There was an article in the Ottawa Citizen this week that I can’t link to yet again, but I can link you to the original source, the Washington Post. The article was about the controversy around Sesame Beginnings, a new DVD series developed for babies between six months and two years old, featuring baby versions of favourite Sesame Street characters including Big Bird, Elmo, and Cookie Monster. (Didn’t we already do that in the 80s? Or am I just imagining Sesame Babies?)
The DVDs were developed in a partnership between Sesame Workshop and the non-profit child development and advocacy program Zero to Three. As a parent, with a staggering array of children’s entertainment to choose from, I’ll happily choose something developed by organizations who are reputable in the field of childhood education, rather than simply mass entertainment (call off your libel dogs, I never mentioned Disney or Fox Kids in particular). I don’t suffer from the delusion that they’re completely altruistic, but I’m comforted to know that a pioneer like Sesame Workshop is behind the scenes.
There’s a rash of companies on the market in the last five years or so, trying to sell you products to build a smarter baby. Flash cards for three month olds, classical music in-utero… if you have money to burn, there’s a whole market out there full of questionable products for you.
We have a shelf full of Baby Einstein videos. We didn’t buy them because we thought they would make the boys smarter, or that we would give their early learning a kick-start. We bought them (actually, we received most of them as gifts) because the kids loved to watch them. They would both sit peacefully for 20 or 30 minutes and watch the harmless images of dancing puppets or oddly psychedelic spinning toys, giving me the chance to throw together whatever was passing for dinner that night, or toss on a load of laundry, or, god-forbid, take a shower. (whispers) I even used to put them on just so I could read the paper and have a cup of coffee in peace. Scandalous, isn’t it?
That’s why I like the idea behind the Sesame Beginnings DVDs. I grew up on a healthy daily dose of Sesame Street and I’m fine if my kids grow up on it, too. I’m not naive enough to believe they’ll help the boys ace their college entrance exams, but if it buys an overwhelmed mother a few minutes of sanity, I’m all for it. And for what it’s worth, ask my mother some time; she’ll insist that I graduated university magna cum laude and could read by the time I was four in no small part due to the positive influence of Grover, Oscar, Ernie and Bert.
According to the Post article, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under two should not be allowed to watch any television whatsoever. I think this is an unreasonable expectation and puts an unjust burden of guilt and fear onto parents who are just trying to get through the day. Just yesterday I admitted that I worry that we watch a little bit too much TV – but I cannot fathom a world where Simon would just be getting his first exposure to television today, at the age of 25 months. There’s a happy middle ground, I’m sure.
The Canadian Pediatric Society has taken a more reasonable stance on this one. In a position statement on media use by children, they point out that Canadian kids do watch excessive amounts of television, and that can contribute to childhood obesity and other problems. However, they are more realistic in their acknowledgement that TV can also be used as a learning tool for the very young:
Television can be a powerful teacher. Watching Sesame Street is an example of how toddlers can learn valuable lessons about racial harmony, cooperation, kindness, simple arithmetic and the alphabet through an educational television format. Some public television programs stimulate visits to the zoo, libraries, bookstores, museums and other active recreational settings, and educational videos can certainly serve as powerful prosocial teaching devices. The educational value of Sesame Street, has been shown to improve the reading and learning skills of its viewers. In some disadvantaged settings, healthy television habits may actually be a beneficial teaching tool.
So there you go. My guys are a little beyond the target age for the new Sesame Beginnings DVDs, but I wouldn’t hesistate to check them out if the boys were younger. And I’ve still got some thinking to do on the amount of TV that gets consumed at our place, but with the warmer weather finally arriving, that too may be a problem that begins to resolve itself.
What about you? How much TV do your kids watch, and from what age? Do you give any credence to the argument that all TV is bad TV, or do you justify the fact that your kids might watch a lot of TV but at least it’s not commercial TV? Is 30 minutes of TV as detrimental to your bright-eyed baby as the forces of guilt would lead you to believe? ‘Fess up – it wasn’t an accident that time you hit “play continuously” instead of “play once”, was it?
