All parents know how exhausting children can be. You just want them to sit still for a few minutes so you can relax, right?!
Although there are days when I want to take that break and set him in front of the TV, we don't let James watch TV. It's a decision we made before he was born based on some research I had read saying children, under the age of 3, who watch tv are more likely to be diagnosed with ADD or ADHD later in life. It made sense to me. These tv shows are flashing a new image every 10 seconds and the kids aren't even catching what's going on before a new scene is on the screen. When your brain is given all this stimulation it shuts itself off and doesn't form the neural pathways that would be created if baby was playing with a toy and discovering on his own.
I can't explain it all so I thought I'd put the links to the research I've found so you can read it for yourself and make your own decision. Now, I'm not saying I think all parents who let their kids watch tv are bad or lazy parents. I know that's true of some, but for others I think they just aren't informed. I just wanted you to think about it because I think some parents just think it's "funny" how entralled the baby is with the tv and don't think it's doing any harm. But I would encourage you to read these articles. It makes sense to me with the increased number of diagnoses and the amount of time toddlers are watching "educational tv" and even the size of the TVs these days seems like it might have something to do with it. I figure even if it isn't the reason kids have ADD it isn't going to hurt him to not watch TV!
Recent article on SpongeBob
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