To TV or Not to TV?

I'm a bit of a TV junkie, I'll admit. I can be found, on occasion, circling programs in the "TV Guide" so I don't forget to record them on my Tivo. Interestingly, I discovered the wonder of TV later in life. When I was a young child, my parents put limits on the amount of TV I was permitted to watch. Having a TV set in my bedroom was out of the question, whereas today it seems to be more the norm. I once taught a student whose excuse for not doing her homework went something like this: "I had no time because I was watching American Idol!" True story.

I've read all of the recommendations when it comes to kids watching TV. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that children refrain from ALL television viewing before 2 years of age. Apparently, the members of the Academy never tried to make the bed or cook dinner with a fussy toddler nearby. (I'm joking -- kind of.) I did a stellar job of keeping Daniel away from the TV for the first year or so. I even took him to a live Backyardigans concert when he was 11 months old, never having viewed a single episode of the show (which I now think is pretty groovy). But as he got older and more mobile, it became more difficult to hold his attention for longer than a couple of minutes. Elmo and Diego saved me a lot of trouble.

I was part of a generation that was raised on Sesame Street. I remember learning to count in Spanish and mourning the death of Mr. Hooper. Should Daniel miss out on that magic just because some experts say it's not an ideal use of his time? I don't believe so. I've begun to allow short bursts of TV viewing each morning. Sometimes Daniel watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (brilliant use of They Might Be Giants music for us thirty-something parents!) and sometimes it's Go, Diego, Go. Both shows are age appropriate and what I believe to be "educational." After about 20 minutes, we turn off the TV and continue with our day. In that short amount of time, however, Daniel is completely engrossed with the action on the screen. He even "talks" to the characters. I try to interact with the program in order to model the learning experience for Daniel, but I think he'd take something valuable from each program even without my participation.

Am I afraid that I'm raising a TV addict? No. Do I think that I'm impeding Daniel's growing vocabulary? No. While I'm conscious of the amount of time Daniel spends in front of the TV, I'm confident that he's being exposed to diverse characters, exciting music, valuable lessons, and some good, old-fashioned fun. What's the harm in that?