Lately my 5-year-old has been talking a lot about Power Rangers. Apparently all of the other boys in his kindergarten class have Power Rangers toys. I have no idea what a Power Ranger is and the thing is, neither does my son. But it is now on the top of his Christmas wish list.
The Power Rangers that my son wants are toy figures that are based on a television series (thank you, Wikipedia, for that information). Perhaps neither of us are familiar with these cartoon superheroes because we don’t allow much television watching in our house. We do this not just because the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limited television for children my son’s age and none at all for children under the age of two, but also because my husband and I would rather our son, and his younger sister, have other means of stimulation.
But the allure of TV is potent and not easy to escape. What parent hasn’t plopped their kid down in front of a television set so that she could get some bills paid, do the dishes, or take a much needed nap? I’m guilty of it myself, and I don’t mean to point fingers at others who do it.
And it’s hard to tell my son “no” when he hears his friends talk about “Toy Story” and “Cars” and “Star Wars.” But I force myself to do it anyway. (Well, most of the time. Last Saturday, we allowed him to watch the first half of “Cars.”)
The hazards of TV watching and screen use in general, especially at a young age, have been well documented. So I’m disappointed when I hear otherwise intelligent people allow their young children to watch a lot of TV or play with their iPhones. The AAP issued its guidelines years ago, and yet as an article in yesterday’s New York Times points out, screen time for children under the age of eight is at an all-time high.
It’s even bad for the very youngest. According to the article (which is pegged to a recent study on the subject), for all children under the age of 2, the average time is 53 minutes a day for television or DVD watching.
I can’t say I’m that surprised. I have followed conversations on the Baby Center’s community page by mothers discussing their 3-month old babies’ favorite television shows. (“My LO loves the Food Network!”) And I have witnessed my son’s former pediatrician, in an effort to appease my son as he was about to receive a vaccination, began speaking to my son in SpongeBob’s voice, assuming my then 3-year-old was familiar with the character.
I can’t say I blame him. At a time when more kids are being exposed to more TV at younger age, it’s probably a voice that’s become almost as soothing as Mom and Dad’s. But I’m still not going to let my son watch SpongeBob–it may not be good for his brain. Or the Power Rangers.
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(Photo: Flickr)
Uh-oh. I read this as my kids were watching Wordgirl. (Which, frankly, I think is a little old for them.) We also use these fantastic DVDs by Scholastic that are stories (Good Night, Gorilla and so on) read to calmly animated versions of the books.
I use the boob tube as a way to take a shower, calm them down before school, (apparently, to read Baristakids) and when they are sick. We don’t have smart phones or iPads, but sometimes I’ll show them a YouTube video of a song they like or a Pokoyo episode.
There are times that my kids watch too much TV, but during the week, during school, we watch a lot less. Maybe an hour a day.
I feel the content can be more detrimental, than the amount of TV watched. I constantly hear of kids watching shows or movies that are meant for older kids. I read on Facebook the other day that a friend’s 7-year-old watched The Halloween movies with Michael Myers.
I was starting to think I was the green faced wicked witch of the east! Why do I not hear many others who limit tv. When my daughter turned one…..we had all tv service shut off. She does watch an occasional video, but at almost 4 years old, she isn’t missing much. And truthfully I totally miss new episodes of Chuck and House, but not enough to let my child be brainwashed everyday. We read ALOT more and spend time talking to each other.
Christina, interesting article. You are right to avoid PowerRangers. I wateched it once because my 4 year old daughter wanted to watch it so badly and I did a pre-screen without her. Violent. Way violent. So none in our home.
I do however take offense to your comment about “otherwise intelligent people”. While we, like you, limit TV, to say that folks who don’t do the same are otherwise intelligent is not only not fair, but insulting.
Might have been nice to refresh us, or perhaps educate others, on the impacts of too much TV or video games and why those things happen. Perhaps people don’t understand the impact of too much TV.