Allowing Toddlers to watch TV

When my older children were younger I was worried about them not having an imagination and heard so much about how watching children was unhealthy and didn't want my children watching t.v but then they grew older and I started babysitting a bunch of children and found that many parents were allowing their children to watch t.v and found that these children still had a very good imagination and were also learning quite a bit from educational t.v . I now have two more little one's and let them watch t.v whenever they want . I don't encourage them to watch t.v but allow them to do so if they wish and have found that what they have learned went beyond anything I ever expected . My three year old learned to talk quicker and knew her colors and shapes before she was two and even knew words from other languages . She is now three and knows more then most children that start school . We monitor what she watches and she is only allowed to watch educational shows such as Dora the Explorer , that take the time to teach your child while holding their interests . My one year old is even into this show from watching her older sister and it is amazing what she picks up on just from watching what her older sister does so I now believe that t.v can be a useful tool in helping our children to learn and grow as long as , as parents we take the time to monitor what they are watching :)

Hi linda! I think letting toddler watch TV at the early age help them in one way or another and depends on the TV program they are watching and they should be guided accordingly. My 3 year old son really loves to watch TV specially educational movies like magic english and thomas and friends and barney too!!! I let him watch and he learn fast. He starts his nursery summer class last week and I can say he performs well at school because he was been aware of some nursery ryhme he heard on TV.

I know..i have seen so many parents here and there yell about kids at any age watching tv..educational or not,,Sky has watched cartons since he was born..he leanred so much..u just dont know..he was talking and counting in Spanish by one years old..and counted to 20 knew his ABC;s,all shapes including hexagons trapaziods..ets.,.all by age 2,,and he was being entertained at the same time..i think they are great.,he just isnt aloud to watch real violant ones..like the anime ones..he was hurting people then,,now hes almsot 5 and hes so smart..and i know it has to do with me,and watching his educational programs..they realy are good for kids,no matter what people say!:)

Well, you see, when I had my first born it was just the two of us in a basement apartment of a house for the first two years of her life. Our television was on all the time. For my daughter it was mostly Barney & Friends. I even taped some so there would be some to watch when it wasn't on television. That little girl is now 14 and loves to read. She also loves to lay around in front of the television but, who doesn't? Have to confess: I grew up on television. As long as they are watching educational shows I don't think it's a problem. And like you said, she's not in front of the tv for hours.

I dont think there is a problem that toddler watch tv as long as the movie is good and educational or the parents is with the baby giving parental guidance.If i would have a baby in a right time i will love to let my toddlers watch educational novies.

If i'm going to have a child. I won't allow him/her to watch TV until he/she reaches the right age to watch. I believe that Televisions has a great influence especially to kids.

TV watching is no question educational but I see kids are gettign obese due to lack of excersise thqat leads to many complication. I let my kid watxh TV for fixed hours and not 24/7. He must learn that going outside and doing some physical excersie too is important. A balance must be struck in all ll the activites he has to do in a day.

I was raised with a television as a babysitter so I know how it can get out of control. My granddaughter is 2.5, almost 3 years old and she loves to watch television, but mainly the Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer and Blue Clues, I don't see anything wrong with her watching these shows and they are only a few of them that can entertain her so I let her be and watch what she wants. She really enjoys Blue Clues and Diego the best, she screams at me that they are on when they start, and she smiles so big, how could anyone not let her watch them.

I don't see anything wrong in it. My daughter used to watch Spot the Dog video nearly everyday and it was very beneficial to her. She started speaking at 9 months and it was a chill out time for her. Lots of visual effects and repetative language, that helped her. However, when my son was born he did not want to be entertained this way. It made me realise that although we may be condemned as parents for making our kids watch too much TV, if they don't want to watch TV there is no way we can make them.

I personally don't see anything wrong with letting kids watch television within reason. There are some really good kids t.v. programs, and they can learn stuff. However, I don't think they should be watching anything else. I know my brother for example, allows his kids to watch programs, that even is hard for some adults to take, let alone a child. Children need to keep their innocence, and they sure aren't going to be able to if they are allowed to watch must of the cruddy shows which are on in our world today.

Just take care of their eyes. As long as they don't sit too close to the TV, I think it is alright. You are right that they do pick up things from the program. Be very sure of what you allow them to watch though. Better still, watch with them and emphasize the right things to them.

i think its fine and educational as well, my daughter is nearly 3 years and she loves watching Dora the Explorer on tv she has amazingly learned so much from it such as counting, shapes, new vocabulary, problem solving, etc. the right shows then yes it does very much help i also have a 14 month old who likes sitting next to big sissy and watch tv as well she dont get into it much now but sometimes like as she is eating she will watch. it depends on the programs really i think, some programs are very educational others can just be comical or silly.

I think that, at this age, is bad to let the kid watch TV. You should allow your granddaughter to watch it only after she turns three years old. Before that it could be bad. Try contacting a specialist and he may explain you better what problems can the TV bring to your granddaughter. I'm sure he'll tell you the appropriate age to start letting her watch Barney.

In my opinion, you may allow her to watch, but with limited time of course, and with parental guidance. As she grows up, she will be asking questions about what she watches, and it is good to be around to answer her queries. Let me reiterate that you should choose the program that she watches, and that be sure to explain to her why some programs are not suitable for her. At two years old, the child will begin to understand.

I think watching a little television is ok. I'm not sure it's really that educational for toddlers but it's not forming bad habits if it's kept to a minimum and if it remains kept to a minimum as she gets older. My granddaughter is almost a year old and she doesn't pay that much attention to tv programmes but she loves some of the commercials!

I had own daycare a few years ago and we allowed a small amount of tv time for educational shows each day but once a week we had movie time (most of our kids were 3-5 years old our littlest ones were 18 months). I think just like every thing else moderation is the key here. You don't want to park the kids in front of the tv hours on end but a little tv does no harm especially if it is educational tv. After all I think the majority of us have learned a lot from Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers.

My son is 15 months and my daughter is 4 years old. They both watch TV. They watch the learning shows. My son is only 15 months old and he gets up and dances with some of the shows. I see nothing wrong with it. My TV is on all day long on kids stations and when they are sleeping, I watch my shows and clean house. During the day, my kids play with their toys, we also have reading time together, we spread our day out, but TV is one of the things they love, so I keep it on a lot, but I still make time for other things with them. Nothing wrong with it. It's learning. Dora is a good learning show as well. My daughter loves her. Plus another show called Hi-5 is another one, my son likes them.

i have heard about brainy babies and baby einstien educational dvds. i let my 6 month old baby watch these for an hour or two everyday. i noticed he likes and is very much intrested in moving toys with bright colors. i dont think this will form a bad habit for my baby as long as i know how to limit the time he watches. and its not only in tv watching that he could pass time and still learn.

i have two 10 month olds and i allow them too watch two shows a day one in the morning and one in the evening time,I let them watch tellatubbies and barney and yes these shows are educational for babies its made for little ones they actully have baby shows from when they are newborns but you have to order those channels but yea i don't see nothing wrong with it as long as you don't put your child right in front of the t.v. because that can ruin their eyesight

I think a bit of their favourite show/s is good stimulus, it shows them to smile, sit and watch and let them become curious. When I'm looking after kids in their home I usually have something on that they nap to then something a bit later on, and if we watch a movie, it's only one. Around that age it's good to have a bit of it, then of course when people start plocking them in front of it with some form of video games it's difficult (I nannied for a mother who gave me a 'schedule' of tv shows followed my his favourite new PS2 game- and he was 15 months).I think what you're doing is good for her, in my opinion.