I love television: My DVR is always working hard, I've got a lengthy list of "must-see" shows, and I always feel a little bummed when my favorites go on summer hiatus. But yet, I'm incredibly careful when it comes to my kids and TV. My husband and I don't settle down with the remote until after our girls are asleep, my two-year-old's exposure is limited to the occasional baseball or football game, and my four-year-old watches just one, 25-minute show (Bubble Guppies is her new favorite) before bed each night. I'm also adament that my girls will not have TVs in their bedroom until - well, perhaps we'll allow it when they come home for the summer during college.
I was happy, though not surprised, to read that Seattle Mama Doc - i.e. pediatrician/blogger Wendy Sue Swanson, MD - and I are on the same page with this TV thing. In a blog entry she summarizes some of the latest research on TV's not-so-great-effects on kids, and she emphatically states that she would never allow a TV in a child’s bedroom:
Plain and simple, I know it’s not good for them and ultimately will only detract from their life. When I talk to families in my practice, I say that TV in the bedroom is just never going to make their life better. It won’t enhance.
Swanson's entry is worth a read, and an added bonus: She's a speaker at the Medicine 2.0 conference being held here in September.
Previously: Study: Too much TV, computer could hurt kids’ mental health, Paper explores effects of electronic media on kids’ health, Does TV watching, or prolonged sitting, contribute to child obesity rates? and TV watching linked to aggression in tots
