31. I just realized i should probably add (sorry for that long ol post) that my children have done significant chores their entire life (i don't do dishes or laundry or clean their rooms!), get decent grades, have an active social and sports life, still lay all over me and get backrubs (and give them) every night....so even with unlimited, uncensored TV - we're great. I also just wanted to add that people often think that someone is only doing something for 15 minutes or an hour, but most people highly underestimate (you know, like you might think you don't overeat even though you are overweight, but if you keep a food diary of every bit that passes your lips, you get a wake up call)...

Karin at 3:02PM on Mar 29th 2008

32. I have nothing against TV. I like in the rain capitol of the world and so my daughter watches about 30 mins a day when I am getting dinner together or if I need a minute to recover. I can't have her help me or be in the kitchen with me because unlike other posters I don't want my toddler getting burned. She goes to daycare and has tons of outside time. Has a great vocab and is extremely social...too much sometimes. My child happens to be a visual learner and learns by seeing. And to take away TV completely would not be an advantage for her. And to other parents....who cares what other parents think. If they want to drive themselves crazy and have no life of their own thats their business.

LMC at 4:25PM on Mar 29th 2008

33. Tara- YOU ROCK!

Chanti at 9:12PM on Mar 29th 2008

34. My son who's 2 1/2 loves to watch t.v. in the mornings and sometimes in the evenings. He's watched t.v. since he was a baby (he'd stand in his bouncer and watch baby einstein) and now prefers shows such as Little Einsteins and Diego. As much t.v. as he watches, he's not obsessed about it. He really only watches it at home, and when we're out visiting family or church (the childcare days for bible study), he won't pay two minutes attention to the t.v. In contrast, the children that have limited "30 minutes or less a day" t.v. get glued to watching videos when they can! I take pride in my child getting enough t.v. time at home to enjoy being outside and playing in new environments. It's the same philosophy I use about candy. I don't let me son have lots by no means, but a little bit won't hurt him. The fact that he isn't deprived of candy, makes it not a big deal to him as compared to many kids I see obsess over candy because it's off limits. Moderation is the key and I think that sometimes people go WAY overboard on the no t.v., candy, sugar, plastic toys.

Danigirl04 at 10:03PM on Mar 29th 2008

35. Comment #14 is absolutly correct. There are plenty of things kids can do while you do chores that do not involve watching TV. The whole idea is that TV is passive and children should be ACTIVE. Helping the parent is one option, but there are others as well. How about you allow your child to play by him or herself and develop an imagination?

a parent at 6:45AM on Mar 30th 2008

36. Wow, just wow. What lazy, irresponsible parenting I am seeing. Are you all deluded enough to think that just because you are letting them watch educational TV that makes it okay?! They are passively interacting not actively interacting. Do you really think that all this TV watching is good for their imaginations? And, frankly, I wouldn't be proud at all that my 2 year old is playing video games - what does that prove? Where do you think childhood obesity starts - parking your child's butt in front of a TV or computer.

And, yes, I am being judgmental.

les at 11:23AM on Mar 30th 2008

37. #36 - Childhood obesity starts with people who don't correctly nurish their children. I'm amazed by people on here who have the audacity to flat out call someone lazy and irresponsible when the only thing you know is that we allow our children to watch t.v. And the shows that my children watch aren't passive at all - in fact - my children are up dancing, excercising and more while they are watching. All three of my children measure tall and thin at their checkups and eat healthy food. We go to restaurants and they ask for fish and veggies instead of chicken fingers or the standard mac & cheese. You have unbelievable gall to accuse someone of irresponsibility in child rearing when you know ONE thing about what happens. The only video, ONLY, video game my son plays is Calliou - which challenges him to recognize shapes, letters, numbers, patterns, etc. As well as teaches him basic computer functions that will benefit him in this electronic and computer based world that he is growing up in. And he plays it maybe twice a week. He is certainly not parking his butt in front of it or in front of the t.v.. And yes, I do think that the shows he watches are good for his imagination. He and his brother often make up "problems" and then solve them using skills they have learned from the shows they watch and from their father and myself when they play in their room or outside.

You know, I would bet money that you and the rest of the "judgemental" people on this blog are either not parents (probably concentrating on your career because you don't know how to manage a career and a child at the same time and think that money is more important than a child.... or better yet -that your kids are sitting in front of the t.v. while you have "parked your butt" in front of the computer to critize someone you don't even know. Whereas my children are on a Pirate adventure, hunting for treasure in the back yard with their dad and I am having some much needed mommy time. You are ridiculous. I'd love to know how you have managed to go through life perfect... as that's the only way you would have any right to critize me or any of the other parents on this blog.

Jackie at 11:54AM on Mar 30th 2008

38. Okay, everyone saying you should be supervising your children at every waking moment rather than letting them occasionally be entertained by the TV while we have some child-free time...get real. Amy, don't be hateful toward mothers who work; life is expensive these days, and parenting shouldn't be restricted to those who married doctors, lawyers, and architects.

