New book: TV is even worse for kids than prevouisly believed.

[spidermama]

It's coming out of Thursday but is being previewed in some papers.

It's called Remotely Controlled and it has some pretty explosive assertions about how really terrible TV is for our brains (especially the under 3s).

Will you buy it/read about it?
Or turn the other cheek?

The bloke who wrote this book was on Richard and Judy yesterday, along with the controller of Cbeebies and while he had valid arguments he did admit that the carefully made programmes on cbeebies were not the problem.

He was against the very fast edited Japanese and american cartoon programmes. He said that they could subliminally affect the childs attention span, making it more difficult to learn when the children went to school. A good point I thought.

The cbeebies lady said that the majority of their programmes are made with a lot of research to ensure that they are educational and interactive. I think that like most things in life this is a case of trying to achieve a balance of tv viewing and other forms of entertainment.

So, common sense prevails anyway!

publishers's blurb...
"...provides evidence as to how television ...and is responsible for over half of all rapes and murders in the industrialised world."

wow, that's some evidence.

Ha! thanks for that Carmenere - vindication!

and the common sense had gone again.

mind you, there's to be a new tv channel specifically for the under3's, can't say I feel comfortable with that, either.

I think its probably a good idea for toddlers to know that there is a beginning and an end to programmes. Its constant non stop stuff that worries me. it must be difficult for a toddler to separate out the world on television and the real world if viewing is non stop. Viewing can become an addiction. Some violent and fast moving cartoons worry me because the childs brain is being constantly bombarded with images which he might be to young and immature to process properly. when my brothers and sisters were young I can remember babies in their prams playing and sitting for their first year. I wonder if we stimulate babies faster than their brains can develop sometimes.

we musnt underestimate television--it is a powerful form of social control. If we see it and hear it enough then we do believe it! I have never seen the middle east yet I know it exists because it is in my room most nights. I have never seen any soldiers going into Iraq but I trust that they are there.They might not be of course, how would I know otherwise. I am constantly bombarded with political points of view and government research and surveys. God only knows who conducts them and what motivates them and if they are bias. Children believe what they see and hear Being cynical and cautious about things comes later. Id say we had a responsibility to protect them from images which are unsuitable. Non stop telly means this is harder to achieve because the child is processing things all the time. I dont think there is much wrong with careful selection of programmes and dvd's and videos of suitable material geared to the toddlers age. Then when the programme or film is over then straight off to do something else or go for a walk. play with toys.etc Thir real life has got to be the main part of their time awake, interacting with real people.

madmarchscare

wanna fight newbie?

I was brought up being allowed to watch vast amounts of TV - basically, anything I wanted. My dad did not have TV till he was quite old and only just had colour TV before I was born so when he came to this country, he was absolutely overwhelmed by what he could see on TV here.

I don't think it did me any harm but I do think it's important to get a balance. We don't watch TV before school or we'd never get out of the house but I don't mind the kids watching in the evening/on the weekend. We're out and about a lot anyway, so there's not that much time for slouching about and watching telly. We have also just got Sky+ which is brilliant!

I allow my children to watch television, but they like Sesame Street, which is educational & shows them how to handle different social/emotional situations. Usually when I am cooking or cleaning the house I will turn the tv on so I can do my errands in peace.
I don't belive that all television is bad, but when they get older I will monitor what they are watching. I read that by the time a child turns 15 he/she will have seen 25,000 simulated murders/deaths on television. Which is so scary to me.
ONe thing I will try not to do is eat dinner in front of the tv, or have my family in seperate rooms watching seperate programs...my family was like that growing up & I hated it.
Just like anything, moderation is key.

We have had a tv less house for 6 weeks now - renting - no arial....my kids are a delight! My 8 year old boy is sweet ,more alive seeming - less bored just seems happier. eleven and thirteen year olds have read like never before!
Make your own minds up - i have!

anyone had a bad experience of getting rid of tv?

cos it sounds like everyone who does it, likes it!

tempted to try it myself. but question:-how do you get stuff done? do the kids really start to entertain themselves? Is it possible you have unusually self-sufficient kids?

(genuinely asking, btw)

I didn't have a TV until I was 13, and I do regret missing on many shared experiences with my contempories. My older brother and sisters just did a lot of babysitting - to be honest I think they would have done it for free just for the TV! At school I used to pretend I had one, but we were already a very different family so I don't suppose it made much difference (I got bullied anyway). I think that moderation is important, and that finding good TV once they are through the CBeebies stage is quite difficult. However, if I enjoy vegging out after a day at work, I don't really see that it's fair not to let them do the same if they want to. It's the whole day inside that I don't like, an hour or so at a time is fine with me.

We are just starting to watch our favourite films with the childrem, and snuggled up on the sofa on a Sunday evening seems to me like a pretty good family thing to do.