OH dear I always felt Like I used the t.v as a baby sitter while I did something else in peace and quite. Sometimes I’m embrassed to say that my t.v has been on all day. BOTH my kids were exposed to alot of t.v at early ages. I never got the baby WHATEVER video’s. BUT I did make sure they watched commercail free t.v. WHO COULD NOT LOVE MR. DRESSUP? Like common’ people! he was sooo cool!
And NOW Nathan finds t.v BORING and will not watch much kids shows anymore at 4 1/2. He doesn’t like many cartoons other thatn Tractor Tom and Bugs bunny. He’s rather watch How it’s made and Mean Machines. AND I find now he turns the t.v. off and goes off and plays. Drive me nuts at time when I would need him to sit quite and I need to get something done.
I guess he was never mesmorized by it. BUT Both my kids don’t see me infront of the t.v very much CAUSE I find it boring. rather read. (Jack Reads and watches t.v at the same time)
I guess I have guilt for leaving it on and letting him watch some stuff and not being creative enough or displined enough to figure out a way to get him to do something else while I got something done. Sometimes I feel the guilt that I don’t spend as much time with him as I should. I guess i’m not Super mom after all.
hugs
OH dear I always felt Like I used the t.v as a baby sitter while I did something else in peace and quite. Sometimes I’m embrassed to say that my t.v has been on all day. BOTH my kids were exposed to alot of t.v at early ages. I never got the baby WHATEVER video’s. BUT I did make sure they watched commercail free t.v. WHO COULD NOT LOVE MR. DRESSUP? Like common’ people! he was sooo cool!
And NOW Nathan finds t.v BORING and will not watch much kids shows anymore at 4 1/2. He doesn’t like many cartoons other thatn Tractor Tom and Bugs bunny. He’s rather watch How it’s made and Mean Machines. AND I find now he turns the t.v. off and goes off and plays. Drive me nuts at time when I would need him to sit quite and I need to get something done.
I guess he was never mesmorized by it. BUT Both my kids don’t see me infront of the t.v very much CAUSE I find it boring. rather read. (Jack Reads and watches t.v at the same time)
I guess I have guilt for leaving it on and letting him watch some stuff and not being creative enough or displined enough to figure out a way to get him to do something else while I got something done. Sometimes I feel the guilt that I don’t spend as much time with him as I should. I guess i’m not Super mom after all.
hugs
It’s tough, especially in the colder months. Since we switched to satellite tv (from the evil scumsucking bastards who call themselves ‘cablevision’ but are actually minions of Satan), we got Noggin, and The Boy loves it. It’s a PBS spinoff with no commercials. “Jack’s Big Music Show” is a fave — The Boy and The Girl dance together, which is too sweet for words.
We limit tv, but we don’t eliminate it. I think a parent frazzled beyond recognition does far more damage than a little Cookie Monster.
It’s tough, especially in the colder months. Since we switched to satellite tv (from the evil scumsucking bastards who call themselves ‘cablevision’ but are actually minions of Satan), we got Noggin, and The Boy loves it. It’s a PBS spinoff with no commercials. “Jack’s Big Music Show” is a fave — The Boy and The Girl dance together, which is too sweet for words.
We limit tv, but we don’t eliminate it. I think a parent frazzled beyond recognition does far more damage than a little Cookie Monster.
What an intelligent post! How well written! It’s lovely. I got nothin’ today.
What an intelligent post! How well written! It’s lovely. I got nothin’ today.
my mom also credits sesame street as one of the contributing factors to my being able to read at a 4th grade level in kindergarten. I think it has to do with putting me in a ‘nursery’ that was really my dad’s study with bookshelves upon bookshelves as my wall art rather than winnie the poo.
my mom also credits sesame street as one of the contributing factors to my being able to read at a 4th grade level in kindergarten. I think it has to do with putting me in a ‘nursery’ that was really my dad’s study with bookshelves upon bookshelves as my wall art rather than winnie the poo.
