A child watching TV. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
According to psychological research it does matter how much TV your children watch. One study found that the number of hours of TV watched between 1 and 3 years old was linked with attentional problems at aged 7. Psychologists suggest that this is because real life does not move as quickly as the animated cartoons on television and that if young children are allowed to watch these animations, they find real life slower and more boring. TV watching is not only linked with attentional problems but also increased aggression. This is not surprising when so many cartoons contain violence, just think of all those superheroes using violence to get rid of the bad guys. Children are very impressionable and are easily influenced by the characters they see on TV. However, this is the kind of research that I wish I could ignore as it makes life much more difficult for me. I would much rather put on the TV than spend time pushing trains round a train track with my 3-year-old. Unfortunately, this is where knowing too much psychology is a bad thing as I can’t help but feel guilty about allowing my son to watch too much TV. I promised myself I wouldn’t buy a DVD player for the car before my son was born but it was the only way to get me through long journeys with him and still have my sanity. I bought the DVD player when he was 9 months old after two journeys with him screaming on the motorway to get out of his car seat. However, I have tried to reduce TV watching time a home. This is not easy especially when I am trying to get dressed in the morning or cook dinner at night. With no TV to babysit my son, I have had to get quite inventive when cooking. I have ended up getting my son to measure out the spices or herbs into a bowl, which takes twice as long and makes a huge mess. I have also given my son play dough so that he can pretend he is cutting vegetables when I am doing it. I accept I might be slightly overdoing it and making life hard for myself but that is the cost of being a mum who knows too much psychology.
Mar 28, 2012 @ 20:46:37
I was never going to get a car dvd player for my kids but only a few days ago when discussing our summer vacation with my husband, I actually suggested picking one up. We will be driving nine hours and we are planning to drive at night while they are sleeping but what if!? The frugal fact is I’m too cheap to buy one.
We have a turkey crock pot in the cupboard my boy cooks supper in with plastic containers and a couple of potatos. He will turn the knob and explain to me how he is cooking supper and putting the timer on.
This post sure does make sense! Thank you!
Mar 29, 2012 @ 21:53:44
A DVD player may be needed for a nine hour journey! You can try your best to avoid too much TV but sometimes it is needed for everyone’s sanity.
Mar 29, 2012 @ 01:02:29
Then there was education tools books and now the iPad…with games I can supervise and help with, like physics, reading, etc.I could soup today, and had my grandson talk me through his strategy he used to get Swampy his water(Where’s my Water? ) thanks Igamemom!
I still allow some tv, but we make it special, we also only watch low key, what I call slow tv. I use my, ” Who are the characters, what is their problem, how did they solve it? ” to make tv interactive.
Much worse than (regulated doses) of good -type tv for teachers, are the newer video games, where a child leaves the zone all together. I tried to teach kids addicted to gaming…and I was seriously a really fun teacher, those videos are tough on teachers!
My own girls, parents now, did not play video games. They have chosen
Educational and supervised tv and a single ( quiet) video game that is over 20 years old that my son in law, saved from his childhood and now plays with his son.
Mar 29, 2012 @ 21:56:31
I agree that computer games can be worse than TV. I guess it all depends on the type of TV or computer game-some computer games are very violent. I wrote a post on computer games previously if you are interested in reading it.
Apr 23, 2012 @ 16:02:15
Eek. Just read this whilst my daughter is sat next to me watching a DVD. We have just sat and read books together though!! I had’t thought about the fast-pace angle I must admit. She didn’t watch any TV at all until she was 18 months, but the amount has crept up since she realised how much she liked it and since I realised I could actually get stuff done whilst she is occupied – unfortunately I don’t have a child who plays well on her own for more than five minutes – though Montessori nursery is helping with that!!
Having said all that, I was talking through my TV concerns with my neighbours who have 3 very bright, super lovely kids and they said that they’ve all watched huge amounts of TV in their lives. So, I worry less than I used to.
Apr 23, 2012 @ 19:35:15
It is impossible to get by without some TV, The amount of television my son watches has also crept up. However, the research reminds me not to let him watch too much. It would be so easy to let him watch it all day as he loves it so much. When I have been ill, I have really taken advantage of his telly addiction.