My wife is a Wheel of Fortune fanatic and so we watch it almost every day. Our 23-month tot LOVES watching it, claps when the audience claps, and tries to say the letters being called out. After dinner when I say "time for Wheel of Fortune", he yells "yay!"
I'm with ya'll in that TV ain't necessarily bad in small dosages. It can provide another way to interact with your child (i.e. "did you see LeBron bounce the basketball really fast? can you say "pick and roll?"), and it can be very educational (i.e. "look at that penguin!"). But I think it's all in moderation. It can't be hours and hours of just sitting the tot in front of the TV - at that point, I have to question whether their brains are being both overstimulated and underutilized at the same time.
I also do worry about the pervasiveness of advertising everywhere we go, but again, it's probably just a balance thing. I've heard of some parents who mute the commercials to talk to their kid about what they just saw. seems like a good idea, but I haven't got there yet.
I think we all probably know some parents who have a "no TV" rule, and obviously I respect that as well, as long as that time is being put to good use in some other way, too.
everything in moderation?
My wife is a Wheel of Fortune fanatic and so we watch it almost every day. Our 23-month tot LOVES watching it, claps when the audience claps, and tries to say the letters being called out. After dinner when I say "time for Wheel of Fortune", he yells "yay!"
I'm with ya'll in that TV ain't necessarily bad in small dosages. It can provide another way to interact with your child (i.e. "did you see LeBron bounce the basketball really fast? can you say "pick and roll?"), and it can be very educational (i.e. "look at that penguin!"). But I think it's all in moderation. It can't be hours and hours of just sitting the tot in front of the TV - at that point, I have to question whether their brains are being both overstimulated and underutilized at the same time.
I also do worry about the pervasiveness of advertising everywhere we go, but again, it's probably just a balance thing. I've heard of some parents who mute the commercials to talk to their kid about what they just saw. seems like a good idea, but I haven't got there yet.
I think we all probably know some parents who have a "no TV" rule, and obviously I respect that as well, as long as that time is being put to good use in some other way, too.