Too Much TV For Kids?

[pensmama87]

I really enjoyed this short post on kids and screen time and some questions to reflect on as far as what works best for your household.

I can get worked up over specific “minutes,” so it’s nice to reflect on why I care about screen time to begin with. My kids watch 1-2 hours a day on average, and after I stop babysitting that will probably be cut down some (plus with summer we will be going out and doing things more). But what matters much more is what we’re doing when we’re not watching TV (and if I’m glued to a screen all the time even if they’re not…which is something else I’m working on!) If screen time means I’m not doing the important stuff (the questions in the post cover those very well), then time to cut back. If all that is happening and we’re all content, then having my 5 year old son watch an hour while his little brothers nap is okay.

(I do think that content matters a great deal, though. There is enough “good TV” out there that I am not comfortable at all with letting my kids just watch crud. My babysitting kids love a Lego show that is basically 20 minutes of toy commercial, and it’s all they talk about when they’re here. Drives. Me. Batty!)

 

[ahollars]

I do think content matters more than time. I will allow as much as 6 hours on a lazy Sunday when the weather is particularly bad outside, but they don’t get to blow it on cartoons. If they want to watch a “How It’s Made” marathon, I don’t let that bother me. If anything, I’ll just make them keep the washer and dryer running, and they pause the DVR when the timers beep. They’re sitting down already, so they might as well fold. Win-win for our house.

 

[ahollars]

I just realized, my kids are probably older than what you’re talking about.

When they were smaller, good old-fashioned toys did the trick. Cars, dolls, Legos, puzzles, and coloring books worked. Yes, I’ve had to paint my walls. It’s inevitable for every parent.

 

[pensmama87]

I just realized, my kids are probably older than what you’re talking about.

When they were smaller, good old-fashioned toys did the trick. Cars, dolls, Legos, puzzles, and coloring books worked. Yes, I’ve had to paint my walls. It’s inevitable for every parent.

I suppose it depends on what you mean by “trick.” My kids definitely play with toys, but sometimes I need them to be quiet and still so I can do something without them underfoot, or so that other ones can sleep. I don’t think it’s wrong to use screens to do that, as long as they’re a tool and not a substitute parent/friend.

(My boys are 5, 3, and 8 months; and my babysitting kids are 7 and 9.)

 

[UbiCaritas]

OT but related: I recently found out that a lot of the old (ie, much better) Sesame Street shows, as well as Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and Bob Ross (the PBS painting show from the '90s) are all available on Youtube, thanks to PBS putting them up there. They won’t be every kid’s cup of tea, but many will enjoy them, and unlike Caillou, they generally won’t make you want to poke your eardrums out with the nearest sharp, pointy object.

 

[pensmama87]

OT but related: I recently found out that a lot of the old (ie, much better) Sesame Street shows, as well as Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and Bob Ross (the PBS painting show from the '90s) are all available on Youtube, thanks to PBS putting them up there. They won’t be every kid’s cup of tea, but many will enjoy them, and unlike Caillou, they generally won’t make you want to poke your eardrums out with the nearest sharp, pointy object.

I am amazed Caillou is still a thing. He was around when I was a kid and my mom hated him (as did I - I think I was around 10?) I don’t remember my little sisters being particularly fond of him, either.

I don’t permit my kids to watch whiny kids, lest they get any ideas.

ETA: Just looked it up and Caillou first came out in 1997, so yes, I was 10. And here we are, almost 20 years later, and he’s still whining…about everything…

 

[1Lord1Faith]

OT but related: I recently found out that a lot of the old (ie, much better) Sesame Street shows, as well as Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and Bob Ross (the PBS painting show from the '90s) are all available on Youtube, thanks to PBS putting them up there. They won’t be every kid’s cup of tea, but many will enjoy them, and unlike Caillou, they generally won’t make you want to poke your eardrums out with the nearest sharp, pointy object.

I love Youtube for little ones. Mine still love this one: youtube.com/watch?v=BELlZKpi1Zs&list=PL9bsPVRSg1sl0kSa99jrim69esS0lQrkF

 

[tomarin]

I am amazed Caillou is still a thing. He was around when I was a kid and my mom hated him (as did I - I think I was around 10?) I don’t remember my little sisters being particularly fond of him, either.

I don’t permit my kids to watch whiny kids, lest they get any ideas.

ETA: Just looked it up and Caillou first came out in 1997, so yes, I was 10. And here we are, almost 20 years later, and he’s still whining…about everything…

He’s just a boy that’s four,
And will be forevermore.

