Parents Talk Q&A: Do You Let Your Toddlers Watch TV?

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This week's question comes from a new member of council, Will Goldstein: Do you let your toddlers watch television?

Will Goldstein: Our 20-month old son watches one episode of Sesame Street every day, with a smattering of online Sesame Street videos as well. We also watched baby sign language videos with him as early as four months. 

I know I can't speak for every kid, but our son has absolutely thrived with this screen time. He loves to sing the songs, has attachment to the different characters, whom he integrates into his pretend play, and even knows his ABCs already. I truly believe that, in addition to providing us with a much-needed hour or so of down time each day, Sesame Street and these other videos have been a huge benefit. 

That being said, screen time is always an active time. We almost always watch with him, asking questions, encouraging interaction with the songs and dancing. We also (try to) use it as a tool to teach patience. If he doesn't like what's currently on, he has to wait until the next segment comes on. (Not that this always works, but it gives us a chance to try!)

And TV is no substitute for reading and other play. For every hour of TV time, our son enjoys at least another hour or two of reading.

In short, we think TV time — done right — can be very valuable time. 

Katura Simmons: My two older children went to a home daycare where all they did was watch television. So when school started, it was harder for them to catch on. So I switched things up for my two younger children who started an educational daycare as early as possible. There, they barely watched any television. The younger two were more successful with reading skills and did not depend on much television, and the older two were the opposite.

Therefore, I would let my toddler watch television, but it would be restricted by time limit and of course shows.

Mariya Ali: I'd love to be able to say that I am one of those amazing parents who fill their toddler's day with enriching activities without involving TV, but the reality is that I cannot claim that. My girls are now 13- and 6-years-old, but when they were toddlers, they got exposed to plenty of television. It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I have used TV as the babysitter at times in order to get things done or to get some quiet time.

However, I also strongly believe that just about anything is OK in moderation. There are certainly plenty of very "healthy TV" choices for toddlers — Sesame Street and Backyardigans, just to name a couple. In addition, not every parent is an expert on child education and development, so using some of these programs as a jumping-off point can be a great strategy. I used to watch these programs with my kids and then talk about the concepts discussed in the latest episode, sing their favorite songs together, or even answer their questions about what happened in an episode to help their comprehension skills.  

I also feel that toddler years are a prime opportunity for kids to get their fill of TV before they start school and take on responsibilities of homework and extracurricular activities.

I am a lot more strict about limiting my kids' TV time now than I was before they started school. My biggest rule is no TV on school nights — by the time we get home, have dinner, tackle homework, chores and get ready for bed, there is usually not a lot of time left for anything else. I noticed that, if my girls expect to fit some TV time in, they either put off taking care of their responsibilities, rush through their work and sacrifice quality, or simply get very crabby once they realize that there will be no time left for TV.  

So I realized a while back that it would be a lot easier to simply ban all TV on weeknights. I tell them that they can catch up on TV-watching over the weekend, and most of the time they are happy with this arrangement. Of course, the weekend is also filled with weekend chores, family time, dance class and other activities. I also insist on some reading time. So at the end of the day, my kids maybe only get about 4 hours of TV time per week. Add to it that my husband and I control the selection of movies and shows available to them, and I no longer feel like such a terrible parent.