'm glad to hear your children are good readers. I hope my son turns out to be, also.
One thing I think we have to consider is that we live in a media based society and TV savvy is like a language kids have to learn. I think TV has been wonderful for children and adults who are not good readers, but who want to learn. It has also contributed some pretty lousy things to our culture (reality shows, game shows where people eat bugs, etc), but it gives us some common ground as a society, something to make small talk about.
It also gives children some common ground. They can play, "Clifford" or "Dora". They can talk about stories on TV just as they can talk about stories they read or hear. They can learn about and see and hear things we could never teach them without it. I have never seen TV as bad or good. It's the way it's used that makes or breaks it.
One funny thing is that my toddler recognizes the letter "M" because of McDonalds - which sponsors Playhouse Disney. He sees a letter M on a sign and says, in his little toddler voice, "M! MacGoggles!"
So, you bet, I'm keeping him away from commercials, especially at Christmas!
Ame

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 07:57 pm:

My kids both love to read. We went to the library many times when they were little and I read to them a lot! Of course, I love to read, too. They do see me reading once in a while. Somedays, I just don't have time or I'm too tired. It is fun sometimes when we all read the same books and can discuss them, like Harry Potter and the Dave Pelzer books (A Child Called It, The Lost Child, and A Man Called Dave).

My 14yo had to do a book report earlier in the year on a non-fiction book. We got A Child Called It. (Library was already closed for the weekend, so we went to the store and bought a paperback book). Since all three of us have read all three books now, we have had lots of discussions and all of us can't believe what his mom did to him when he was a kid.

Sorry this got so off-topic.

By Kate on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 08:13 pm:

Wow, Dawn! How did your girls handle those books? I just read them in my early thirties and couldn't handle them! Were they subdued or upset at all?

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 09:36 pm:

Sarah doesn't say much (14yo). Emily was upset and mad at the mother. No nightmares or anything, though. We keep wondering what made the mom treat him like that. It has made for some interesting discussions.

I know I was haunted by the images of what his mom did to him for a week or two. I'm more settled now. I can't imagine withholding food from my kids and I can't imagine beating them up, either. The first book was the hardest to read. The others weren't quite so bad once you got past the prologue.

By Kate on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 11:13 pm:

I think the single most chilling moment for me was when she locked him in the bathroom with the bleach fumes or whatever, saying she had read about it in the newspaper. She had read about some other child abuser and what was done to that child, and she was taking tips and doing it to David. I mean, it was ALL horrible, but the whole calculated plan there was sick...to have read about it and thought 'hmmmm....I can't wait to try that one on him!!'

Dave was in my town a few months ago doing a signing, but I didn't go. I'm not sure I'd want to see him or meet him. His story was just so horrific that I think I'd need to keep my distance. NOT that I don't think he's an incredible person, but I'm not nearly as strong as he is and it would bother me to see the actual person behind the books. Know what I mean??

Sorry to be so off topic!!

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 11:29 pm:

Yes, that episode really freaked me out. She did that more than once, too.

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 06:14 am:

I always keep the radio on for background noise. My kids were allowed 1 hour of TV a day during the school week, maybe 2 hours during vacation, and Saturday morning TV from when they got up until I got up (when they were old enough that this was safe). And occasional specials that they would enjoy. And except for Saturday mornings I sat with them when they watched TV and commented about the programs and commercials. Plus, even in their allowed hour and allowed Saturday mornings, I previewed the shows and there was a long list of programs they were not allowed to watch, for violence and tastelessness and other kinds of unsuitability. The only exception was when a kid was home and really sick, needing to be lying down most of the day. Even then only certain shows were allowed, usually PBS. None of them are big TV people now.

I remember when one of my nephews was about 6 and having real problems with school and was diagnosed with a learning disability - the pediatrician told his mother (my ex - thank heaven - sister-in-law) that he should not watch TV as it interfered with his learning how to concentrate. Her response was "but I have to watch my programs!"!!!

I watch very little TV myself. There aren't many shows that I feel are worth my time more than a book or things I want to do or the internet (MV especially). And I find so many of the commercials offensive.

By Emily7 on Thursday, April 22, 2004 - 10:36 am:

I made the mistake of reading that series of books when I was pregnant with my DS. I can't image what he went through! So many people would have used that as an excuse.