| TV can be one of the worst influences on your child. But that
doesn't mean that it has to be! By following these tips you can
help your child get the benefits TV without becoming a dazed
little "couch potato."
1. Establish limits on how much television your children watch.
You should do this at a very young age but even if your child is
older and has already got used to watching too much television
it is not too late to start putting limits on TV watching time.
It is recommended that children under age 18 months do not watch
television at all. While this may be difficult for you if you
are a couch potato yourself, you may find that cutting back on
TV is good for you as well.
For children between the age of 18 months and three years of
age, I recommend no more than 1/2 hour of TV per day. And for
that 1/2 hour you should choose something such as Mr. Rogers'
Neighborhood.
For children between the ages of 3 years and 6 years old, I
recommend setting the limit at 1 hour of television per day.
After age 6 you can set the limit at 2 hours. That should be
good limit for your child throughout their developmental period.
Once they get to their teen years you may want to become more
lenient as teens may rebel against too much control.
2. Watch television with your child instead of just leaving them
to watch it by themselves. When you watch the TV with your
child, they are less likely to go into a harmful "TV trance."
It's good for you and your child to discuss what is on the
screen. This will make the experience more thought provoking.
3.Never offer television as a reward. You shouldn't associate
television as something that "good children" get to watch. You
should also not use taking away television as a punishment. When
you use TV as a punishment or as a reward it places too much
importance on TV in the first place.
4. Set a positive example. If you watch a lot of television then
obviously it will be much harder to convince your kids not to do
the same. Cutting back on television is not only a great thing
for kids, it's a great thing for adults as well. When you are
more plugged into life and less plugged into mindless television
then you will be a better parent and a better person all around.
5. Select non commercial programming for your kids to watch. The
most harmful part of TV for kids isn't the programs themselves,
it's the commercials which teach them to desire junk (both junk
food and junk toys.) Either have your children watch PBS shows
only or have them watch DVDs that are free of commercials!
Commercials truly rot the brains of children. Make sure your
children are as free of advertising as possible.
The negative impact of commercials is hard to calculate. I think
it's possible that a large portion of today's child obesity
problems stem from commercials which make children desire junk
food. Obviously making sure your children eat healthy is another
topic but I do think that by making sure your kids don't watch a
lot of television commercials you will be able to lower their
desire for bad food which will make it that much easier to get
them eating healthy foods.
About the author:
Lisa P. Quesenberry is an expert on child development who
contributes to the baby
blog.
She recommends that you buy baby backpacks & find
babysitters online. |
