Television and Young Children: Tips and Tricks for Parents

Cartoon Network.  Nickelodeon.  Disney Channels.  Baby TV.  The list goes on and on, but it's no secret that television for
kids is big business.  The question is how much is too much?  The AAP reccomends no television for children under age two, and no more than one to two hours a day of educational, nonviolent television for children over the age of two.  That sounds reasonable, but it's less than HALF of what the average American child watches.

Is television necissary?

It's hardly a requirement of adequate or even excellent parenting to allow television.  The television is not a barrier to good parenting, but it most definitely is not a requirement.  So what's it like to raise a "TV free" child?  Busy is the answer most parents would give.  For those who do allow television, it is commonly used to distract or entertain the child while the parent is busy with other tasks.  So to become a TV free household a parent does lose a major way of keeping a young child occupied, but they are replacing that electronic child minder with more interaction, more teaching and less worries about what a child may learn from the media. 


If you should choose to become a TV free household, there are many things to think about.  What your children will be able to do while you are occupied, whether or not to have a television for adults to watch, at what age you will begin allowing television for your children, how to handle television in other's homes and more.  Let's address some of these.

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