My TV is on almost all day. Probably more for noise than anything else. Jo loves Dora and prefers the shorter versions of Play With me Sesame and Global Grover to the full hour of Sesame Street. I’ve always had the TV on and she did and still enjoys the Baby Einstien Videos. At 30 months she can sing her alphabet and the only part that she can’t do it “LMNOP” it comes out as “nmnop”, she can count to 10 and beyond, knows all her colors, shapes and can spell her full name when she’s in the mood. She rarely sits in front of the TV for more than 15 minutes at a time. We also have the truck equipped with a DVD thanks to her Uncle so I am guilty of using it as a sitter at times. Do the kids need as much TV as they watch? It’s a huge debate, but knowing that our kids are developing normally is all that counts right? Jumping and running in 3 languages tells me that all is well and I’m not worried!
My TV is on almost all day. Probably more for noise than anything else. Jo loves Dora and prefers the shorter versions of Play With me Sesame and Global Grover to the full hour of Sesame Street. I’ve always had the TV on and she did and still enjoys the Baby Einstien Videos. At 30 months she can sing her alphabet and the only part that she can’t do it “LMNOP” it comes out as “nmnop”, she can count to 10 and beyond, knows all her colors, shapes and can spell her full name when she’s in the mood. She rarely sits in front of the TV for more than 15 minutes at a time. We also have the truck equipped with a DVD thanks to her Uncle so I am guilty of using it as a sitter at times. Do the kids need as much TV as they watch? It’s a huge debate, but knowing that our kids are developing normally is all that counts right? Jumping and running in 3 languages tells me that all is well and I’m not worried!
I’m on the fence about the too much tv. thing. We have it on a lot here too. Sometimes it is watched, sometimes it is on in the background. But, when I do say no or no more, there are no arguements. My eldest sister used to curb the kids tv watching to two hours a day. When the tv was on you couldn’t move those kids for anything in the world. They were glued to it.
We use a healthy dose here, I think. I have certain shows that I don’t like on and I try to stick to the non commercial stuff. But “J” does love his Einstein videos and he is really into Toy Story.
TV won’t be going away anytime soon so it’s either beat them or join them around here 🙂
I’m on the fence about the too much tv. thing. We have it on a lot here too. Sometimes it is watched, sometimes it is on in the background. But, when I do say no or no more, there are no arguements. My eldest sister used to curb the kids tv watching to two hours a day. When the tv was on you couldn’t move those kids for anything in the world. They were glued to it.
We use a healthy dose here, I think. I have certain shows that I don’t like on and I try to stick to the non commercial stuff. But “J” does love his Einstein videos and he is really into Toy Story.
TV won’t be going away anytime soon so it’s either beat them or join them around here 🙂
First of all, what an intelligent post.
Mark doesn’t watch any tv, yet unless he is really is paying attention during Good Morning America. You shouldn’t feel bad if your kids watch tv as long as they have a well balanced day otherwise. And I don’t think there is a perfect minimum or maximum time period to watch. Just as long as it isn’t all day. It is like a diet. If you eat your veges and have a well rounded diet, it is fine if you have a candy bar or french fries. And there are some candy bars that are better for you than others. ;P
First of all, what an intelligent post.
Mark doesn’t watch any tv, yet unless he is really is paying attention during Good Morning America. You shouldn’t feel bad if your kids watch tv as long as they have a well balanced day otherwise. And I don’t think there is a perfect minimum or maximum time period to watch. Just as long as it isn’t all day. It is like a diet. If you eat your veges and have a well rounded diet, it is fine if you have a candy bar or french fries. And there are some candy bars that are better for you than others. ;P
Excellent post! I think Ask Moxie hit the nail on the head with her recent post.
“As long as he gets real caring attention from you when the TV’s not on, he’s in better shape than kids are who have no TV exposure but also not as much focused attention from adults.”
Excellent post! I think Ask Moxie hit the nail on the head with her recent post.
“As long as he gets real caring attention from you when the TV’s not on, he’s in better shape than kids are who have no TV exposure but also not as much focused attention from adults.”
Brilliant post! I especially love your thoughts on the AAP’s recommendation on TV for kids under two. The AAP definitely created a lot of guilt for me. My son loved Baby Einstein (he used to watch one video per day so I could make dinner), and if there was no Dora, I would never get to shower. And if he’s up before 6:00 a.m., the TV saves my sanity. Did you read the article on TV in Today’s Parent? It pointed out the AAP made that recommendation without any studies to back it up.