My son has marked ADHD. He's seven years old, and unless told occasionally to be quiet and let me think, he will, no exaggeration, talk nonstop. No time to breathe. No time to think a question through before he's gotten bored and asked another one. Often he just starts talking without knowing what he's asking until he's hemmed and hawed for a good minute, just because he can't stay QUIET. He even tried to talk underwater while learning to swim. I know, "all kids talk a lot," but literally every person he meets, from other kids to teachers to waitresses he tries to question about their lives, remarks that he's the most talkative child they've ever met.

You know the only thing that can get him to be quiet, and focus? A TV. Now, he doesn't switch off in front of the TV. It'll provoke more questions from him, and he'll want to tell me all about what's going on, but at least for a few minutes at a time, he is happy and entertained. Video games can also do it, and since he spends most of his time with a video game bouncing spastically around in front of it, I don't feel like he's being too sedentary.

My parents were wonderful, patient people who spent a lot of time with me, and even they agree that we NEED a television with plenty of kids stations. It's not just about getting some time to get chores done without the constant distraction of a kid who seems completely incapable of keeping his mouth closed (I mean, he reads at a third grade level now, and instead of sitting quietly with a book he wants to read it to ME and ask questions about every bit of it), it's about sanity.

And to those of you who think this sounds selfish, think of this...who suffers more when I'm pushed to breaking point? Me, or the kid who I snap at when I just need some room to breathe? And eventually I will snap and yell; you'd have to be Mother Theresa not to. Even my mom has raised her voice with him once or twice, and she practically IS Mother Theresa.

Yes, there are tradeoffs. I'm not happy with how many ads he gets exposed to (by the way, he will ask me for everything he sees in every commercial,) and I'm not always thrilled with the shows he picks. But you know...if I don't like the show, I can tell him not to watch that one and switch the channel. All it takes is paying a little attention. But in the end, I like it a lot better than me being the un-fun mom who yells a lot and always seems harassed.

Louisa at 12:07PM on Mar 30th 2008

39. As a kindergarten teacher I wish that I could be as entertaining as shows on TV. Unfortunately I can't be and I have a lot of students each year who can't concentrate on anything that is less has less action than a TV show. It really makes for a difficult year for the children and me especially when the children have never attended a structured learning program.

chrisr at 6:10PM on Mar 30th 2008

40. Ok, I just have to say that anyone that needs to make us mothers feel bad for making decisions should be shot. All right, maybe that's a bit extreme. We worry day and night if we're making the right decisions for our kids. We don't need ANYONE else telling us what bad mothers we are. We know we're not perfect. We are doing the best we can, whether we have 1 or 10. Whether we work or not. I have three children under 5 and two step children (14 and 16). I work full time from at home. My husband and I own a business and in our current economy I've had to lay off my assistant and do both jobs. Most weeks I have at least 2 nights that I get 2-3 hours of sleep. I spend a large amount of the day taking care of the kids and running them to part-time day care. I'm 37 and my husband is 48. He not only works full time but he's also studying to become a minister. His time is spent working, studying and running the older kids around to their activities.

After all that, my kids have their own computer and do watch TV. Sometimes they spend a lot of time on both. If it's cold outside and they can't go out and play, it might be 4-6 hours. That's just so I can work and take care of the normal day to day stuff. Other days they play outside for hours and I have to drag them in to eat. Sometimes they play in their room for hours too.

Each child is very different. I can't do dishes and simply give my son (18 months) some pots and pans. He doesn't sit still long enough. And it's not from TV. He's just very active. He climbs on the chairs and table if I have my back turned. He starts pulling silverware from the dishwasher if it's opened. So giving him something to do while I do the household chores isn't always possible. I try to incorporate them in all that I do, but it's not always possible.

So I do the best I can with what I have been given. It wasn't my choice to have three, but that's what God blessed us with and I don't regret a minute of it. I didn't expect to have to work from at home but that's what allows us the freedom to take the kids on a nice day to Baltimore or somewhere educational. It allows them the opportunity to attend pre-school and interact with other kids. In addition, I have to have a flexible schedule that allows me to take my son to his doctor's appointments. He has a genetic disease that, if not treated, would kill him before he's 16.

Shame on anyone that tells us how wrong we are for what we do. We do more than anyone knows. We all deserve praise for it because it's truly a thankless job. My kids teachers say they are doing well socially. I am sure it's because we are a blended family but I also like to think that I had something to do with that.

Danielle at 1:24PM on Mar 30th 2008

41. MY 6-y-o son who I adopted one year ago :-) is only allowed to watch the tele on Saturday from 8am - 10 am and Sunday from 7am - 9am. When I married his father, our son was almost 4 and was watching about 7 HOURS of TV daily!! I was appalled and put an end to that right away because I raised my 17-y-o daughter without TV.

