Well, duh.

[jianantonic]

It's a testament to America's laziness that people actually believe this stuff is good for kids:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1650352,00.html?cnn=yes

I think parents buy into it because they want to believe it's okay - no, good - for the kid to actually plop them in front of a TV and let the electronic babysitter take over for a while.

Part of the reason I've never wanted kids is that I know it will be difficult to live up to my own high standards. One of those is no TV. I got reamed by a few parents I worked with at Massanutten when I stated that if I ever had kids, we wouldn't have a TV in the house. They talked about all these educational programs that are so good for the kids, and how I'd be depriving them of any fun, yadda yadda.

Um, hello? Are the woods not fun anymore? Oh, right, there are no woods anymore. Because people decided it was okay to live in their little boxes, staring at their little boxes, and let the slightly less lazy people come in and take away all the nature. You know, the stuff that's actually good for kids.

Anyway I'm not saying I would forbid my future spawn from ever watching TV. It's not that I think the violence and sex will scar them for life - it's just that if they ever need to learn anything, I want to be the one who teaches them. And I want them to experience things, not watch someone else do it. It's just not the same, and the article states - it's also not effective.

I haven't had a TV in over a year. I certainly miss watching the Daily Show, but I know that if I had cable, I'd watch far more than just Jon Stewart. I'd get sucked into all that stupid celebrity gossip and reality shows and all that other shit that I'd settle for from my couch instead of going out, exercising, and breathing fresh air when I'm bored at home. And I still watch shows - I buy the stuff I like on DVD and I keep my screen time to a minimum. I think it's good for me, and the benefits FAR outweigh the doubts.

If you'd told me when I was a kid that I'd turn out to be one of those "kill your TV" people, I'd have thought you were mad. I watched SO MUCH TV when I was a kid. Like, eight hours a day. Or more. Nothing was restricted, and I thought my parents were so cool for it. I pitied the kids who couldn't stay up late watching TGIF or Must See TV, or whatever else. And you know what? I don't remember jack shit from any of those shows, and I certainly don't think I was ever very enlightened by any of it - but all those kids I pitied were out doing things like playing sports and learning guitar while I sat on my couch, and I've always regretted not being more involved in activities in general when I was younger. The only thing I started at a young age was ballet, and I did get good at it, but I hated it. Imagine if I'd started music lessons or sports when I was 5...I could be really good now at the things I love anyway.

Ahwell. That article just kind of spurred this rant in me. I'm done now.

Comments

[oobermeister.livejournal.com]

it's amazing how people can convince themselves that something is true before they bother to question it. or perhaps it isn't so amazing.

apparently i did not talk much as a toddler...perhaps that can be attributed to the amount of time that i watched sesame street...

[sillygoosegirl.livejournal.com]

For a long time Josh's parents would ask us why we didn't have a TV and how we could live without cable. They badger us more about that than about when they are getting their grandchildren.

Josh always explains patiently to them that if we watched enough TV to get our moneys worth on cable, we'd be watching way too much.

My big worry is about computers and the interweb. With TV, we can just not have one or make a rule that it be off most of the time. But computers? Aside from our own addictions to them, children really do need to grow up knowing how to use them. And we don't even have our own experiences as children to draw on. Yikes!

[jianantonic.livejournal.com]

A valid concern, definitely. My niece is 3½ and LOVES computers. She has her own at both her mom and dad's houses. I remember when she was not even two, she was always trying to climb up on my lap when I was on my own computer and telling me she needed to check her email. It's adorable, but at the same time a little disturbing...

I think a good way to use computers would be like any other activity you sign your kid up for...use it for 30-60 minutes a day with the kid, showing him/her how to use it and how it works and all that, but save your own browsing time for when the kid is down for a nap or in the evenings after bedtime. I would worry about setting a bad example with my net addiction, except that obviously kids would take me away from the computer a lot more and I'd probably be forced to cut back anyway.

