I watched a lot of t.v. growing up.My kids watch quite a bit of t.v. I do not think that t.v. is intrinsically bad. As far as the programing for kids these days, I consider it far superior to the t.v. that I grew up on. I know we had Sesame street, 3-2-1 Contact, Mister Roger's Neighborhood, etc., but nowadays, everything is educational, and encourages child participation. If Malcolm Gladwell, in his book 'The Tipping Point', is to be believed, they are rigorously tested for maximum educational impact. Hannah/Barbera is garbage (despite Scooby-Doo's current popularity) compared to most Nickelodeon shows. Noggin', an all day preschool age kids programming schedule, breaks down the specific benefits of the show about to air, whether it be language skills, communication, shapes, numbers, and so on.
I try to subscribe to the philosophy, moderation in all things. Like I said, I don't mind them watching t.v., but how much is to much? I'd appreciate your feedback on this.
I'm not here to judge, so I'll go first. The Boy's probably average between 5-7 hours of t.v. a day, while awake and active for 12-13 hours a day. This is exclusively kids programming on PBS, Nickelodeon, Disney, and Noggin. That I'm writing this post tells you I think it might be too much, but it is also the middle of winter. I do think I do a good job of getting them out of the house 2-3 hours a day for specific kids activities (bookstore, friends house, library, school) outside of day-to-day errands. Plus, there is general playtime (fort building, toys, etc.), book-reading time, numbers, and alphabet work.
Anywho, let me know what you think.
