How do you feel about television and your toddler? There are some parents who are strictly against it and others who allow their kids to watch a bit too much. I believe there is a healthy compromise that benefits both children and parents.
I am a caretaker for a 3 year old little bundle of energy. When Joshua is awake he is always on the move–running, jumping and basically never sitting down. But put a TV in front of him, with one of his favorite shows and he comes to a complete standstill.
When he was born his parents did not have a television and no interest in getting one. But after they got one for free, they soon saw the advantage for a small child. It started with Veggie Tales. They are great inspirational shows for his parents to feel good about.
Then they discovered they were the perfect “sitter” for those moments when they had to get other things done. You could put Joshie in the playpen and he would watch the biblically based vegetable tales. This was a great way to insure he was safe and kept occupied in a healthy way.
Josh knows most of the Veggie Tales by heart and I recommend these shows for all parents who are interested in teaching their children about God, faith and so many valuable life lessons that are based on stories in the bible.
It could have been enough but when Josh was 2 we discovered why PBS (http://pbskids.org/) and the television shows for kids are worth investing in for parents of toddlers. While not all the shows are what I would recommend, there are quite a few that I believe have excellent teaching skills for your toddler.
If you are a parent, you might wonder why shows like Word World, Sesame Street or Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood (a take-off of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood) seems to be repeats most of the time. Just watch your toddler and you will have your answer.
Babies learn by repetition. I have seen a few of the episodes several times and as an adult it can seem tedious. But then I hear Joshua repeat the letter patterns or the songs and I know this is a show meant for learning toddlers.
Joshua is excellent at repeating musical notes so he can sing or hum all the opening credits for the shows we watch. I am amazed to hear him repeat note for note any music he hears.
McKenna is learning with these wonderful shows too. At 18 months she recognizes numbers from letters and I attribute this to Sesame Street. While she does not focus as much as Josh does right now, I see small steps of learning. She watches maybe an hour of television all combined.
Before we got TV shows on PBS we discovered Patty Shukla on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmclP1Qh09A). She has created musical exercise videos for young children. She is both of the kid’s favorite. They have an old mattress they use for jumping when the Jump song comes on. Joshua also follows the exercises and imitates them. These videos are perfect for keeping your child physically active and interested.
Shows like Bubble Guppies and Yo Gabba Gabba did not interest these 2 kids which is fine. I like the Guppies they are cute and the kids like the songs but not ready for concepts.
I am not a fan of SpongeBob Squarepants for many reasons—the violent theme for one. I know there are other shows on Nickelodeon such as Blue Clues which are very good for teaching but we have not gotten to them on YouTube (we do not get Nickelodeon).
We have also invested in Netflix. We watch Leapfrog and Baby Einstein—both shows engage the kids in wonderful learning skills. I personally like Leapfrog best and that is the one Josh will ask for by name. McKenna is more content being with Josh than she is in some of the shows right now.
The weather is finally changing so we can get out more but for those times it is rainy or you need a break, I believe these shows are a healthy engaging tool for your toddlers. Just be sure to limit that television time and keep your child physically active and energized. And just for the record, right now the movie that keeps both kids attention is “The Lorax”—we all enjoy that film.
To see the top 10 shows recommended for preschoolers: http://kidstvmovies.about.com/od/tvshowsbyagegroup/tp/preschoolerstv.htm
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Great Post….Veggie Tales was one of our favorites. My son will be 17 this month, but a lot of these shows were around when he was a toddler and we loved them. Barney, Teletubbies, and Big Comfy Couch were also big then. I think they are not around any more. We (my son, my husband, and I) all knew the songs by heart! I still find myself singing them some days…"You are special, you're the only one like YOU!" We used to do exercises with Elliott's Gym.
As my son has grown, he watches TV but has always steered towards the History Channel and Discovery. Used to watch a lot of cartoons, but we limited screen time and they got old quick. He did enjoy Spongebob, but Scooby Doo was his favorite.
Video games seem to be what older boys spend most of their screen time on. Even as a teenager we set limits for him. Also only allow certain games due to violence, etc.
TV and Video games are not bad, it is just too much of anything isn't good and making the wrong selections to view. As you said, parents need to set limits and guidelines for what is appropriate to watch.
Robin,
Thank you for the comment. So much TV is a waste of the mind for children but we do try to utlilize shows that engage and make them think. I like teaching but sometimes my approach is not as fun as say Leapfrog’s Scout so I know I need to change it up. When my daughter was young we gave it up for almost 3 years. As a result she is not a TV person but neither is she a movie person and now I wish she had some interest because her choice of activity is not healthy. It is a Catch-22
Debbie
Great blog Deb. I wish they had all the great programs they have now for our toddlers and all the learning tools. I remember Roger's Neighborhood and Captain Kangaroo plus the cartoons.
they were good shows too Ellen