Brilliant post! I especially love your thoughts on the AAP’s recommendation on TV for kids under two. The AAP definitely created a lot of guilt for me. My son loved Baby Einstein (he used to watch one video per day so I could make dinner), and if there was no Dora, I would never get to shower. And if he’s up before 6:00 a.m., the TV saves my sanity. Did you read the article on TV in Today’s Parent? It pointed out the AAP made that recommendation without any studies to back it up.
Great topic, Dani. John M. doesn’t watch TV at home; he’s always too busy tearing the house up for that. He does watch it at the babysitter’s house though. He loves Barney and she tells me he’ll sit through an entire episode without barely a blink. I’m sure she uses it as a ‘babysitter’ to get things done. I know I would, if he would watch it with me! I think it’s fine, if it’s in small intervals at a time. My girs . . they’re another story. They are addicted to so many Disney and Nick shows, I can’t keep up!
Great topic, Dani. John M. doesn’t watch TV at home; he’s always too busy tearing the house up for that. He does watch it at the babysitter’s house though. He loves Barney and she tells me he’ll sit through an entire episode without barely a blink. I’m sure she uses it as a ‘babysitter’ to get things done. I know I would, if he would watch it with me! I think it’s fine, if it’s in small intervals at a time. My girs . . they’re another story. They are addicted to so many Disney and Nick shows, I can’t keep up!
Great post! My 13 month old daughter has no use for Baby Einstien or Dora or Dragon Tales (not that I haven’t tried!) but will sit through the entire “Don’t ya” music video by the Pusscat Dolls (it’s her first act of rebellion against me). I really thought that she had no use for tv. Until last week, we came home from daycare and Jaimie was playing on the floor with her and she toddled over to the tv and turned it on. Then she went back toplaying with Jaimie. Guess she likes the background noise.
Great post! My 13 month old daughter has no use for Baby Einstien or Dora or Dragon Tales (not that I haven’t tried!) but will sit through the entire “Don’t ya” music video by the Pusscat Dolls (it’s her first act of rebellion against me). I really thought that she had no use for tv. Until last week, we came home from daycare and Jaimie was playing on the floor with her and she toddled over to the tv and turned it on. Then she went back toplaying with Jaimie. Guess she likes the background noise.
I love your commenters! (and you too of course) TV for babies/toddlers is one of those issues that makes me break out in hives. I have a VERY active, curious, intelligent, opinionated, easily bored little boy. I also had some pretty bad, undiagnosed post partum depression that started up when he was 5 months old (thankfully I’m past that now). That combination meant that I had to give up on my idealistic goal to never turn the TV on because of the AAP recommendations. I chose to do this “wrong” and “harmful” thinkg because I just couldn’t survive without it. Oh the guilt!
By the time he was 10 months old he was asking for full-length films like Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc. He would (and still does) watch the entire movie from start to finish, concentrating intently and then talking to me about the story when it finished. He was nine months old people!
He’s now 2 years old and loves to watch TV and movies. I’ve finally let go of the guilt and embraced TV as part of our lives. It’s not on all the time. We always talk about what he watches. We play. We read. I do all of those loving, interactive things “good” mothers are supposed to do. Reading reasonable posts like yours and reasonable comments from your lovely readers helps me believe that I’m doing a good job. Thank you.
I love your commenters! (and you too of course) TV for babies/toddlers is one of those issues that makes me break out in hives. I have a VERY active, curious, intelligent, opinionated, easily bored little boy. I also had some pretty bad, undiagnosed post partum depression that started up when he was 5 months old (thankfully I’m past that now). That combination meant that I had to give up on my idealistic goal to never turn the TV on because of the AAP recommendations. I chose to do this “wrong” and “harmful” thinkg because I just couldn’t survive without it. Oh the guilt!
By the time he was 10 months old he was asking for full-length films like Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc. He would (and still does) watch the entire movie from start to finish, concentrating intently and then talking to me about the story when it finished. He was nine months old people!
He’s now 2 years old and loves to watch TV and movies. I’ve finally let go of the guilt and embraced TV as part of our lives. It’s not on all the time. We always talk about what he watches. We play. We read. I do all of those loving, interactive things “good” mothers are supposed to do. Reading reasonable posts like yours and reasonable comments from your lovely readers helps me believe that I’m doing a good job. Thank you.
