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The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad or by one of our baby bloggers. Occasionally we accept guest posts too. There is frequently talk of sustainable living, saving money, lifestyle and travel. It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.
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How much does TV influence your children?

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I had forgotten how seductive the TV can be. Not in that way, I mean the way it draws children in and can captivate them for hours. We have TV on demand, so this means that my eldest can select the programmes she wants, when she wants them, which is great in her mind BUT is it great for her mind and body really?

TV viewing has been linked to obesity in children, amongst other problems, so it's more than a good idea to stay on top of the time the children spend in front of the screen. Research shows that academic success is linked to how much TV your child watches and with whom she watches it. Children with moderate access to television who watch with a parent score significantly higher academically than children who watch a moderate amount of TV on their own. (yikes)

If we are all honest, the TV can be our friend. The TV can "help" when you just need five minutes to do something (even if it is just to go to the toilet, I have said before that this is apparently no longer a one person job anymore) but when the 2 year old becomes obsessed with Peppa Pig, I have begun to wonder how much influence that little pig (and TV in general) has on our lives.

The little one was bouncing on our bed and said "on Peppa's bouncy castle"

The eldest said "mommy, can you get me a garbage bag" (we are in the UK, not the USA)

Aaagggh, it made me want to grab a backpack and fill it with some essentials and get them outside, adventuring, exploring and NOT watching the television. Unfortunately we have been plagued with sickness, the other (back on the toilet again) and horrible conjunctivitis this week, so we decided on some crafting and painting. What did the little one want to paint? Peppa Pig!!!

How much influence does the TV have in your house?

 

 

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Comments

  1. I studied children and television in depth for my dissertation. I think it is mainly what they are watching (and whether it has adverts), and what they are doing when they are not watching tv that matters. I think my boys watch an awful lot of tv and going by my oldest's grades it's not a problem.

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  2. My three do watch a large amount of TV, usually cbeebies in the evening as they have learnt to take the the queues from the bedtime hour, as part of their bed time routine. I think when used properly, TV can be a wonderful tool for supporting a child's learning but it really depends on what they watch and what they do when they are not watching.

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  3. I think it's all too easy to fall into the trap of switching the telly on out of routine, I know I'm guilty of it!

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  4. I have to admit that my son watches a lot of TV, as did my daughter when she was his age. I work from home and often I just need to get things done, and I can't always rely on family and friends to entertain him when I can't... so TV or DVDs it is. My son really loves Thomas the tank engine, but I can't work out whether he saw that first on TV on in books at his grandparents house - it's a bit of a chicken and egg scenario. He's always had an affinity with trains, so when I do manage to switch off the box and get outside, he wants to go and trainspot, or ride on the mini railway in the park. What a dork. I love him.

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  5. When my kids were very little, I found TV very useful - I would rest and watch half an hour with my eldest whilst pregnant with my second etc. Then TV became a routine.. and I found the kids complaining if they hadn't watched any after a day of playing outside and having to come in for bedtime.. so in the Summer, we introduced: No TV, but a movie night with popcorn on Fridays. It has worked REALLY well. They rarely ask for additional TV and we have "More time" again after school.

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