[jianantonic.livejournal.com]

I was just reminded of another issue...
And we don't even have our own experiences as children to draw on.

My experiences as a kid...unsupervised. I had a nanny and my grandmother lived in our house, and my two big brothers were always around somewhere, but for the most part, I spent all day each summer either riding bikes or in the woods with my best friend, and no one was ever watching us. Nowadays, it seems the world's too mean to just let a kid wander too far from the parent's watchful eye, and that's really sad to me.

[stillbigonbnl.livejournal.com]

Amen to that. I not only stayed at home in the summers, unsupervised from the time I was around 10 - I also watched my 4 year old sister. I used the stove, I watched whatever I wanted to and I don't know.. it scares the hell out of me that my son is a mere 4 years from that age. There's no way in HELL he's doing that.

As for TV - I admire your convictions and I certainly wish I had never started TV. My kids watch way more than I would like, but way less than most kids, I'd say. But it's like pulling teeth to get them to just GO EFFING PLAY. The good thing is that it makes for really good currency for grounding. When I had one kid, it wasn't that big of a deal. With two, one of which was colicky for the first year of her life and just indignant thereafter - sometimes I just needed a break and in the long run, my kids are probably better off that I had that break than losing my shit. I don't depend on it to be "educational." Although Julie has learned a good bit of Spanish from that wretched Dora, it's not a substitute for me.

I have WAY more issues with this computer than I do with TV. Ish.

[jianantonic.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm all for giving parents a break...and everyone's personal situations are different. Ideally, one parent is available to take over when the other needs a rest, but obviously someone has to make some money somehow...

My mom babysits toddlers a lot, and one thing she'll do when she needs a rest is bribe the kids to shut up and sit still with some video, and I just think that's not right. Puzzles and games are also effective ways to get kids to settle down, and they're also interactive and encourage cognitive development. But all this is easy for me to say when I don't have kids of my own...

[stillbigonbnl.livejournal.com]

I don't bribe them with it, it just gave me a breather. BUT, I wish I had never done it. Clayton would watch it 25/8 if I let him. Now, on the upside of that - he really enjoys cooking shows and science based things like Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs. I think he DOES get a lot out of that. I think if you were to meet my kids, you would probably not guess that they watched much TV. They have great vocabulary and are well spoken. Nothing irritates me more than a 4 year old that you can't understand. And I do correct their grammar.

I'm getting off-track, but anyway, I said I would never use the TV as a sitter and I did. You probably won't because I'm so much more fickle than you are. HA!

[jianantonic.livejournal.com]

Heh...we'll see how well I live up to my own standards...

I love shows like Dirty Jobs, and I think that one especially does a good job of showing people (kids, adults, everyone!) how everything in society fits together and how you should respect people who do the dirty work. But it's things like the article mentions - Baby Einstein and other crap marketed toward little babies that really irks me.

Even if it is really educational (and the study says it's more detrimental than helpful), why are you letting a video teach your kids the things that you should be teaching them?

DVDs are no substitutes for real human interaction, and when Mom and Dad don't have the time, energy, or know-how to provide the education, you can call in a pinch hitter like grandma, or take your kids on a "field trip." That's one thing my parents got right - lots of interactive, educational travel. I went to lots of historical sites and science museums and things of that nature when I was a kid, and family vacations were generally educational, too, like trips to national parks and the like.

[stillbigonbnl.livejournal.com]

Oh that baby shit (pardon the expression) is completely retarded. A perfect example of this is Teletubbies. Why in GOD'S name would you sit your child who cannot speak yet, down in front of a bunch of mumbling bafoons?

(my kids are watching the Muppet Show, Season 1 right now, I shouldn't cast stones.)

[flamingophoenix.livejournal.com]

Computers ARE TV, but they're also so much more.

I'm a fan of children not having their own computer until at least high school--anything they need to do, they can do in the living room with parents walking by randomly. This is based COMPLETELY on my own experience, however.