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Today an annoymous mom posted a question about kids and TV that drew quite a few responses. She was feeling guilty for letting her toddler watch cartoons from time to time because she vowed not to be one of those moms to let their child sit in front of the TV...
Most of the moms who responded said they let their kids watch cartoons (particularly educational cartoons)—anywhere from 30 minutes a day to all day long—and they don't feel bad about it! Here's what some moms had to say about it:
- Jmoran said her son sometimes watches cartoons right before bed to wind down..."As long as you do not plop your child in front of the TV all day long than a little will absolutely not hurt him or her. It is actually a good learning tool...The things they learn on the educational shows is amazing!"
- Christina7389 thinks her son's vocabulary and speech has improved because of the educational programs but also says "I don't let him watch those action-fighting cartoons because he tried that stuff on his brother one time...so what they watch does influence their activity as well."
- Gramsmom said: "[My daughter] has an impressive Spanish vocabulary thanks to Dora."
Do you let your toddlers watch cartoons?
Comments (24)
I let my daughter watch cartoons in the mornings most days. We tend to plop ourselves down in our big comfy chair and watch playhouse disney together. We love imagination movers and handy manny. I like to use the television as another tool for bonding and play rather than a babysitter. I like to sit and interact with whats going on on tv and use it through out the day so that the morals and lesson taught in the shows can better sink in.
I let my son watch cartoons on the weekend and sometimes at night right before bed... but he is too active sit and watch cartoons...i don't think it hurts anything letting them watch a little bit of tv sometimes it teaches them more than you think it does... my son started singing because of mickey mouse clubhouse... and it is his favorite show so i let him watch it does that make me a bad mom
My son loves watching TV and I love to watch it with him. He's picky about shows but loves Jack's Big Music Show, Yo Gabba Gabba and Dora. He has DEFINITELY learned things from them too. I don't feel bad about letting him watch at all.
Honestly, I don't consider any cartoons really educational unless the lessons they teach are reflected back in real-life to the kids. I do let my son watch cartoons that, for the most part, he can relate to and show him how to make good choices or gives us stuff to talk about in different situations - lately it's been Backyardigans and WonderPets. He also likes Curious George, Caillou and VeggieTales. I don't have cable, so everything is on video and thus is very limited. I only find out about other cartoons based on what's advertised, and JP doesn't even like to watch the advertisements for Dora or Diego, so we don't watch those. I do limit how much time he has to watch - the max being one full dvd, which is generally about 90 minutes, but now that it's summer time, he'll turn it off to go play after one or two episodes. In the wintertime, we'll watch maybe 2 hours, a few times even more depending on what kind of day it is.
I think that Little Einsteins is very educational for a cartoon. Mostly I allow my almost 2.5yo daughter to watch Sesame Street, but she sometimes watches Mickey, Dora, etc. Stuff intended for children. We swore no TV either, but we haven't stuck to it. Recent studies have said that watching this kind of children's TV isn't harmful or helpful. Seems about right to me! So we don't watch a lot of it, but a little is OK.
I would be willing to bet that "I'll never let my toddler watch TV!" is the most commonly renegged on pregnancy promise ever. ;)
I'm trying not to let them watch as much. It got to t he point where that was all they wanted to do, and I couldn't handle it! We're pretty limited in how much and what we watch now. My all time favorite is Word World! They learn how to treat others, as well as spelling. I also love Sid the Science kid, but I think it's a little too old for toddlers.
Reading the other responses, I forgot about Little Einsteins and Baby Einsteins! Probably the most educational shows out there! I love the culture it brings into them with the music and art! I think the first responder hit it right on the nose in how to use the television for benefit!
Our TV is always on Noggin. I have a thing for background noise and my girls have adopted the habit. I used to feel guilty about it, before I realized that my girls rarely sit and actually "watch" a show. They are in and out of the room playing. They mainly stop during the music parts and sing and dance for a few minutes, then return to whatever they were playing with. They do like Dora and Yo Gabba Gabba in particular and I think they learn a lot from these shows. When Diego yells, "Stand up" they stand up and do whatever movement he does. When DJ Lance does his creepy dancing, they are up and wiggling their butts with him. When Dora cheers on one of her animal friends in Spanish, my kids are chanting the same words. And they apply what they learn. They call my mother Abuela. When I tried to teach them "C" stands for crocodile, they corrected me by saying, "No mama, that's a Cayman." :o)
We're a Noggin household as well. My girls very seldom sit thru a whole show, they just like the noise. The 15 month old just watches the songs, especially Laurie Berkner! She loves that woman, I think I'm jealous! lol When they do seem intrested in a show I try to watch it with them~ask them questions, point out colors and shapes, talk about what happened or what they think is gonna happen, that kind of stuff. My 5 year old just waits till it's time for lunch and Olivia. Then it's back outside to the swing!