Toddlers and television -- how much is too much?

[MediumBrownDog]

I know that the American Academy of Pediatrics recently weighed in on this, citing studies which show that exposure to television at a young age increases the risk of ADHD. However, I'm trying to be realistic -- while I don't plop my 7 month old son in front of the television, there is one in our great room (combo den/kitchen/living/dining), where the family gathers 99% of the time. And, I must admit, I'm a news junkie and it is often on (okay, almost always on) when the baby is in the room. He doesn't sit and stare at it, mesmerized, but he will look at it if an interesting noise or a bright color captures his attention. Mostly, he plays with his toys, crawls around, or watches me cook.

We were raised on television, and my brother and I turned out okay. I'm conflicted. How much TV are you guys comfortable with around your kids?

[wildeyed]

1. I am extremely uncomfortable with TV around my kids

after reading about that study. Especially the youngest.

With my daughter, I didn't turn the TV on for her at all until sometime after her 1st, maybe closer to her second b-day. And I always rationed the amount of TV she was allowed to watch. But if I wanted to watch something, usually in the late afternoon, I would turn it on and not think about it.

My son was probably exposed to more children's TV at an earlier age because his sister watches some. But as soon as I read that study, I turned my TV off except during his naps and after the kids went to sleep.

My son is extremely high energy and has a shorter attention span that his sister naturally, so I feared that he would be more vulnerable to ADD. I saw an immediate improvement in his attention span and concentration as soon as I turn the TV off. And it was not like I watched all day before. It was going from TV on for maybe and 1-1/2 hours per day to 0 to 1/2 hour per day.

So that is my experience. If I had know about the study earlier, I would have done it differently with my daughter, too.

I struggle with rationing the TV almost everyday. I think it would be easier if we just got rid of it entirely, but my husband is not on-board with that.

[cally]

2. I'm a total news junkie

but I kept the news off when my kids were small. I think the violence and scare tactics are horrible for kids. Probably, bad for us too.

I always limited TV/video time to 1/2 to 1 hour a day. I often made exceptions to the rule but they had to earn it. For some time when my kids were older, they had to earn each 1/2 hour of TV with an hour of reading.

I grew up watching too much TV. I did my homework in front of the TV. I think TV is different today and worse for you. I think I never should have been allowed to to watch as much as I did.

[Sabriel]

3. Take a look at Joanne Cantor's book

It's called "Mommy, I'm Scared," and it discusses the impact TV can have on children. I took a class from the author when I was pregnant with my first, and I resolved never to have the TV on indiscriminantly when my kids were around. Yikes. They're 6 and 3 now, and neither one watches more than about 2 hours/week. They enjoy "Dragon Tales." Looooooove it, as Weezie would say.

[clyrc]

4. When I was pregnant with my second daughter

my oldest daughter was 2, and the only thing I could do was lie in front of the tv and watch it with her. I had really bad morning sickness for 7 months, and when I wasn't vomiting I was exhausted with anti-nausea medicine. I drifted in and out of sleep while she curled up with me and watched tv for hours, until her dad got home. I worried both about taking all the medicine to keep from vomiting and exposing my oldest to so much tv, but my oldest has an excellent attention span, and she's full of curiosity and creativity. ( All the medicine didn't seem to harm my charming younger daughter, either.) Of course, once I got into the routine of having a new baby and a pre-schooler, the oldest didn't watch so much tv.

[abelenkpe]

5. My parents only let us watch an hour a day

when I was growing up. I only ever really watch sports on TV and once I had Connor I noticed there were an awful lot of commercial breaks which bothered me. So we turned it off altogether. Since I work full time, and so does my hubby, we want to give our full attention to the time we do spend with our son. And honestly, I don't miss TV at all.