The Tube

I get asked lots of questions about children watching TV in my practice.  I have to say that the children that I have worked with over the years who had the best attention spans, imaginations, and play skills were children that I knew watched little or no TV in their early years.


Here is the American Academy of Pediatrics statement about TV for children under 2.

"Pediatricians should urge parents to avoid television viewing for children under the age of 2 years. Although certain television programs may be promoted to this age group, research on early brain development shows that babies and toddlers have a critical need for direct interactions with parents and other significant caregivers (eg, child care providers) for healthy brain growth and the development of appropriate social, emotional, and cognitive skills. Therefore, exposing such young children to television programs should be discouraged."


I am not trying to preach.  Any of you that know me know I am pretty much an "everything in moderation" person...unless you are talking about shoes...


But I do think there is something to be said for kids that watch the same movies and play the same video games every day.  How do we expect these kids to play imaginatively when their lives are programmed?  Of course they fall apart when their scheduled is changed.  They are used to pressing A and B happening.  


Here is another site I found about recommendations for older kids.  


http://www.aap.org/publiced/BR_TV.htm


I would love to hear any ideas from you all for ways to incorporate TV in a healthy way into your home.