Posted By Daisy on November 8, 2010

Boy, this is going to be a particularly fun post for me.   Why?  Because I was an absolute CRAZED Too, Too Mama on this one single topic for quite a while.  I mean, it was marriage-threatening, is how nuts I was, people.  I do believe I swallowed the “TV is the singular evil in the world for children” bit in large part because it was an easy way for me to change some of my own personal habits about which I was less than thrilled.  Pre-kid, our lives seemed to revolve around TV, and once we had our guy it felt like this was My Big Chance to do away with all the dumb shows to which I’d become addicted and to instead read nothing but classic literature, all in the selfless name of motherhood.   And then one day I realized I really, really needed to take a shower.  At that point I extended my first very warm welcome to The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

I present to you the Two Sides of the TV/Computer (lumped together in the lingo as “Screen Time”) Battle.

The Zero Tolerance Clan

1.  TV Causes Brain Rot (and we all know it, so don’t pretend it doesn’t).

It’s certainly true that watching TV does not work the same neural pathways as reading a book or solving a puzzle.  Not everyone reacts the same way, but some folks really do become somewhat hypnotized and slack-jawed in front of a TV or computer game.  These are products, and yes, they are made to suck you in and become addictive even when it’s perfectly clear your time could be better spent elsewhere.   (Computer games, in particular, can get scary in that whole “I had no idea it was really 3:15 a.m. already and I started this game at 10pm”  kind of way.)

But, well, it’s not true of ALL television is it?  With the advent of competitive cable programming I dare say adult TV has gotten better rather than worse over the past 10 years or so if you are selective about it. I offer you Mad Men and Breaking Bad as just a couple of examples.  (I won’t try to stick up for “the news” since that’s really just infotainment these days, but at the same time….I am kinda in love with Stephen Colbert and what is the harm in that, dammit?)   I believe at least some kids’ TV has gotten better too.  My Friends Tigger and Pooh may be a travesty, but Charlie and Lola is brilliant.  Also, I recently saw an old classic episode of Scooby-Doo and guess what?  It was as craptastic as, if not more than, anything out there today.  I hate to say, “we watched TV when we were little and we were fine,” because in terms of logical support that’s as good as saying “mom chain-smoked through her pregnancy with me and I’m fine.”  Yet that seems to be where I’m landing.

2. Studies Show that TV is a Direct Cause of the Obesity Epidemic.

All right, you should know by now that any argument that begins with “studies show” is immediately suspect in my book.  I’ll give that we’ve got a weight problem on our hands in this country and that an overly-sedentary lifestyle surely contributes to that.  What’s interesting is that almost every cultural image of the egg-heady bookworm type is reed-thin.  Reading a book is not a calorie burning activity, yet these fictional kids all seem healthy.  It must be the case that we believe one can spend some time reading (or watching TV, or blogging) and also spend some time engaged in physical things, mustn’t it?

3. Exposure to TV Creates Little Consumerists.

I am sorry to say that the nightmare of licensed characters is going to find you even if you have no TV.  I do know exactly what my child sees on the tube, but I have NO IDEA why he knows who Barney and Elmo are, because those guys are not in the rotation.  And yet, he eagerly identifies them on the packaging of bandaids, toothpaste, overnight pull-ups, you name it.  Our guy also suffers from “see it, want it” at the grocery store, at other kids’ houses, and at Barnes and Nobles.  Much as I’d love to avoid having to explain to him why he can’t have every material good he wants at any given time, I am stuck with that duty, leading by example wherever possible, with or without TV.

4.  Studies Show that TV Causes ADD.

Firstly, some very different “studies show” that screen time actually improves multitasking.  (See below for further details.)   Secondly, and this is by no means a clinical opinion as I am not qualified to give one, that look I see on my own and other children’s faces in front of a favored TV program looks to me to be the picture of intense concentration.

5.  TV Exposes Children to Sex and Violence.

I do not think the TV that your kid is watching is the same TV that my kid is watching.   At any rate, I almost WISH for a little conflict to be introduced into children’s programming now and then for a dose of realism.  Less than in vintage Tom and Jerry perhaps, but more than in Yo Gabba Gabba.

