OPPapers.com

Can Educational Television Really Be Healthier For Your Toddler?

Can Educational Television Really be Healthier for Your Toddler?
On most mornings you will find that I am up at 7:30 in the morning preparing my oldest son for kindergarten. While I am preparing him for school usually my two year old is the next to wake up, and then my eight month old, and finally my four year old. All of them are hungry and most of the time want to sit on the couch with Mom for a few moments before starting their day. On mornings that are not fitting into the routine I often times find myself relying on the television to help me. I have always felt guilty about this until just recently when I started feeling better about this scenario. The reason: because after so long of just having shows like; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sonic, and Pokémon my family finally invested some of our hard earned cash into cable. Now my children wake each morning and in their Favorites Button on the remote control I have channels selected of educational content; such as, PBS, Sprout, and Noggin. Under no certain terms are my children allowed to watch Cartoon Network. After doing several weeks of research, and listening to several speakers about the television programs that toddlers watch these days, I have discovered that Educational television can be, if not used the proper way, just as much of a detriment to the mind of a growing toddler as Saturday Morning cartoons are.
Television has always played a primary role in my family. Growing up my father always had Scooby Doo or John Wayne on in his bedroom. Twenty four hours a day there was always a television on in my house as I was growing up. I knew when I became a parent that I wanted more to do with my children. My mother and father would say “Go watch T.V”, “Leave us alone for awhile”, and “No you cannot go to outside”. There is seven years difference between myself and the next oldest sibling. As I was entering High School I saw how much television damaged my brother’s reading skills. In sixth grade he was...