Toddler Television
Right up there with vaccines and breastfeeding, is the hotly debated topic of television viewing. Some parents are adamant about keeping their children far away from it, while other parents couldn't care less. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children under the age of two get no television viewing time, and children over that get only 1-2 hours per day.
When I was growing up I was allowed to watch TV in the living room. I honestly have no idea how much TV I was allowed to watch, but with 7 people living in the house, I do remember my viewing was limited by when an adult wanted to watch something. I especially remember handing over the remote so the news, a Lifetime movie, Cheers, Tales from the Crypt, or Days of Our Lives could be watched. The majority of these I watched with them, or got bored and went off and played, and if I missed my show, I missed it. There were certain shows, however, I wasn't allowed to watch - You Can't Do That on Television, Beavis and Butthead, anything MTV. (Yup, you read that right - I was allowed to watch HBO horror shows, but not a Nickelodeon show where they slimed people.) I have friends that said they use to sneak and watch MTV, but I never did. I just really didn't care. I did use to sneak and watch Beverly Hills 90210 though.
There were two years when I was in high school that I watched no television whatsoever. I didn't intend to stop watching it, I just became really distracted with other things like spending five hours on the phone or trying new styles of makeup or just hanging out with my friends. Oh and AIM (shout-out to Tom, with his 3000 screen names!). And nights when I was home and had nothing to do, I would read.
On the issue of television for toddlers I have mixed feelings. Arianna is allowed to watch TV but we do limit how much. I'll admit, some days she watches way too much TV, but there are countless other days when she doesn't watch any at all. We balance, it works for us. Honestly, Arianna has learned a lot from TV as well. For example - since she was about 18 months old, she's known what a cylinder is. A cylinder! I assure you that my D- Geometry skills did not teach her that.
Here are Arianna's Mommy-approved TV shows:
Doc McStuffins - I LOVE her. She's a doctor for stuffed animals and she fixes them up in every episode. It's the cutest thing. Arianna also likes to play doctor EVERY DAY. She always diagnoses me I have "case-itis." She's let me be Doc McStuffins a few times for her stuffed animals while she plays Hallie the nurses. Personally, I don't like being the Doc though, it results in A LOT of sewing for me. I just don't understand how these damn stuffed cats get all these holes in their seams.
Caillou - I HATE him. He's a four year old kid that is super annoying and whiny. I would love to cut this show completely out but Arianna loves it and laughs hysterical at the silly cat and little sister in the show. I'll have to blog about him in another post. Or rant. Perhaps I'll rant.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - Arianna's favorite show by far. It's cute, it's safe, it's educational. (This is where she learned cylinder, pyramid, cone, and sphere!) It's also a very thought provoking show for Arianna. She's constantly talking to me about the fact that Mickey talks and wears clothes, but that real mice (or mouses, as she says) do not.
Super Why - Arianna gets really into this show. In each episode they go over the entire alphabet and do reading and comprehension exercises. It's really cute. Plus there's a boy dressed like a superhero and a girl dressed like a princess. Instant hit.
Full House - We watch this show together because sometimes I just can't handle a cartoon and she can't handle a "Mommy show." She loves Michelle, but her favorite is... wait for it... UNCLE JESSE!! I didn't influence her, I swear, by damn am I proud! My never-ending love for Full House will be it's own blog soon, I promise.
Little Einsteins - I think this show is crazy boring, but Arianna really enjoys it. Each episode centers around one classical musical piece, and by watching the show you learn all about different instruments, different musical terms, and other musical stuff like that. As anyone who's ever heard me sing, I don't have an ear for music, but Marc does, and Arianna seems to too. In fact, she asked for a violin the other day.
Everything in moderation, right?
When I was growing up I was allowed to watch TV in the living room. I honestly have no idea how much TV I was allowed to watch, but with 7 people living in the house, I do remember my viewing was limited by when an adult wanted to watch something. I especially remember handing over the remote so the news, a Lifetime movie, Cheers, Tales from the Crypt, or Days of Our Lives could be watched. The majority of these I watched with them, or got bored and went off and played, and if I missed my show, I missed it. There were certain shows, however, I wasn't allowed to watch - You Can't Do That on Television, Beavis and Butthead, anything MTV. (Yup, you read that right - I was allowed to watch HBO horror shows, but not a Nickelodeon show where they slimed people.) I have friends that said they use to sneak and watch MTV, but I never did. I just really didn't care. I did use to sneak and watch Beverly Hills 90210 though.
There were two years when I was in high school that I watched no television whatsoever. I didn't intend to stop watching it, I just became really distracted with other things like spending five hours on the phone or trying new styles of makeup or just hanging out with my friends. Oh and AIM (shout-out to Tom, with his 3000 screen names!). And nights when I was home and had nothing to do, I would read.
On the issue of television for toddlers I have mixed feelings. Arianna is allowed to watch TV but we do limit how much. I'll admit, some days she watches way too much TV, but there are countless other days when she doesn't watch any at all. We balance, it works for us. Honestly, Arianna has learned a lot from TV as well. For example - since she was about 18 months old, she's known what a cylinder is. A cylinder! I assure you that my D- Geometry skills did not teach her that.
Here are Arianna's Mommy-approved TV shows:
Doc McStuffins - I LOVE her. She's a doctor for stuffed animals and she fixes them up in every episode. It's the cutest thing. Arianna also likes to play doctor EVERY DAY. She always diagnoses me I have "case-itis." She's let me be Doc McStuffins a few times for her stuffed animals while she plays Hallie the nurses. Personally, I don't like being the Doc though, it results in A LOT of sewing for me. I just don't understand how these damn stuffed cats get all these holes in their seams.
Caillou - I HATE him. He's a four year old kid that is super annoying and whiny. I would love to cut this show completely out but Arianna loves it and laughs hysterical at the silly cat and little sister in the show. I'll have to blog about him in another post. Or rant. Perhaps I'll rant.
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - Arianna's favorite show by far. It's cute, it's safe, it's educational. (This is where she learned cylinder, pyramid, cone, and sphere!) It's also a very thought provoking show for Arianna. She's constantly talking to me about the fact that Mickey talks and wears clothes, but that real mice (or mouses, as she says) do not.
Super Why - Arianna gets really into this show. In each episode they go over the entire alphabet and do reading and comprehension exercises. It's really cute. Plus there's a boy dressed like a superhero and a girl dressed like a princess. Instant hit.
Full House - We watch this show together because sometimes I just can't handle a cartoon and she can't handle a "Mommy show." She loves Michelle, but her favorite is... wait for it... UNCLE JESSE!! I didn't influence her, I swear, by damn am I proud! My never-ending love for Full House will be it's own blog soon, I promise.
Little Einsteins - I think this show is crazy boring, but Arianna really enjoys it. Each episode centers around one classical musical piece, and by watching the show you learn all about different instruments, different musical terms, and other musical stuff like that. As anyone who's ever heard me sing, I don't have an ear for music, but Marc does, and Arianna seems to too. In fact, she asked for a violin the other day.
Everything in moderation, right?
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