Against the advice of our pediatrician and countless studies, we let our 18-month-old daughter watch television. (Insert dramatic TV music here.) It’s not a decision we came to lightly. The fact I worked in television news for nearly 15 years actually made it harder—not easier—to decide what’s best for her. In the end, it came down to our reality. Enter Sesame Street. And “Frozen.” Now I am forever indebted to Elmo and Olaf! But our relationship started out slowly. (Romantic music playing.)
My daughter has struggled to nap since her birth. So it should have been no surprise when she started occasionally skipping a nap. Or when her single nap for the day was only 30 minutes. That’s when this stay-at-home mom started getting a little desperate. The house was beginning to fall down around us and—let’s be honest—I needed break! (And a shower!) My patient husband suggested I put her in the bouncy chair and turn on Sesame Street to give myself a few moments in the morning while he was at work. Seemed harmless enough. Her morning routine settled and TV time wasn’t necessary. Then I found myself` in the middle of an especially long nap-less afternoon. (Who knew afternoons could be so long??) Sesame Street to the rescue. Even though my daughter started taking afternoon naps again, I turned on Sesame Street whenever she skipped one. So it became kind of routine. And this mama loves a routine.
During one of those many early trips to the pediatrician, the doctor mentioned that children under the age of two don’t need to watch any television. I must have looked really alarmed. (Imagine horror movie blood-curdling scream.) She mentioned all those pesky studies. (And three, two, one…Mom guilt!) I went home and started Googling. The American Academy of Pediatrics says “Screen viewing before age two has lasting negative effects on children’s language development, reading skills and short-term memory. It also contributes to problems with sleep and attention.” I tried to convince myself a little Sesame Street couldn’t be THAT bad. And thanks to researchers at the University of Maryland and Wellesley College I CAN feel good about all those sunny days on Sesame Street. The study released earlier this year found that kids can learn as much from Sesame Street as they can preschool. So that kind of cancels out all those scary studies, right?
Then we started planning our big family vacation to Destin, Florida. Eight or nine hours in the car with a one-year-old seemed like a prison sentence, not a vacation. That’s when my husband called his brother. Anyone with five children ages six and younger is bound to have some good advice. He suggested buying an inexpensive portable DVD player and strapping it to the seat head rest. Our daughter who is still in a rear-facing car seat would be able to watch a movie. Or lots of movies. A trip to Walmart and the library and we were ready to roll. Our daughter was happy, well-fed and entertained on our trip. Even the menu screen on the DVD Player (a cute RCA dog) was exciting. But, no question, “Frozen” was her favorite. Even now she asks for “Frozen!” and “Snowman!” But watching a movie is definitely a treat at our house and reserved for special (and especially desperate) occasions.
My husband and I are still figuring out the limits for our daughter’s TV viewing that we’re both comfortable with. (Read: He’s not as worried about the TV watching as me.) He points out we spend lots of time reading to our daughter. She has a big vocabulary (and big opinions to go with all those words!). We play outside and go for walks. Plus, we take part in lots of cool educational activities during the week. (Sound like I’m trying to convince myself?)
As you can tell, the dialogue is constantly running in my head. Some parents don’t allow their children (age two and older) to watch any television. I’m constantly reminding myself that allowing our daughter to watch TV doesn’t make us bad parents. And banning TV at your house doesn’t make you a bad parent. It just makes us different parents! And that’s totally okay. In other words, there’s no tidy resolution like at the end of a 60-minute drama.
Cue the credits.
When did you start letting your children watch television? What are the TV rules at your house?
