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Like regarese's daughter, I always had the TV on as a kid but NEVER watched it. To this day, something about being in a quiet room really freaks me out (which is the only reason I have a TV in my dorm room.. I can keep the news on as background noise all the time). My parents never really edited what we watched so I grew up with a healthy amount of violence and drug use on my tv. However, it was relevant to my life- my mom and dad's brothers (4 between them) were ALL in and out of jail for drug use or dealing throughout my childhood. We moved across the country to get away from it but my parents did not want to hide it from us, so even from a young age, we kept the drug dialog open.
Now sex on the other hand... my parents did keep that from us. Mostly because they were uncomfortable talking to us about it!
It's funny though.. I never really watched "age appropriate" television- it bored me to death. My mom would turn on Barney for me and I'd stomp my feet asking for Jeopardy (which I assumed was on every second of every day) or the news. :P
My daughter is 2 years and 9 months, and what she watches really depends on our schedule for the day. At least two days a week, we're out in the morning, so no TV at all. By the time we get home she has lunch and a nap (at 1PM) and she's not back up again until 3. I like to let her tell me she'd like to watch something; most of the time she likes to play quietly or sit with me and read for about an hour before she pulls me to the TV to pop in a DVD. Our DVD collection consists of Elmo's World, Veggie Tales, Dora, Blue's Clues, and Baby Einstein. She LOVES Teletubbies, but we consider that more of a treat for her since her speech is so delayed due to her autism, and the videos don't help nearly as much as the others in that regard.
On the weekdays that we do not have things to do in the morning, she watches Mickey Mouse, Baby Einsteins, Sesame Street, and then we turn it off and do something creative until Dora comes on an hour later. She usually is playing in her room during Sesame Street unless she hears Elmo come on, or if they're reciting the alphabet or numbers. She really enjoys that and tries to mimic it.
I'd say she watches about 2 full hours of TV three times a week. The other weekdays, maybe 1 hour in the afternoons. Weekends we are usually pretty busy so no TV until close to bedtime (when we wind down with a Baby Einstein music video).
My kids (13 and 10) hardly watch tv during the week. If we have time, we might watch Lost, Survivor, SuperNanny, or American Idol together. Mostly we don't have time though. They tend to watch alot of tv on Sunday, when Dad and I are doing bills, home improvements, ect.
I don't restrict what they watch much...I hate SpongeBob, usually he can watch 2 episodes on the weekend, preferablly tivo'ed so as to skip commercials.
They also watch or play video games when at friends' houses or babysitting, but that isn't usually more than a few hours a week, if any.
Basically life stays too interesting in other ways to let tv get out of hand.
I have a 2 1/2 year old and your schedule is similar to mine just the programs are different. Must be we're either making a meal or cleaning up at the same time LOL!
I admit - I used the baby einstein vides for my daughter when she was a baby. She used to love the puppets. I don't see a problem with kids watching TV as long as it's age appropriate and they aren't zonked out in front of it all day. As long as it's in small doses so they know that there is more to life.
lol! Typically the first half hour in the morning they are watching is so I can eat and then the next half hour is so I can wake up!
In the afternoon he first half hour is so I can eat (!) and the second is so I can clean up or something. And the half hour in the evening is so-shocker-I can eat, lol! I have been letting them watch more in the evening the past couple of days b/c my husband is sick and there is only so much I can do with them before we are all tired of each other!
I have a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old. They are not allowed to watch garbage tv like spongebob. They usually watch Noggin or sprout both stations are educatioal TV with show like Dora, sesame street, Little Bear, etc. and they are not allowed to sit on their butts all day and watch. It's on alot but they play throughout or color.
My daughter is 20 months old. Part of her nighttime routine is watching "The Good Night Show" on PBS Sprout. It's programming designed for Preschoolers - but I do still watch and participate with her. There's nothing about the show I don't like.
I have a 19 year old and a 15 year old. When they were younger I absolutely monitored everything they watched but they were allowed to watch t.v. Often though they did so while also playing, though there were just quiet times of watching tv or a disney movie.
As they got older I continued to monitor their t.v. time but they were never really t.v. addicts. They liked playing outside, riding bike, skating, etc.
I used to watch with them and even banned certain channels or shows because of the content of the show and explained why when asked why their friends could watch it but they couldn't.
I'm a huge lifetime channel fan. I enjoy watching the movies. My kids also enjoy it. While some movies do have sexual inuendos and scenes, it's rarely if ever blatant. At the time they watched this with me they were pre-teens and we used this as conversation starters because the majority of the movies are true stories.
As a result we've had conversations about teen dating, date rape, teen alcohol and drug abuse, teen gambling, domestic violence and the importance of not only knowing well who you are dating or marrying but also about getting out if abuse is taking place. Seeking help and speaking out.
My daughter is 15 and we still watch movies together and the conversations continue. It is interesting to see her now leading the conversations and sharing her views on the movies we watch.
What happened to books. Why don't kids read books anymore?
Who says kids don't read books?
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