Nine months, ten months, eh you know what I mean.
Nine months, ten months, eh you know what I mean.
TV was never really forbidden when I was a kid, but we never had cable tv (I’m still using rabbit ears now that I’m on my own) and TV was something you watched when you were exhausted from running around the park, climbing trees, reading, and everything else. I loved sesame street, Mr. Dressup, polkaroo, and the friendly giant (I actually grew up a 10 minute drive from where he lived!).
As a naive, child-less person I definitely don’t think using TV regularly as a babysitter is such a great idea. The baby einstein video I saw creeped me out (it could be that I’m above their suggested viewing area). I agree, though that if kids (especially very young kids) are going to watch TV in moderation, I put more emphasis on the commercial-free programming and more educational shows.
TV was never really forbidden when I was a kid, but we never had cable tv (I’m still using rabbit ears now that I’m on my own) and TV was something you watched when you were exhausted from running around the park, climbing trees, reading, and everything else. I loved sesame street, Mr. Dressup, polkaroo, and the friendly giant (I actually grew up a 10 minute drive from where he lived!).
As a naive, child-less person I definitely don’t think using TV regularly as a babysitter is such a great idea. The baby einstein video I saw creeped me out (it could be that I’m above their suggested viewing area). I agree, though that if kids (especially very young kids) are going to watch TV in moderation, I put more emphasis on the commercial-free programming and more educational shows.
OMG I know my guys were ‘watching’ the weather channel and CNN as early as a few weeks. Mostly cause it was just on and likely the colours/tickers grabbed their interest. We started the Einsteins around 6 months and never looked back. They STILL ask to watch the farm or dolphin ones on occasion.
My father is convinced that I learned to count and my alphabet from Sesame Street.
We don’t watch a lot, depends on the day, anywhere from 30 mins – 2 hours, usually split between early morning (so I can shower) and late afternoon (so I can make supper).
Oh dear, I am such a terrible terrible parent for letting Barney teach my kids to look both ways when crossing the street.
Spank me.
OMG I know my guys were ‘watching’ the weather channel and CNN as early as a few weeks. Mostly cause it was just on and likely the colours/tickers grabbed their interest. We started the Einsteins around 6 months and never looked back. They STILL ask to watch the farm or dolphin ones on occasion.
My father is convinced that I learned to count and my alphabet from Sesame Street.
We don’t watch a lot, depends on the day, anywhere from 30 mins – 2 hours, usually split between early morning (so I can shower) and late afternoon (so I can make supper).
Oh dear, I am such a terrible terrible parent for letting Barney teach my kids to look both ways when crossing the street.
Spank me.
Also wanted to add that I too, read this article in our paper, but can’ really attest to ‘reading’ it cause I was so disgusted at the claims I never finished it.
Excellent post Miss Dani!!
Also wanted to add that I too, read this article in our paper, but can’ really attest to ‘reading’ it cause I was so disgusted at the claims I never finished it.
Excellent post Miss Dani!!
When my kids were small, we did not have a television. It was a small house and the sound of the television would have driven me crazy. I can’t stand background noise. My kids have watched very little television, mainly because I don’t like television myself.
When my kids were small, we did not have a television. It was a small house and the sound of the television would have driven me crazy. I can’t stand background noise. My kids have watched very little television, mainly because I don’t like television myself.
That’s been on my mind all week. I sit Ava in front of Baby Mozart once a day, usually. Started when she was about 6 months, reached daily habit status about a month ago (she’s 9 months as of today).
I just don’t think it hurts them to watch a show or two a day, that’s meant for their age group. Sometimes I just dont’ get the AAP, and this is one of those times.
That’s been on my mind all week. I sit Ava in front of Baby Mozart once a day, usually. Started when she was about 6 months, reached daily habit status about a month ago (she’s 9 months as of today).
I just don’t think it hurts them to watch a show or two a day, that’s meant for their age group. Sometimes I just dont’ get the AAP, and this is one of those times.
