Toddler TV

According to common wisdom television is the epidemic of the 20Th century but with the today's channels broadcasting programmes which are highly educational and devoid of violence, the parent can rest assured that a child will reap enormous benefits from watching good television.

In the past, too much television has been accused of promoting violence, social isolation, obesity, straining children's eyes. and distracting them from their homework, but is television really that bad for kids?

As a new mum I heard the articles, made my research and was determined to curb my son from watching the infamous screen for life. Then it dawned on me that in today's society it was unreasonable to expect a growing child to live completely devoid of TV, especially when he starts mingling with other children in school. I started scouting around on and doing more research and I was very pleasantly surprised with what I found.

• Do your own research. Simply because the TV guide says that the programme is fit for children, it doesn't mean that you want your child to watch it. Before sitting in-front of the screen with your kid familiarise yourself with the different channels and the different programming times. Violent cartoons or tv series that expose concepts which are not age appropriate could be confusing or scaring for a little boy or girl.

• Don't rest on your laurels - once you have found a channel that shows the type of programmes you are comfortable with, keep a close eye on what he or she is watching. Programming times do change, and sometimes so does the content of cartoons. If you see that your child is not interested in what he or she is watching, simply switch off and do something in which the child is interested.

• Have an allotted time for your child to watch TV when you have control over what he or she is watching. Ideally children should never watch more than 2 hours consequently and not more than four hours in total every day. If you have decided to allow him to watch TV for 1 hour set a timer so that you can keep control on the time and let him or her know in advance that after the hour is over the telly will be switched off.

• Keep an eye on eye strain. Children seem to have a magnet that attracts them to go as close as possible to the screen, and they always end up with sore eyes. A simple solution that works, is to use your control over the remote. When the child goes too close to the screen, warn him or her that you are going to switch off, if he or she doesn't back up. If the child retreats and after a few minutes he or she is back to the previous position, simply switch off the TV and tell the child that you will not switch it on again until he or she gets away. This method usually works with small children and it can be an effective method to lose the habit of sticking to the screen from an early age.

• Go for specialised channels. There are specialised channels like PBS or Noggin, where the programming is specifically targeted for young children. The programmes on these stations are devoid of violence and instill positive concepts like team work and sharing.Keep in mind that there are kids channels that show violent cartoons and put a lot of commercials in between programmes. Before you expose your child to this type of programming think about the consequences of your actions and if you don't like what you see try to find something more appropriate.

• Go for quality, not simple entertainment. There are programmes which are not only entertaining but also highly educational and expose the child to the worlds of art, music and literature. A few names are Little Einsteins (Disney channel) for art and music, Blues Clues (Noggin) for basic education like learning shapes and colours and Wonder Pets(Nickelodeon) for team work and sharing. Other good programmes are Word Worldon PBS where a child can familiarise him or herself with the world of letters.

• Interact with the child when he or she is watching something he likes. Try to have active communication with the child and point out things which you think might help him or her understand better the concepts he is seeing. Try to highlight relevant things in real life which he or she comes in contact with and take the child's questions seriously and answer exhaustively. For example if your son asks why that character is able to fly, explain to him that a cartoon character can do things which in real life we cannot do and remind him of concepts like getting hurt and not behaving properly. Once the TV is off work on the concepts the child has come seen during the programme. Use TV as a teaching aid. For example if the child has just seen a programme about shapes and colours, try drawing an the outline of different shapes and let him colour them while you explain to him what you are doing.Another game with shapes and colours is to point out the shapes in the room, for example, the table is square, the lamp has a circle pattern on it ,and there are triangles painted on the curtains. It is a fun game that you can also use in a waiting room or when you are in line with your child.

• Use TV characters in real life.When you use jargon with which your child is familiar you are favouring communication and developing a healthy relationship with your child. Sing the theme song of your child's favourite show during a boring car ride or pick a lunch box with his favourite character for her first day of school.Pick a character which has positive values and point them out to your child when he or she is misbehaving. For example if your daughter does not want to share her toy with her cousin bring examples of how that cartoon character has shared his toy with his friends.

• Finally remember that the TV is not a baby sitter. If you need to keep your children busy while you are doing something else that takes you out of the room, remember to check on them frequently and watch carefully what they are doing before you leave. If they seem to be getting fidgety simply ask them if they want to keep on watching TV or if they want to do something else. Always keep in mind the golden run that bored children without parental supervision can get into a lot of mischief.