makes ya think...tv’s are they dangerous?

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/3671842/Parents-get-TV-advice

DH sent this to me today, thought it was an interesting read....opened thread as a discussion page...

yeah my children have tv on most of the time.. and watch it off and on. no delay happening though he is certainly not watching sexual content etc and won't be for a very long time!

I can understand where they are coming from.

However, I think as long as age appropriate content is on, then what's the harm - providing it's limited and not used as a babysitting tool.
The number of times Hi-5 and Postman Pat have been my saviour...

Hannah sleeps 2+ hours during the day and 10-11 at night - always in bed by 7pm.

Her language and comprehension skills are far above average (haha brag much?). She can hold conversations and will tell me what's going on in the programme.

I think the article has merit, but it's awfully one-sided.

*edited to make a bit more sense - clearly I watched far too much TV as a kid

Edited by MamaPickle

If you take this comment ....

Irving said Australian study showed watching TV was the biggest single activity for preschoolers.

... then I'd say yes, TV viewing IS bad for kids in that context. And I've been in a number of homes (as a speech therapist) where I"ve seen kids plonked in front of the TV for extended periods with limited social interaction from adults, with no toys to play with, no books etc. I certainly wouldn't say TV viewing was the determining factor in their speech and language delay as it's far more complex than that - it was often a combination of medical condition, environmental factors, genetics .... But for at risk kids, it might be something you want to be a little more aware of.

In my home (where everything is perfect, not!), it's used first thing in the morning so I can deal with my MS and at 5pm so I can cook tea, but it's off the rest of the time. I figure everything in moderation. I've seen Dan really respond to the songs and dances (we watch Playschool obsessively) and learn them and it's definitely had some cool benefits.

I may be overgeneralising, but I think most parents on OB are pretty aware about child development and balance and would be combining TV with social interaction, playing with toys, reading books, having fun .....

Edited by Flissty

Of course one question they didn't address in the research ...

what does children's TV do to the adult brain? I'm sure my brain cells dive off a cliff everytime Playschool goes on.

Jake never sat still long enough to watch TV so it wasn't a big deal in our house til he was almost 2. He's never really been into the kids programmes though. He enjoys the Ice Ages, Arthur and the Invisibles, Toy Story, Vegietales, Happy Feet, etc but is also really into DVDs such as A Knights Tale, Jackie Chan movies, Stargate, Transformers, and he adored Avatar. I was brought up on a diet of Sylvester, Arnie, Claude and so on so it was pretty natural to me to let him watch some of this stuff. Hes watching Sahara ATM... Hasn't done him any harm either he's a really good kid and up with or ahead of other kids his age.

Yet another well meaning reseracher coming out with their findings and not a lot of substance to it. 
Too much TV isn't healthy for anyone, adults and children. TV watching is socially isolating and detracts from the real world.  TV is very easy to get sucked into watching it... even when most of the programmes are sh*te.

Yet another decision to add to the parenting heap - how much and what kind of tv to let my kids watch

We have the TV on all the time - Thomas is a complete chatterbox and doesnt shut up. His verbal skills are fantastic. He can even say his first AND last name properly now :D

lol, what next...

Our TV is on all day, Caden doesnt sit and watch it for long, he runs round playing and doing other things as well.

Caden gets up at 7.30 and we have cartoons on all day usually! and he is in bed by 7 at night, also has a 2-3 hour sleep in the middle of the day.

Edited for my crap spelling, I must also watch too much TV

Edited by Sheza

But it's different background noise tho isnt it.. I tried the radio instead but I dunno, I NEED to have pictures. Its so strange.