Friday January 19, 2007
You know, I thought I would be a parent who severly limited or didn’t have tv on at all, and then I had Zane. For the longest time I felt guilty about letting him watch tv, even though I was very careful about what I let him watch. I have seen the studies and read the opinions, and as Zane has gotten older, I just don’t agree that it is true of every child.
I absolutely agree that we need to moniter what our kids watch. Unlike my friends, I don’t think Star Wars is appropriate for a 3 year old to watch over and over and over again, even though I love Star Wars myself. I find it particularly funny that the same friend criticizes us for letting our 5 year old watch Boobah and Teletubbies because ‘it sends the wrong message’. I can concede that for *some* 3 year olds it might be ok to watch stuff like that, but I tend to think anything that shows violence should wait until much older.
With a child who does not understand social or cultural clues innately, I find that television helps this a lot. First of all, it gives his therapists and teachers a starting point…something that will grab his interest to help explain or teach a concept (what is Dora holding? When Micky talks to others, he looks at their face. Who is bigger, Dora or Boots?)
