Television

I watched a lot of television as a child and my mother paid absolutely no attention to what I watched. I watched TV every single day, probably at least two hours per day on average. I also had a TV in my bedroom starting at the age of 8 or 9. My family was the kind of family that would be considered horrific by today's standards. Having grown up this way and having neither ADHD nor the desire to shoot people because I watched Charlie's Angels (though I did develop a thing for feathered hair and pintos), I don't often climb up onto the Anti-Television Soap Box but... A study released on Monday found that 40% of 3 month old babies regularly watch television. I'm guessing that you have to prop up a 3 month old to even make that possible and if I had propped by 3 month old babies up to do anything, it would have been to hold up a cookbook so that I could make dinner. Even more shocking than tiny babies watching TV is the fact that 90% of 2 year olds are freqent viewers. Maybe it's just me but it seems like 2 year olds ought to be doing other things like playing with their peers or running around outside or screaming incessantly at their parents that they will not, under any circumstances, do any of the various things their parents want them to do. I know there are parents that can't get their kids out of the house for all sorts of reasons. I know there are parents that need a break from their kids and the only way to get it is to allow the kids to watch some TV. I'm not picking on those families. I'm shocked by the number of families who put their kids in front of the TV because it is "educational". Children learn about the world around them by experiencing it directly. I would rather my 2 year old learned her colors by pointing at leaves and flowers than by pointing at a colored shape floating without context on a TV screen.

Alrighty then...I'm climbing down and putting the soap box away...