You always hear that you should limit your child’s tv watching. Ok, I see their point (kind of…), however I feel that tv gets a bad rap sometimes. So I wanted to tell you how I think tv has actually helped me rationalize with my daughter, PP.
Here are some lessons our friends on TV have taught us :
–Barney: The “clean up” song. I always pull that one out every time we need to clean up. I say, “What does Barney tell you to do?” And PP says, “Clean Up!.” Why thank you, Barney!
–Yo Gabba Gabba: “Hold still” If you’ve seen You Gabba Gabba, you are probably thinking, ”what can this show possibly teach my kid?”, but they sing a song that goes: “Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle, Go! HOLD STILL.” PP loves to dance along to this (getting some exercise at the same time, no doubt) and I’ve found it useful when I need to tell her to stop running. (which is all the time) I yell out to her “HOLD STILL” and she stops moving, just like that.
–Noddy: The “Chocolate” episode. Tubby Bear (yes, that is his name) eats too much chocolate and gets a tummy ache in this episode. He says how sick he feels from eating too much chocolate. So when Halloween rolled around, I told PP that she couldn’t eat too much chocolate since she would get sick like Tubby Bear–worked like a charm!
But here’s one I wouldn’t recommend:
–Wow Wow Wubbzy: now this comment is specific to the movie not the TV show. (PP is a fan of the show) In the movie, Wubzy is scared of monsters & is up all night talking about the monsters getting him. Thank you, Wubzy. (note: that’s sarcasm) Now, PP says on almost a daily basis that the monsters are going to get her (she basically freaked out at Halloween because she said that there were monsters everywhere).
In summary, I don’t think all tv is bad. There are certain shows that are educational & fun (I also love the new show, Sid the Science Kid). Obviously you have to moderate what your kids watch & pull the plug when necessary, (like when the Wow Wow Wubzy movie comes on!) but all in all, we’re admittedly pro-TV in our house!
I think the people who are against TV are the same people who did not have cable or were not allowed to watch TV when they were groing up. If I was not allowed to watch TV as a child, I would have missed out on many great memories.
I agree. I think can be a good thing in moderation…like with anything. My son has picked up quite a few positive things from TV. We very much so limit the type of shows he can watch and how much but I don’t see why everyone is so down on electronics…TV, computers, video games. It’s all about the quality of it and how much you’re allowing them.
Nell