How Much Is Too Much TV?
As a parent, are you concerned with your kids watching too much TV? Do you often wonder if your child should even be watching TV, due to being so young? Although some screen time is beneficial because it’s educational, but some of us go overboard with too much TV. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t recommend screen time for anyone under the age of two.
Thousands of years ago, the evolution of childhood was characterized by many different types of exposure. The brain of the infant, toddler and preschooler are programmed in such a way that when exposed to an environment that has remained constant and unchanged, they will develop most effectively. Over the past thousand years, childhood was distinguished by many different types of exposures; social interaction, social experiences, one’s self-awareness and virtually limitless opportunities.
We live in a society where the experiences that were once extremely important for parents to embark on, no longer exist. What had been needed for proper brain development in young society, has been surpassed by our children using different types of electronic devices. When children are completely submersed into their electronic devices, this makes them unable to properly get the right exposure to things that would otherwise benefit them and give them limitless opportunities.
In the United States, our children watch an average of three to four hours of TV a day. That amount of time can easily add up when parents buy more than three or more televisions, and let their children watch too much TV in their room. The typical American child spends 1,680 minutes watching TV each week. Sadly, most daycare centers have the television on during the day, so our little ones are being exposed to television there as well. The average American child spends 900 hours in school but watches 1500 hours of television.
One of the biggest issues is that children who are watching too much TV displace any sort of activity he or she would engage in otherwise. Children end up not socializing, which is fundamental in the developmental stages of their life. These children are missing milestones they need achieved by a certain point in life. The specific needs should noticeably be achieved throughout life such as, physical and social development, which all help a children’s ability to define and redefine socially appropriate behavior. These certain behaviors are achieved through the interaction of parents, caregivers and other children during play.