Television is still the favorite

Despite all of the media technology has churned out, I have noticed that my children along with most others I know still prefer television amongst everything else. Yes, they will sit glued totally to their Nintendo DS without a care in the world for anything else, but their attention span compares none to that of the tube.

I even tested their attention span on the computer. While it lasted slightly longer than the DS, it still fails to even compete with the television. When they sit in front of their "magic box" they hardly even remember their hunger pangs and the sleep deprivation.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, researchers discovered that most kids plug into the world of television long before they start school. On an average, two thirds of infants and toddlers watch the tv screen for 2 hours a day, while children aged 8 to 18 years old spend almost 4 hours a day.

I have a sister-in-law who refused to let her children even take a glimpse of the television until the age of 5. My brother of course grew accustomed to watching his favorite shows on his Ipod, which he had to previously download. Whenever they came around the house, it was REQUESTED of us to switch off all television screens if the children were in the vicinity of the room. Personally, i found it ridiculous and always attributed this intense upbringing to the extreme measures of the American culture.

In a strange way, I could also see where she was coming from but I took a different approach when it came to my turn. I always pictured my boys being physical, reading, doing their homework, and playing with their friends... all without fussing when asked to do so. But latey, I must admit, I am started to feel slightly concerned and torn on the issue.

While I still find it ridiculous to take television away  from them completely, I am torn as to where the boundaries should be set. There are so many educational shows being screened all the time but wouldn't I be taking a part of my kids' childhoods away if I shut out the exciting world of animation?

How many hours do your kids spend in front of the television? Have you set guidelines on their television-viewing schedule? What problems have you encountered while implementing these guidelines?

Source: http://www.kidshealth.org

* Lucia Amara is the otherwise perfect mum with dirty little secrets she might not ever share with you. She claims herself to be the perfect mum before she had kids.

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