Or better yet, does the baby get TV? Or do most people start that at toddlerhood? Or wait until the recommended (by the AAP) 2 years? In all reality, I totally know there’s no way to avoid it once the kids get into public school (Sillyboy has enjoyed several screenings of Happy Feet parts 1 and 2 during substitute teaching and awards time during his first year of kindergarten, all without me knowing until afterwards…), and then there’s all kinds of tv everywhere: waiting rooms, mall food courts, inside stores, at the gas stations, etc. And what about the “educational” tv shows?
I think even for 5 months old, I try to avoid Bambina watching tv. Her brain is still developing at a rapid rate, her mind is a little sponge- and I’d rather her soak up some board book story reading time than even the Veggie Tales sing-a-longs. But I get crazy looks when I explain this to the extended family. Especially since we do limit Sillyboy’s “screen time” which includes his time watching tv, dvds, playing on the wii, gaming on his Vtech Innotab, etc. (We’ve yet to invest in a Nintendo DS, yet…). He realizes there’s such a thing as too much screen time, and even brings it up to his grandparents some. But as we all advance with technology, how do we keep it real by keeping less screen time in our every day lives? Interactive classroom teaching is everywhere- and Sillyboy sends emails on his own and downloads and reads his choice of kid-friendly titles on the Kindle Fire. I can’t keep up!
I guess I should get with the times and realize we can’t escape it. We just need to keep with the old adage “Too much of anything isn’t good for you”- and that includes screen time. Let’s see how long I can hold out before Bambina figures out who Barney or Elmo are!
LunchingMomma 