Too much television isn't good for obvious reasons. We want to encourage our children's imaginations and engage their body and minds in play that promotes physical and mental development. But I can attest to the fact that my two-year-old gets more exercise rolling around on the floor, having dialogues with Dora and laughing at Spongebob than he does with me pushing him in a stroller around the park for an hour.
Rarely will my children sit still and just watch, viewing is often accompanied by playing with each other and the various toys and activities we keep out for them. When they lose interest in the tube — which is pretty quick — they let us know and we turn it off and do something else.
One attribute of TV (and popular culture in general) I ascribe to wholeheartedly is that it can provide important cultural touch points that kids can share with their peers. Access to these tools of socialization is a benefit many parents and naysayers often forget.
From my own experience, I have seen my two-year-old become aware of the nuances of humor, empathy and outright silliness watching television programs geared for children. I don't believe you can instruct children to what's funny - it's something they pick up on their own. The spontaneous laughter that erupts when my children see something funny tells me that they are learning important life skills about how to have fun, let go and roll with the punches.
But even with commercial free, age appropriate programming available 24 hours a day, as with most things in life, moderation is the key.
Article comments
1 - sal m
i would expect we'll see a lot of pros and cons with regards to the tv watching/child rearing argument as a result of this channel.
what's bound to happen is that just like with any thing else, too much of a good thing is bad and that the only thing that this channel will do is help kids develop tv watching habits.
2 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Dawn, if I remember right, cable was supposed to be commercial free - that was the big point in paying the fees. Of course, it hasn't happened that way. I never bought cable in the States simply because I refused to pay for the privilege of having some huckster hustle trash at me when I could get the same thing for free...
I can't say anything pro or con to a channel whose product I haven't seen, but there seems something obscene in marketing to infants.
3 - jlotus
Humor is too important to be left to television, Mom!!! I've got five kids and no TV and believe me, they know how to laugh. My experience with TV-toxified kids who are raised on Sponge Bob is the opposite: humorlessness and a jaded attitude that is depressing to witness in children.
If you ever decide to get rid of the television, you can find support at our website: www.whitedot.org
We're an international anti-television campaign.
Thanks for taking comments.
Jean Lotus
4 - Margaret Romao Toigo
My kids act out their favorite scenes in front of the television, which always reminds me of the behavior of full-grown adults at screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Remember when children's television shows were little more than 30 minute commercials for cereal, toys and candy and the only truly educational programs were Sesame Street and Schoolhouse Rock?
Regardless of the 24-hour news cycle and its generous contributions to pessimism and the "culture of fear,” kids have it better today than they ever did in history. Perhaps the next generation -- unlike those of us who grew up on the Big Three and PBS -- will be TV savvy enough to see obvious hyperbole for what it really is.
No television channel or network actually helps kids to develop TV watching habits because children do what their parents do, not what the television -- or even their parents -- tells them to do.
If kids see their parents or parental equivalents as "couch potatoes," they will imitate that behavior, believing that it is "normal" and expected.
5 - Dawn
Margaret, your wisdom always amazes me.
Fortunately we have no viewing habits, we watch two shows, 24, and American Idol sometimes, and our kids seem to have zero interest in either - well, sometimes Lily likes American Idol. For the most part they use the kids show as a backdrop to their playing, a lot of times they pay no attention to the TV, so we just enjoy the "relative" quiet.
6 - Tigue Burgess
We have been subscribers to Baby First TV for over a year now and we love it, of course each parent has to make up their own mind about the amount of TV watched our son has done well with it. My wife has been so passionate about it; it prompted us to start our own website KidsInfoZone.com with a Baby First TV review among other things. We like the fact that there are no ads showing the hot toy of the week etc. and everything has learning involved. Also they recently dropped the price to $4.99 per month.
7 - mary carson
it was trying to find the free baby first tv.. free gift that keep's appearing on my tv screen, [Personal contact info deleted]
8 - nathalie
you can watch babytv for free on the internet, go to the website babytvchannel.com and click 'on demand' choose your region - US
9 - Papa Nick
Free BabyTV's a tempting offer. But even quality stuff raises the BIG issue, one I saw most recently: How can a passive experience in front of a glowing screen compare to the live interaction between devoted parent (or other loving adult) and child?
10 - nathalie
if you have kids and let them watch you'll see its not just a passive experience