 

[pensmama87]

He’s just a boy that’s four,
And will be forevermore.

That’s true, but I think he’s an exceptionally whiny four-year-old, and I’d rather my kids not imitate him. I can understand the push to make relatable, somewhat realistic children on children’s programming. But kids do imitate what they see - that’s part of being kids - and I’d rather not have my kids watch a lot of misbehaving kids and get the idea that that’s how kids *should *be. If I want them to watch kids having tantrums I’ll just hang out in the grocery store.

(Compare Caillou to, say, Daniel Tiger, who may get frustrated over things and growl, which is like my kids, but then learns how to “take a step back and ask for help.” I think that show is really good on social and emotional regulation. Everyone learns and names their feelings, but they learn to manage them appropriately and apologize when they’ve hurt somebody. All very good stuff. )

 

[tomarin]

That’s true, but I think he’s an exceptionally whiny four-year-old, and I’d rather my kids not imitate him. I can understand the push to make relatable, somewhat realistic children on children’s programming. But kids do imitate what they see - that’s part of being kids - and I’d rather not have my kids watch a lot of misbehaving kids and get the idea that that’s how kids *should *be. If I want them to watch kids having tantrums I’ll just hang out in the grocery store.

(Compare Caillou to, say, Daniel Tiger, who may get frustrated over things and growl, which is like my kids, but then learns how to “take a step back and ask for help.” I think that show is really good on social and emotional regulation. Everyone learns and names their feelings, but they learn to manage them appropriately and apologize when they’ve hurt somebody. All very good stuff. )

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea - I think more adults loathe it than like it - but that theme song has stayed in my head all these years, is what I was trying to get across. Because the lyrics indicate that Caillou is 4 I remember that my son was 3, then 4 - like Cailou - then about 5 when he stopped watching it altogether. He’s 10 now. It helps remind me how far we’ve come.

I’m not too surprised it debuted in 1997 because it seems PBS keeps their shows on the air mostly unchanged for much longer than commercial television, perhaps because ratings aren’t as much of an issue. One show that I rather liked but my kids never got into, Arthur, was already quite old by the time I started watching it. Some of the episodes I watched were over 10 years old.

 

[anon67074017]

I only think watching too much TV becomes a problem if it interferes with life’s duties. There are some shows that should not be watched by kids on TV.

 

[Allegra]

OT but related: I recently found out that a lot of the old (ie, much better) Sesame Street shows, as well as Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood and Bob Ross (the PBS painting show from the '90s) are all available on Youtube, thanks to PBS putting them up there. They won’t be every kid’s cup of tea, but many will enjoy them, and unlike Caillou, they generally won’t make you want to poke your eardrums out with the nearest sharp, pointy object.

I’ve been watching Caillou for the last 8 hours. I found the Caillou station on youtube after the charge nurse begged me to put an end to the 10 day Frozen marathon that’s been going on in my daughter’s room. (We ARE actually doing educational stuff while these shows are on. My daughter just likes the songs. )

 

[Allegra]

That’s true, but I think he’s an exceptionally whiny four-year-old, and I’d rather my kids not imitate him. I can understand the push to make relatable, somewhat realistic children on children’s programming. But kids do imitate what they see - that’s part of being kids - and I’d rather not have my kids watch a lot of misbehaving kids and get the idea that that’s how kids *should *be. If I want them to watch kids having tantrums I’ll just hang out in the grocery store.

(Compare Caillou to, say, Daniel Tiger, who may get frustrated over things and growl, which is like my kids, but then learns how to “take a step back and ask for help.” I think that show is really good on social and emotional regulation. Everyone learns and names their feelings, but they learn to manage them appropriately and apologize when they’ve hurt somebody. All very good stuff. )

I think Daniel Tiger is every bit as whiny as Caillou and watching it is like a half hour long responsorial psalm. I detest them both. I like Sid the Science Kid. And Word World is growing on me. I think Martha Speaks is kind of cute too.

 

[anon67074017]

I’ve been watching Caillou for the last 8 hours. I found the Caillou station on youtube after the charge nurse begged me to put an end to the 10 day Frozen marathon that’s been going on in my daughter’s room. (We ARE actually doing educational stuff while these shows are on. My daughter just likes the songs. )

You should show her The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It is a film by Disney that does not demonize Catholicism and it has good songs. It also shares elements with Frozen.

