A recently completed study at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in
Seattle indicated that for every hour a young child (age two or under) watched
TV each day, there was a 10% increase in the chances of an attention disorder by
the time this child was age seven. This is happening in a country where,
according to the Kaiser Family Institute, around 65% of kids age
two or under
watch at least two hours of TV a day.

We have a TV culture that not only
poses risks for young children, it cuts deeply into time that could be devoted
to families spending quality time together.

TV is not evil. There are
wonderful programs for both adults and kids. And there is a tremendous amount of
garbage. One of the most important things you can do as a parent is to set
limits on TV watching (and video game playing) while your kids are young. If
these limits aren’t set early, kids will tend to gravitate towards the
garbage
that’s on the tube, and they’ll spend precious time that could be
spent more productively.

When you set limits on TV watching, you’ll get
some screams and howls from your kids. Don’t EVER cave in on these demands, or
you’ll be sorry. This is your job. Set simple and very clear rules about what
they can watch and when they can watch it.  Have a time limit on how long
they can watch. Many parents have had success with a policy of no TV during the
week and a few hours allowed on the weekends.

By all means, at least have
a policy of no TV until all homework has been completed. If you want a nightmare
around finishing homework, allow them to watch TV before the work is done! Power
struggles will naturally follow this policy. Be aware of the desire of your kids
to just “watch TV.” This usually means flipping channels until your kids can
come across a disturbing and violent
show or movie.

This is the
emotional and mental health of your child that we’re talking about here! The
average child in this country spends about 28 hours in front of a TV or video
game a week, about the amount of time they spend in school. And when a lot of
garbage goes in, a lot of garbage comes out. Have the discipline to create
other
alternatives for your kids.

Here are some ideas:

• Start
when they’re young. It’s a whole lot more difficult to keep TV viewing under
control once they’ve “gotten into the habit.”

• Keep the TV in the
basement and don’t make it a prominent part of your household. Your kids will
learn that there are a lot of other things to do besides sitting in front of the
screen.

• Get involved with friends and family who also would like to
limit the TV influence in their families. It can be difficult when your
neighbors or family members give your child free reign to watch, and there may
be times when you just have to bend your limits when dealing with
other
families. If you can create a “community” of other families who feel
the same way you do, it will make it a lot easier to “sell” the concept of
limited TV to your kids.

• Limit how much TV you watch. It’s a bit
hypocritical to watch a lot of TV yourself while limiting TV time for your kids.
It may be hard, but make some tough choices. You’ll find a great amount of
freedom in choosing other options for yourself, rather than being a “slave” to
your
weekly shows.

• Give your kids a lot of other choices to
make.  Expose them to sports, arts and crafts, camping, hiking, or anything
else they might develop a passion for. It will help if you show a passion for
the activities that you’re showing them. The prevailing attitude can be, “Why
would we want to be watching TV when we can be having experiences like
this?”

Limiting the exposure of your kids to TV, especially at a young
age, will be one of the most important decisions you make for your
child.

They’re counting on you—make the right choice.