When our son's tele time was drastically cut he began to read. And read, and read, and read!! In first grade he is reading at a third grade level. His math skills are at a second grade level and he is learning Spanish from me--not a television.

What our son gets out of TV is Discovery, Animal Plant, Weather Channel, and once in a while a dumb cartoon.

Ever since he has "lost" the tele during the school week he has surpassed all of the other kids in his class and is a respectful member of our family. That comes from spending family time together--not watching TV but eating together every night, talking after supper, reading stories, going on bike rides, visiting the science center...I'll never get these young years back so I'm getting the most out of them that I can!!

TURN OFF the darn dummy-box and discover a whole new world.

Kerry at 1:24PM on Mar 30th 2008

42. Kerry- (#40) : Congratulations on the adoption of your son! It is wonderful to see a couple who can join two families and show love and support to the children. I also think it's great that you are teaching your son spanish -unfortunately I do not speak spanish aside from your basic "Hola"! ;-0 And while I don't "rely" on the t.v. to "teach" my child - it is nice that it can occasionally fill in the gaps.

My family - my husband, myself, and our three very active little boys(4,2, &1) eat dinner toghether every night. My one year does not watch television and my four year old and two year old did not watch until they turned two. They do not by any means watch more than two hours a day and don't watch any television on Sat or Sun. b/c those are the days Daddy is home all day and we spend all day together. We live in Colorado (well - my husband is stationed at Fort Carson) so we do a lot outdoors. My four year old is learning to snowboard and ski right now. My husband is being deployed in Aug. to Iraq so he spends absolutely as much time with his boys as possible and a lot of days the t.v. doesn't even come on. But on those days that it is -it is fun for them and a learning experience for them. They also like the Discovery Channel but really prefer more age appropriate cartoons - like Diego, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Stanley.

You know what just struck me as funny - is that it's not recommended by peditricians that kids watch t.v. until they are two - and then at limited amount. And I would say the majority of parents who have said they let their kids watch t.v. - those kids were 2 or older and watch no more than a two or three hours. My one year old does not watch t.v. at all - he stays with me the entire day -just crawls around after me. (yes, we employ the pots and pans game!) My older boys are extrememly respectful and have excellent manners. Oh, they have their moments. What kid doesn't - especially at 4 & 2. But on a regular basis they are kind, generous, respectful (of adults as well as other children) boys. They share very well. I don't think that letting your kids watch t.v. makes them disrespectful or mean. Parents who don't discipline or teach or guide makes kids disrespectful and mean and rude, etc.

In anycase, I actually didn't feel like your comment was as "hell fire condeming" as the other "you're a bad parent" posts... but I did want to clarify a few things.


I'm proud of my kids. Extrememly. And no one on here is going to make me feel badly about the way I raise them. I hope other parents have that same confidence.

Jackie at 1:45PM on Mar 30th 2008

43. I have three children- 5,3, and 1 yr old. I am a stay at home mom. We wake daily at 6. Bedtime is at 8. Two of the three take naps during the afternoon. This still leaves an incredible amount of time to "fill" all day. I find that when the weather is poor or the children are ill, Tv is the old standby. Generally, I let them choose a show to watch in the morning and a couple around dinner time while I am preparing our meal. They beg for more and finagle ways to watch a movie or additional TV while being babysat. My in laws allow hours upon hours of movies or programs, despite knowing that I don't really approve. I am consistently confused about how much TV time is appropriate. We do parks and crafts and library and games and on and on...but the day is so long. Comments?

Kell at 8:09PM on Mar 30th 2008

44. This discussion seems to have deteriorated into bragging about how advanced each person's children are at such a young age. But does all this really amount to anything? My mother is a elementary school principal in my school corporation and, as such, knows quite a bit about early education. When I was born, she decided not to play the role of teacher and instead let me control my own pace of learning and let me watch all the tv I wanted. Now I can't tell you the exact number of hours I watched (it's hard to remember that far back), but I know it was a significant amount. What I am sure of is that I started kindergarten knowing only a few numbers and none of my alphabet.

According to many of the people commenting, my parents were horrible ones who hindered my development and made it impossible to succeed once I was exposed to "real life." However, their tactic, I believe, is the best one to take. Instead of forcing me to learn, they let me discover things on my own. And you can hardly say that, now, I am any worse off for being clueless when I started school. I recieved a perfect SAT score, I'm the top of my class, and I'm attending Purdue University next year to study bioengineering on a full-tuition scholarship.

Sarah at 6:09PM on Apr 1st 2008

45. Sarah...

1) Mothers always brag about their children's accomplishments. Other mothers realize this and just wait their turn to brag back.

2) After your somewhat negative comment about all of our bragging, you then proceed to brag about YOUR accomplishments and attribute them to your parents method ("the best one to take") when raising you. The only difference is the child is bragging instead of the mother.

Having said that, congratulations to you (and your parents) on your accomplishments and best of luck at Perdue!

FL Chick at 5:32PM on Mar 30th 2008