It really seems to me that it comes down to a fundamental disagreement about the nature of TV. Is it neutral to beneficial? Or is it neutral to dangerous? Is it like cookies, or is it like alcohol? We each get to make a decision about that, and from that decision, any position from total TV-free-dom to total TV-freedom can make complete sense.
For me, it is like alcohol; it is not something to deliberately expose my child to. We just don't have TV in the house, so there's no power struggle over it, just like we don't have chocolate in the house, because I'm allergic to it. In a decade, we can have discussions about personal choices and negotiate over the issue if he really wants access to TV at that point, but for now, I am not denying him anything, only avoiding exposing him to something that, to me, is simply not appropriate for children, or for regular consumption by adults. Others have a fundamentally different view of TV, and thus they make perfectly understandable and reasonable decisions that appear radically different from mine.
For me, it is like alcohol; it is not something to deliberately expose my child to. We just don't have TV in the house, so there's no power struggle over it, just like we don't have chocolate in the house, because I'm allergic to it. In a decade, we can have discussions about personal choices and negotiate over the issue if he really wants access to TV at that point, but for now, I am not denying him anything, only avoiding exposing him to something that, to me, is simply not appropriate for children, or for regular consumption by adults. Others have a fundamentally different view of TV, and thus they make perfectly understandable and reasonable decisions that appear radically different from mine.
). It is not a judgement on the people that did them- people just didn't know. Sunbathing, for one. We used to throw everything away, now we recycle. When I was a kid, seatbelts were like a foreign idea. Doctors told women formula was better than breastmilk and to put babies to sleep on their tummies. For goodness sakes- only recently have people really been able to PROVE that smoking causes cancer. Even recently, things we (moms here including myself) have probably done because we (collective as all people) just didn't know- how many of us have given babies or small children cold medicine thinking we are helping a stuffy little one breathe easier? Now we come to find out that not only that it doesn't work, but that it may be harmful or even dangerous and now is not advised at all.
) I'm noting a trend... I think we feel "OK" with the pre-school shows. They are cute, not total drivel, we ourselves have fond memories of them, nothing objectionable in them, and pre-schoolers are still young and flexible and manageable enough to be OK when the TV goes off to find other ways of entertaining themselves... So we begin a pattern of TV (or, at least we are saying to ourselves "This isn't so bad!"). Then, before we know it, the shows have changed. The kids are less tolerant of "TV rules". We've come to accept the TV's presence and so we maybe let it stay on longer, more often. Soon Sesame Street will be out of favor. What happens next?
That's because I have confidence that I'll be able to adapt as a mom as she grows as a child. Our lives and our (limited) TV viewing will certainly be different when she's, say, six years old or twelve years old. But that doesn't mean I won't continue to monitor her activities and her TV viewing and guide her through life as I do now.
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