Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A friend of mine is a new dad. He and mom have agreed on certain things like not using a pacifier and giving her home made baby food. This sounds great, however, he is also saying he is not going to show her any kids' programs. Obviously, it is his daughter and he calls the shots. But his thinking is that he is not going to overload her with info; he is going to let her learn on her own time.
My thinking is that she is not going to absorb anything she is not capable of absorbing and she cannot decide when to learn and how much in time to be accepted into school. Again, his deal, his child and he can choose to read to her instead. But this decision is more for him, for the image of non-conformity. It's the "I'm not going to do this because everyone else is", even if it is an excellent tool in preparing a child for school.
I'm all for that in my own life choices, but there are certain expectations that have to be met in order for our kids to progress.
I don't think she will miss anything by not viewing television. Learning can take place in many forms.
I think every parent needs to make an informed decision on what is best for their family. IMO non-conformity is a way of conforming - I was friends with a lot of "natural" "we are not sheeple" moms and they were all pretty much alike and looked down on disposable diaper using, formula feeding, crib using, gerber baby food parents.
Television is NOT an "excellent tool" for preparing children for school! In fact, there are numerous studies that associate TV viewing with behaviors that make it difficult for children to learn effectively in the classroom. The best things a parent can do to prepare a child for kindergarten are reading aloud, free time to explore the outdoors, reading aloud, playing with art supplies, reading aloud, lots of physical activity, reading aloud, reading aloud, and, oh yes, reading aloud.
I hear it is best for kids not to watch TV until they are over 2. I have maybe 1 or 2 friends who were successful at that. I wonder if your friend means "not now" or "not ever." I have heard of some abnormal parenting choices that really seem to me to be just for the sake of not going with the flow. The TV one though has its merits, IMO.
Some of you are saying "TV" as if I'm referring to a 6 year old glued to Hannah Montana and getting nothing done. LOL.
I mean educational programs. And I disagree that TV is not a good learning tool. Sex and the City, yah. I grew up on Sesame Street and The Electric Company. I was in the 1st grade for 2 months before they skipped me into the 2nd.
As to how this conversation came up, a friend of ours with children of her own suggested a program that teaches sign language to babies. I don't know much about it, but everyone I've talked to says it's a great way to develop their self-esteem and open communication. It's not an issue of what he should be doing or whether reading, nature walks and all the rest are better or worse than these programs. The point is that he knows nothing about either and dismissed it due to ego, not because it would have been bad for the child.
I think just give them time for the baby to develop some, they may as well turn the TV on, in order to get something done.
One thing I would do differently, though, - I would give the child a pacifier. Having a 4 and 6 year olds who still suck their thumbs - well, a pacifier would have been much better in hindsight.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of two do not watch any television whatsoever.
In addition to the baby sign language video to which you are referring, there are numerous books on the subject. Instead of learning the signs from a TV screen the baby can learn them from their parents through everyday interactions. The same goes for learning letters, numbers, colors, etc. TV is totally unnecessary.
What I think your are getting at, is that you think that this child will miss out on learning opportunities because she is not allowed to watch educational shows. And she is not allowed to watch these shows simply because dad doesn't want her to be like everyone else's children. Am I correct?
I don't think this child not viewing educational shows will have a negative affect on her. Decades ago there was no tv and children still learned things they needed to learn. I have a home child care and yes, the children that watch educational shows know some things that other children don't(counting in spanish, etc), but often times I hear the children just reciting things they have heard. This doesn't necessarily mean that they have learned anything, just that they have memorized lines from a show they have seen a million times.
I also grew up with sesame street and the electric company and by no means, did it help me in school
The problem with TV isn't necessarily the TV, the parents or their lifestyles choices. The TV has many very fast 30 sec commercials and fast TV shows, even the ones that claim to be educational. It is very overstimulating for the mind. It is why they tell people who have difficulty sleeping to not be watching tv before bed, have a tv in their bedroom, ect. For a child who has watched this for the first 5 years of their life, every single day, its a switch in the brain that is put on full speed, making it harder by every passing year to slow back down again.
On education TV shows for kids, think of it this way...how well can you learn to speak properly from a duck with a lisp (Wonder Pets), kids will not learn fluent Spainsh from Dora, just a few words...but may learn to be fearful of certain animals like the fox (I have seen this), spider, snakes and don't bother to explain their importance to the environment, Diego....teaches kids to rescue wild animal babies without the involvment from parents, wild animals that could rip your child apart, Baby Bear from Sesame Street can not speak properly, Curious George is NOT a monkey....To me the so called "educational" shows are not all that educational. Language is dumbed down so that bass vocabulary is not being increased. Everything has to be retaught in school. They will learn more from watching shows on Science, Discover, Animal Planet, History. Is it the ideal way to learn it? I think it can be a tool but should not be heavily relied on.
DH had the TV on for DD ALL day long as a toddler and it drove me crazy. I'd come home, turn it off and be stuck with a very hyper little girl. After I had our second child, I was home more, shut the TV off most of the day and read a lot to her, did crafts with her, ect. From that I watched her learn how to read on her own, increase her fine motor skills, her speech improved, her vocabulary increased (I read a lot of "big kid" books, not so into the dumbing down thing) watched her slooooow down and relax for increasingly longer periods of time, all between age 2 1/2 and 3 1/2. It was an amazing transformation, but the biggest improvement actually happened over just a 4 month period. No one could believe she was the same little girl.
What I think your are getting at, is that you think that this child will miss out on learning opportunities because she is not allowed to watch educational shows. And she is not allowed to watch these shows simply because dad doesn't want her to be like everyone else's children. Am I correct?
Pretty much. I'm not saying the shows will make her smarter, but they are good learning tools. It helped me, it didn't help you, but surely you weren't less smart because of it, were you? Not being sarcastic, just trying to make a point. He doesn't know either way and he's condemning all of it. Ideally, he will have decided how he is going to teach her as she is 8 months old now. But he hasn't done that either. It's like he's saying all this just to hear himself talk.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
