What To Know About Toddler TV

If the amount of time spent by toddlers watching TV is not monitored, they can get addicted to it because they love and enjoy TV.  Children experts recommend that children above two years of age should watch a maximum of 1 or 2 hours of TV a day.  For those below the age of two, no TV should be allowed for them.  This is because their brains are not mature enough to understand the fast motions on TV and it is very easy for them to go into autopilot.  This is not followed by most parents who have turned the TV into a babysitter because it makes the child happy and gives them a chance to work.  Because of this, toddlers end up watching TV on average four to five hours every single day.  The habit of toddlers watching TV should be trimmed when they are still very young and not when they are already too used to the habit.

When watching TV, it is important for parents to use that time to educate their children and not just settle for whatever they find on TV.  The programs should be entertaining and should teach the toddler something after it is over.  It is important to exercise discipline and to switch off the TV as soon as the program the toddler was watching is over.  Warn the toddler about three minutes before the program ends that the TV is going to be switched off and that they should be prepared to go do something else.  It is also important to have a defined schedule of what time the TV is switched on and when it will be off.  To make this easier, parents can record what they want their children to watch so that they can watch it at the right time.

Toddlers should watch calm and slow-paced programs because they can actually understand what they are watching and therefore learn from them.  Toddlers should not watch any form of violence because they learn from what they watch and they will behave in the same way.  Adult themed movies and scary ones are also not good material for children.  Programs should be interactive and prompt the toddler to repeat certain words or phrases and can also require the toddler to move around or dance.  When a parent watches TV with their toddler, it makes the child feel that they are important and that the parent is interested in what they are doing and they care about what they are watching.