As a mom I'm pretty strict about TV -- as evidenced by the drawing my son did for a kindergarten Mother's Day project (a book of drawings in which, on another page, he said that I am as pretty as his sister's cat).
We have a lot of rules in our house about TV. There are limits as to how much TV the kids can watch -- and limits on the shows they can watch. There are no TVs in the bedrooms. It's supposed to be off completely on school days unless there are special circumstances ... and school days are when they sneak to watch, leading to circumstances like the one Liam drew.
As a pediatrician, I have my reasons for the rules. Watching TV for more than two hours a day raises the risk of obesity. Fast-paced TV shows like SpongeBob (one of Liam's favorites) interfere with executive function, which are crucial behavioral skills. Exposure to violence can increase aggression, and exposure to sexualized media can lead to kids having sex earlier. Better to just shut the gosh-darned thing off.
That's pretty much the messaging at most doctors' offices, including mine: TV is bad for you. The parents who keep it off are better parents (and those parents are very quick to agree). But here and there, I can't help wondering if we might be missing the point.
The thing is, TV isn't intrinsically bad. There is some good programming -- my husband is a Discovery Channel and History Channel junkie, and we've all learned things from watching them. Even when it's not necessarily educational programming, it can be fun and funny -- as a family, we've got a bunch of favorite SpongeBob scenes, and everyone likes The Daily Show. We have some nice family time watching TV, like movie night on Friday, or when my daughters and I watch Glee together. I really enjoyed TV as a kid -- I watched a lot of Brady Bunch, Mod Squad, Partridge Family and other such (silly) shows, and somehow made it to medical school.
And -- let's get real -- it can be very convenient sometimes. I know we're supposed to have our kids come cook with us or help us with chores instead of turning on the TV, but I don't always want my kids close to knives or the hot stove and it doesn't always work out when they fold and sort laundry. And on occasion, I need to make a truly uninterrupted phone call (they always seem to need me more when I'm on the phone than when I'm not). Turning on the TV for half an hour can sometimes make everything much more pleasant for everyone.
Don't get me wrong. I think it's scary that the average US kid spends at least 4 hours a day in front of a television set, some of them much more. Like I said, it's contributing to childhood obesity, and some of the shows they are watching just aren't good for their brain development or mental health.
But it's not TV itself that is the problem -- it's what they watch and what they don't do instead that is the problem. Lots of things in our kids' lives can be bad for them -- nearly everything can be a danger, if overdone or done improperly. Even the things we think of as healthy, like riding bikes (accidents happen) or playing sports (overuse injuries are on the rise) have their downsides. The point we sometimes miss is that with everything, moderation and thoughtfulness are key.
It's lives as a whole that matter. That's the lesson we all need to learn. If we focus too much on one thing without looking at everything else children do, and how they do it, we are going to miss important opportunities to make a difference.
I'm not saying that I'm necessarily going to loosen the rules in our house. Like I said, I have my reasons. But with every year I spend as a parent and a doctor I gain more of what is often hardest to have as either one: perspective. With every year, I realize a bit more that sometimes I just need to get over myself.
Follow Claire McCarthy, M.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@drClaire
So, first off, if you love your kids you'll buy them Motts and second, if you buy Motts you'll have something in common with Heidi.
The ad is just like the observations in this article.
Parent with common sense and love and you will have given your child the best possible childhood you could.
They get an hour or two a day of screen time during the school year - after homework is done. I will probably increase that by an hour once the school year is over. I may allow him to earn extra time by doing Algebra work over the summer. But having screen time limited made even my son into a dedicated reader. He reads a lot and far above his 6th grade level.
I have come to dislike most educational programs as well - too staged, too much focused on generating dramatic tension, and too little information. It doesn't really matter - History Channel, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, they all are following similar constraints / scripts.
But, most of the anti-TV rhetoric is essentially snobbery and elitism.
What bugs me is that, despite an interest in participating in sports, he won't watch sports. He won't trap the ball while playing soccer. I'd like for him to watch professional soccer to see that pro players trap the ball before kicking it, But he has no interest in watching soccer on TV, or football, basketball, or baseball for that matter.
Most of what I know about playing baseball I learned from playing with my father and listening to Lou Boudreau and Steve Stone offering playing tips during Cubs broadcasts.
(PS: I am a 38yr old male that is 6ft tall, and weighs only 145lbs... and I watch TV and eat fast food nonstop). GENETICS!!!!!
most of her tv time is separated through out the day, a hour in the morning(cause im NOT a morning person and i need some time to wake up) and 30mins-1hour while im making diner.....every now and then we'll watch a movie together after dinner as a family....95 out of 100 times she would much rather play outside then be inside watching tv...