TV and Children

When Robby was at that golden age where he could sit up on his own but was not yet mobile, we went through a brief stage of watching Baby Einstein videos. I don't think he was ever really all that fascinated with them, but he would occasionally turn his attention to whatever image was on the television. Even then, I fought battles with myself over the wisdom of allowing him to watch TV. I do believe that some television for children can be a valuable teaching tool, but I am also quite aware of how addictive it can be and what a negative presence it is in the lives of many children.

As soon as Robby became mobile, he lost all interest in the television and part of me was greatly relieved. We didn't even try to get him to watch any TV again until we drove to Houston this Christmas. We brought our portable DVD player and put The Grinch in for him to watch. No going. Completely uninterested.

So then, sometime early this year, we had the idea that if we wanted the TV on when Robby was around, we would put in Planet Earth since it is educational and has animals in it. Not surprisingly though, Robby really didn't pay too much attention to that either. He would watch a minute or so every once in a while, but he definitely wasn't enthralled.

Then, one day a couple weeks ago when I was utterly exhausted and Bryan wasn't going to be home until after Robby was in bed, I made a decision to put on the movie Cars, which we'd had for a while but never actually watched. Robby was immediately riveted. He climbed into my lap and watched the show for about 30 minutes, until it was bedtime. Now, Robby is not the snuggliest of children, so I enjoyed this very much. I told Bryan about the success, and so a couple of days later when it was a cold Saturday and Robby had pretty much run the house ragged, we put it in again and picked up where we had left off. He loved it as much or more this time. Now, he periodically brings us the remote control and demands Cars with a zooming hand motion to indicate he wants to see the fast races.

I am very torn by this new development. Like any parent, the idea of a few minutes reprieve where I know my child is being still and not getting into something is nice, but I don't want television to ever become a primary feature of his childhood. I also know that his interest in TV will only grow as he gets older and that this is now going to be a part in our lives. So, I am looking for any recommendations or advice on how to best balance the role that television will play in his life.