My 5-month old is too young for TV, but when she gets older, my husband and I have agreed that there will be limits. We have not been presumptuous enough to pre-set those limits, however, because I think a lot will depend on her reaction to TV exposure and other factors (like how much I truly need the TV to save my sanity, etc).
I think it depends a lot on the child, and that generally if you’re keeping an eye on things, you can tell if your kid is being overexposed to TV. For instance, my brother was born with some addictive personality disorders, and TV/Video Games were detrimental to him. He got to the point where the teachers began calling my parents because he wasn’t able to answer a question in school without relating it to a video game or tv show. To this day, he can quote every entire episode of Family Guy and a lot of his contribution to conversations start with “That reminds me of this one epsiode where…” – I think the amount of TV truely lessened his quality of life and interaction therein.
I, however, am not so succeptible to TV addiction and I don’t think the TV I watched really had that great of an impact on me. As typical of an older child, my parents were also a little more strict about not letting me watch more than a limited amount.
It’s been my experience that “TOO MUCH” TV is a bad thing, but I don’t think there’s any way to determine how much is TOO MUCH for the general population. I think it varies too much per child, but the signs of overexposure are there if you’re paying attention.
My 5-month old is too young for TV, but when she gets older, my husband and I have agreed that there will be limits. We have not been presumptuous enough to pre-set those limits, however, because I think a lot will depend on her reaction to TV exposure and other factors (like how much I truly need the TV to save my sanity, etc).
I think it depends a lot on the child, and that generally if you’re keeping an eye on things, you can tell if your kid is being overexposed to TV. For instance, my brother was born with some addictive personality disorders, and TV/Video Games were detrimental to him. He got to the point where the teachers began calling my parents because he wasn’t able to answer a question in school without relating it to a video game or tv show. To this day, he can quote every entire episode of Family Guy and a lot of his contribution to conversations start with “That reminds me of this one epsiode where…” – I think the amount of TV truely lessened his quality of life and interaction therein.
I, however, am not so succeptible to TV addiction and I don’t think the TV I watched really had that great of an impact on me. As typical of an older child, my parents were also a little more strict about not letting me watch more than a limited amount.
It’s been my experience that “TOO MUCH” TV is a bad thing, but I don’t think there’s any way to determine how much is TOO MUCH for the general population. I think it varies too much per child, but the signs of overexposure are there if you’re paying attention.
Wow! Great feedback… guess this subject touches a nerve, eh?
Dean Dad, now tell us what you *really* think of cablevision!
niks, very interesting about the AAP recommendations – I think I might still have that issue of TP, I’ll look it up. Thanks!
Sally, your comments made me feel really good about myself, and my decisions. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Heather, I used to be opposed to the theory of TV as babysitter as well, until I had kids and was stuck in the house for hours by myself and desperate for a shower or ten minutes of peace and there was nobody else volunteering to do the babysitter thing!
Nancy – you got a genuine snort of laughter with ‘spank me’. You naughty girl!
SuperMom, you’re right – and the basis of your argument and mine are the same, that while no TV may be an idealistic goal, TV in moderation is a realistic one.
Wow, such great comments! (And I won’t even take it personally that so many of you deemed it necessary to comment that this post was particularly ‘intelligent’. I’m trying to refrain from asking myself, ‘As opposed to what, my usual drivel??” 😉
Wow! Great feedback… guess this subject touches a nerve, eh?
Dean Dad, now tell us what you *really* think of cablevision!
niks, very interesting about the AAP recommendations – I think I might still have that issue of TP, I’ll look it up. Thanks!
Sally, your comments made me feel really good about myself, and my decisions. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Heather, I used to be opposed to the theory of TV as babysitter as well, until I had kids and was stuck in the house for hours by myself and desperate for a shower or ten minutes of peace and there was nobody else volunteering to do the babysitter thing!
Nancy – you got a genuine snort of laughter with ‘spank me’. You naughty girl!
SuperMom, you’re right – and the basis of your argument and mine are the same, that while no TV may be an idealistic goal, TV in moderation is a realistic one.
Wow, such great comments! (And I won’t even take it personally that so many of you deemed it necessary to comment that this post was particularly ‘intelligent’. I’m trying to refrain from asking myself, ‘As opposed to what, my usual drivel??” 😉