Children Who Get No TV Grow Up to be Freaks.

1.  Television Programming Provides Much Needed Shared Cultural Touchstones for Each Generation.

Wow, this conversation could be an entire separate post (and might be down the road).  For now let me just throw out a few counterpoints.  Is it really a good thing to have had a shared cultural touchstone that was horrifically sexist, racist, and all sorts of other -ists?  Further, plenty of adults choose to eschew current shared touchstones like “American Idol” but manage to hold jobs and have friends.  Yes, some of us laugh behind their backs, but not all of us.  Finally, on a personal note, how much did I really lose culturally by living overseas for a few years, thereby missing the entire phenomenon that was Speed Racer back home?

2.  Today’s TV is Good For You!  It’s Educational!

People have been spinning TV as educational for longer than this current generation, and it continues to be a fiery debate.  Sesame Street was either terrific for exposing urban youth to letters and numbers or it was weirdly classist.  Educational TV makes sense at age 3.5 but not at age 3.  Hell if I know the answer.  But let’s say that there is no educational value.  Why is TV as pure entertainment necessarily a terrible thing?

(Confession: I actually use Little Einsteins references to explain the concept of appropriate volume to my fella.  As in, hey, I need you to be “pianissimo” in the library.  Or, buddy, that’s too “forte” for our condo building.  I am not saying that he no longer bangs tableware or hollers inappropriately, but I do not think my results are any worse than those of the folks who rely on the old “indoor voice” method.  I just get to sound snootier. )

3.  Children who are Forbidden Screen Time Will Fall Behind Their Peers in the Digital Age.

Here’s where we find the counterpoint studies to all those other studies that say TV makes you stupid and/or lacking in attention span. (I’m aware the two are not the same thing, but there are “studies” arguing both.  See 1 and 4 under the “TV is Evil” list.)   Some studies show that we can consume more and better information from a screen now because our brains have evolutionarily begun to adapt to the digital environment.  Proper control of a mouse is simply the newest fine motor skill.  Kids who can hold up their end of a conversation with their parents when both the radio and the TV are on AND while texting their friends are ahead of the game.  They are our future global business leaders.  Or something like that.

4.  TV is a Useful Distraction Technique When All Else Fails.

We have all heard about distraction being the new and better form of discipline, particularly for the very young who can’t understand principles of “good” and “bad” or even the notion of direct consequences in the same way that their older brothers and sisters can.  Better to say, gently, “I see you are enthusiastically cutting your own hair with my nail scissors.  Let’s go make some paper snowflakes with these Safety Scissors!” than to yell or punish.  Yet, there are times when fun with construction paper and safety scissors just won’t cut it (pun intended).  What’s a bigger gun?  TV.   (This whole line of argument gets a little weird and complicated, because a great many who believe in using distraction over punishment are also more inclined to believe that TV is Evil.)

5.  TV is Necessary When Mommy Needs a Time-Out.

Kids can be hard to occupy — it is exhausting to play like a preschooler for hours straight.  Even if you’ve got a child who is unusually skilled at “independent play” at an early age, that’s not the same as “unsupervised play.”  (See scissors example above.)   Sometimes the only way to turn your attention to adult activities like bill-paying, taking an emergency phone call, and yes, showering, with complete confidence that disaster will not strike behind your back, is to use a TV program.

Conclusion

As a new parent, I am afraid there’s no way to know for sure whether as a developmental matter a little screen time is good or bad.  Develop your own set of principles, and do what is both practical and best meets those principles.  For some that might be “TV in moderation.”   For others, it’s “no TV until age X.”  (Honestly, the latter has its practical benefits simply by being such a bright line test.  It is easier than agonizing over what “moderation” means, which is where I find myself these days.)

Related posts:

1. Guide For Informed Decision-Making: Circumcision
2. Guide For Informed Decision-Making: Labor
3. Guide to Informed Decision-Making: Vaccinations
4. Guide for Informed Decision-Making: Where Does Baby Sleep?
5. Guide to Informed Decision-Making: Breast or Bottle?

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