TV and your Kiddies

Here's another interesting topic from my Growth and Development course anyone got an opinion?

Reflect upon your opinion of Educational Television for young children. Post your view on this topic and discuss why you feel this way. Share an experience that you have had that has contributed to your opinion (personal experience, research study etc.). What do you think is the impact of these programs on the cognitive development of the child?

Here's my opinion:
There's been talk of the benefits and dangers of children watching television virtually since the beginning of TV in the late 1940s. Parents wanting to allow their children to enjoy TV's limitless power to educate and entertain just as often find themselves wondering if they should allow their children to watch TV at all. Some studies point to increased language development among children with access to television as well as the interaction between characters allow children a firmer grasp of the uses of language and an appreciation for how conversational skills develop and take shape. While my children love cartoons and do learn from them I feel they should be limited to their cartoon consumptions so to speak. I was a Mr Dressup {Casey and Finnegan} girl, along with Romper Room (Magic Mirror) & The friendly giant {look way up and I‘ll call Rusty}. Josiah who is 11 LOVED Barney as well, Jonathan who is 7 LOVED Dora (before the Diego days and didn't want anyone to know he liked a GIRL cartoon). Brooklynn like Jonathan Loved Dora too and still does at 4 along with the Big Comfy Couch. It's odd none of my kids are big Sesame Street fans. I thought for sure that would be something every child liked. I do like the cartoons with learning songs and repetitiveness to stimulate children for sure. That being said I don't think cartoons are what they used to be and are used in excess. Now we have Tree House and all the other cartoon stations 24-7 it‘s boring. I remember when I was little and Saturday morning cartoons were exciting now it's all the time and fun of Cartoons has been lost. Child development experts caution that smaller children aged two and up be allowed no more than two hours of television per day. Children younger than two years old, they say, should be allowed no television at all. Which I agree with. I feel that over stimulation for babies and toddlers with the fast moving TV can potentially cause A.D.D. in years to come. There are other dangers of too much television consumption as well - obesity, lack of interest in reading and physical activity and diminished motor reflexes. We live in the woods and thankfully my children love the outdoors more then the TV. They would prefer to be building a tree house rather then watching Tree House.