I came across this video in facebook two weeks ago + I was floored!

Okay, at first it does look promising, that’s what got me hooked the first 20 seconds or so, plus I also watch this soap whenever I got the chance to, watch it with my son mind you, but as the video progressed with the little girl crying for almost four minutes with adults laughing in the background, their futile attempts to appease the little girl with an explanation seemed only that, futile! It turned out to something too scary for my mummy taste, imagine Jared crying over a TV soap like that – mommy’s ultimate nightmare!

I must admit, and I am also guilty of this sometimes okay lots of times, nowadays, television is playing a vital role in our daily lives,  what with all the mummy stuff we have to do + what seemed to be the easiest way to keep the baby occupied while we go about our chores, but put him on his tiny perch in front of the tube for the next hour or so! It was like having an unpaid nanny on duty 24-hours or at least while the baby is awake.

T.V., what do I need? Tell me who to believe! Whats the use of autonomy when a button does it all? T.V., what should I see? Tell me who should I be? Lets do our mom a favor and drop a new god off a wall.     ~ Idiot Box (Incubus)

Expert says to hold off TV viewing for as long as possible + that children aren’t really missing much if you raise them TV-free.  So here I am again, retrying to raise Jared sans TV (or PC more like, since he watches most of the time in the computer) or at least  with limited TV time. If you were just like me, who struggles to keep the children TV-free but has to give in some time, here’s what we need to bear in mind:

• Allow TV time in moderation 1 to 2 hours a day at best,  and in case of very young children, like Jared, break TV time into 15-minute segments lest your child’s brain might go on autopilot. What I do is let him watch 2 to 3 Pocoyo episodes then let him resume playing. If in case I need to be in the kitchen for a longer period of time, like when doing my laundy, I let him watch a movie (the current hit is Up) but checks in with him from time to time, + make sure his toys are just lying within arms’ reach for when he got bored or tired of watching.
  
• Be your own censorship + always preview programs + shows before allowing kids to watch them. To make sure you know exactly what your children’s going to see, opt for rented DVDs or BluRay of their favorite cartoon shows or animated movies. This is also a sure-fire way of avoiding the lure of advertisements, since young minds are not yet capable of processing them.
• Watch with your children whenever you can, taking “Parental Guidance” to heart. What I do is cuddle my son as we watch together, talking to him about the program or do tasks on the side, like folding clothes or organize bills, as he watched.
• Walk the talk and provide a good example by limiting your TV time whilst the baby is awake.
• Provide alternatives so as to send a signal to your child that it is not good to just watch TV all the time. You can either play with his toys, read him a book or in Jared’s case sometimes, magazines + other publications, listen to classical music or invite him to go out for an afternoon stroll.

Think of other creative ways to play + bond with your child apart from being glued to the boob tube, he won’t be a kid for long anyway + we ought to make the most of it.