3 yo LOVES TV...what have I done?

[MamaBookworm]

We watch tv in our house. We don't have cable, so it's all on-demand stuff from the internet, netflix and such. I recently started to let my 3 yo daughter watch and it has become a huge motivator. Like, she'll do anything easily and willingly if she thinks she's going to watch tv after it. It's kind of awesome for me. She also frequently requests it as an activity. I don't really object to tv watching in general, and she actually seems to be learning a lot. But how much is too much? Should we only do it at certain times of the day? She's watching sometimes up to 2 hours a day, which is a lot considering she's in preschool for 6 of her waking hours.

I know parenting styles vary wildly about the tv topic. I wanted to hear from some people who aren't fundamentally opposed to tv and have young children...what do you do? I live in an area which is sort of yuppie-crunchy. It's definitely a badge of honor around here if your kid has never eaten sugar or watched television, so I feel funny bringing it up with the playground moms.

[queenjane]

Well...our tv is on all the time. Its the way i was raised, its what i am used to. I like the background noise and often even if its on the kids will be playing legos or some make believe game or something. or wont even be in the room (i cant tell you how many times i'll be sitting here on the computer the kids will be outside and i realize no one is watching Nick Jr. oops!)

I think how motivated by tv and how engrossed in it kids becomes depends a lot on the individual child. I have one 4 yr old who gets a bit zombified if the tv is on, who will stand there naked and not finish getting dressed without A LOT of prompting because he's focused on the tv to the exclusion of everything else. His (bio) sister is a lot like this. She has ADHD and he seems to have similar traits so i wonder if hyperfocusing on tv has something to do with that. My other 4 yr old likes tv well enough but gets bored by it easily. He is often begging the other one to play with him, but the other one will often just prefer to lay there watching tv...classic couch potato (even though he's super athletic and a bit hyper!) The second 4 yr old never "zones out" to the tv or refuses to do other activities because he is watching a show.

I know there are a lot of people who will tout studies about how bad it is for you etc...thats just not my thing. Do whatever works for your family and forget the rest.

[tanyam926]

We are a TV watching family too and I don't worry about it, I think that learning to manage the tech world we live in is an important skill. Every family has to figure out a way to do that in the way they feel is best.

I don't feel like being so strict on anything is very helpful for my kids bc then they don't learn the skills they need to manage the world around them.

So I say don't stress about it unless it is interfering with something in your child's life.

[3girls1boy]

I'm not against TV either, but I think we probably watch less than the average. My kids are older (the oldest out of the house and three at home, 18, 15, and 12) but when they were younger I was very strict about no
TV on school nights, but looser on Friday night and Saturday morning. It seemed
easiest to just have the one "no TV on
school nights" rule. Now I don't let them watch
until schoolwork is done (though my husband is more permissive when I am not
home). I also limit Internet time.

[pek64]

I think you should follow your own gut on this. You are the one, and the only one, who will one day look back on these days. What will you wish you had done? Followed the crowd and turn off the TV, use it as a tool on occasion (or daily), or leave it on all the time. What feels right to *you*? That's who to listen to -- yourself.