 

[ThePCWife]

That post was pure Sanctimommy. But given the situation most mothers are in these days, I no longer think TV is the problem. Interactive tablets and smartphones are much more trouble. I play straight tv of appropriate and sound stuff and simply don’t jump on the devices train. And I think for most kids, that’s probably fine.

 

[Allegra]

You should show her The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It is a film by Disney that does not demonize Catholicism and it has good songs. It also shares elements with Frozen.

We have that one at home, but she hasn’t shown much interest in it yet. I haven’t had a problem with children’s movies that demonize Catholicism. Most don’t address religion at all.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

I am amazed Caillou is still a thing. He was around when I was a kid and my mom hated him (as did I - I think I was around 10?) I don’t remember my little sisters being particularly fond of him, either.

I don’t permit my kids to watch whiny kids, lest they get any ideas.

ETA: Just looked it up and Caillou first came out in 1997, so yes, I was 10. And here we are, almost 20 years later, and he’s still whining…about everything…

And he’s still 4.

I actually think what contributes to his whining sound is that the person who voices him is an adult. At a certain point they changed his voice (somewhere between my oldest son who is 14 and my youngest who is 7) It wasn’t an improvement.

What amazes me is the amount of patience every single adult on that show has. I think that there’s one episode where Mrs. Caillou comes close to losing her temper. Caillou was very mean to Rosie and pushed her out if his room.

I actually like Peppa Pig. My littlest doesn’t watch it much now. I am not sure what it is, but there’s something about it that to me is very funny. It almost plays on two levels, cute sweet interactions with Peppa and her little friends. And then dry humor for the parents.

 

[Allegra]

And he’s still 4.

I actually think what contributes to his whining sound is that the person who voices him is an adult. At a certain point they changed his voice (somewhere between my oldest son who is 14 and my youngest who is 7) It wasn’t an improvement.

What amazes me is the amount of patience every single adult on that show has. I think that there’s one episode where Mrs. Caillou comes close to losing her temper. Caillou was very mean to Rosie and pushed her out if his room.

I actually like Peppa Pig. My littlest doesn’t watch it much now. I am not sure what it is, but there’s something about it that to me is very funny. It almost plays on two levels, cute sweet interactions with Peppa and her little friends. And then dry humor for the parents.

If you ask me, those adults have too much patience. Caillou makes my palms itch.

 

[pensmama87]

And he’s still 4.

I actually think what contributes to his whining sound is that the person who voices him is an adult. At a certain point they changed his voice (somewhere between my oldest son who is 14 and my youngest who is 7) It wasn’t an improvement.

What amazes me is the amount of patience every single adult on that show has. I think that there’s one episode where Mrs. Caillou comes close to losing her temper. Caillou was very mean to Rosie and pushed her out if his room.

I actually like Peppa Pig. My littlest doesn’t watch it much now. I am not sure what it is, but there’s something about it that to me is very funny. It almost plays on two levels, cute sweet interactions with Peppa and her little friends. And then dry humor for the parents.

I haven’t watched Peppa Pig, although we got a few of the little board books from Chick-fil-A once in kids’ meals, and the kids liked those. They seemed harmless enough.

The big show in our house right now is Octonauts. My boys are really into animal shows, so they watch that, Wild Kratts, and Zoboomafoo (which is my least favorite Kratt brothers thing, but it’s still not terrible).

The other day DH had to work late and as a special treat/way to keep my sanity since it had been an all-around very stressful day I let the kids watch an episode of Planet Earth with me, and they absolutely loved it. Especially predator/prey sequences. “Is that leopard gonna catch that deer, Mommy? Is she gonna get him??? Wow, she got him!!! Now she is going to take the food back to her babies!” (At least they’re not traumatized.)

 

[Xantippe]

I haven’t watched Peppa Pig, although we got a few of the little board books from Chick-fil-A once in kids’ meals, and the kids liked those. They seemed harmless enough.

The big show in our house right now is Octonauts. My boys are really into animal shows, so they watch that, Wild Kratts, and Zoboomafoo (which is my least favorite Kratt brothers thing, but it’s still not terrible).

The other day DH had to work late and as a special treat/way to keep my sanity since it had been an all-around very stressful day I let the kids watch an episode of Planet Earth with me, and they absolutely loved it. Especially predator/prey sequences. “Is that leopard gonna catch that deer, Mommy? Is she gonna get him??? Wow, she got him!!! Now she is going to take the food back to her babies!” (At least they’re not traumatized.)

I’m still traumatized by a late night hotel viewing of an Animal Planet involving Burmese pythons eating alligators.