I don’t mention this often, but 30 years ago when our television broke, we had a new baby and not enough money, so we decided to put off the purchase of a new TV. The delay went on for six years until our daughter was seven years old. Originally we did not make a decision out of any deep philosophical principles — and back then there was a lot less research about the effect of TV-watching on young children — we simply did not have money that we wanted to spend on a new set just then (or we had other things we wanted to purchase — I really don’t remember). However, gradually we forgot our plans to purchase a new television because we liked what happened in our family.
We read more, we listened to music more, we ate less junk food, and during the times we were at home, we played lots of games and went to the park almost every day after we returned from work. By age 2-and-a-half our daughter could beat both of us at any memory game we put out on the table. We also read aloud, all the time. In fact, we read so much that sometimes we needed to go to the public library twice a week. Listening to the radio, sometimes NPR and at other times classical or oldies was a regular activity, and we went to movies.
Read Mommy, Why Can’t I Watch More TV, over at Boston.com. Author Beth Teitell describes the how many of us let our children watch increased amounts of television and play more video games like Wii during vacations, winter months, and especially after big snowstorms when school is closed.
According to the March 1. 2011 article, which also quotes Children’s Hospital Boston Mediatrician, Michael Rich, MD, it’s not always easy to retrench after periods of excess media activities.
Visit this site for list of questions that parents can use to help children evaluate television advertisements.
Right now, around Superbowl weekend, lots of people write and debate about how much television is okay for young children to watch, and many parents wring their hands about manipulative advertising. This brings back memories.
I don’t talk about this often, but 29 years ago when our television broke, we had a new baby and not enough money, so we decided to put off the purchase of a new TV. The delay went on for six years until our daughter was seven years old. Originally we did not make a decision out of any deep philosophical principles — and back then there was a lot less research about the effect of TV-watching on young children — we simply did not have money that we wanted to spend on a new set just then (or we had other things we wanted to purchase , I really don’t remember). However, gradually we forgot our plans to purchase a new television because we liked what happened in our family.
Yesterday I wrote about a newspaper article that described the updated American Academy of Pediatrics media recommendations for children under two years of age. Here’s the direct link to the updated policy statement, Media Use by Children Younger Than 2 Years from the journal Pediatrics. The entire document is easily accessible and free, about four pages of reading plus footnotes.
Media! Tech! Parenting! 
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