ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

I feel the study must have been flawed. In all my years since 1976 I have never witnessed or heard of any center where a tv is on for one and a half hours a day. Perhaps that could happen is a home where the mother has it on or grandpop or grandmom, but DO NOT give day schools this reputation. It is NOT TRUE. Children play in centers much more than at home!! You can make statistics say anything you wish.

I do not allow the TV on just to be on, or for the children to sit & watch it. When a child comes in that has been allowed to watch a lot of tlevision elsewhere demands it from me my response is "No not now, let's play with ______"blocks, or read a book I just keep naming an activity until I find one that interest the child. I do however, like to use exercise DVDs, Music and Dance. and the Signing Time Dvds. I do limit it to one per day. I am also an active participant along with my group. I do this to encourage language, creative movement and exercise. I do take the children outside for exercise weather permitting, where they can run, climb, play & explore.
Does anyone feel this 1 dvd is too much?

I have 9-10 children in my home (4 are my own). I have worked for years as a professional in early childhood centers, from floater to director, teacher to board member. Never have I used a tv in a center for any reason. Now that I am home with my youngest two, we have two families with us in the summer. The children here range in age from 9 months to almost 13 years. Even with work being done to expand space (meanwhile limiting space), and with our farm out back, no one is ever bored. We don't even have any toys that require batteries. No one is allowed to use the computer. We do not watch tv. I still have time to do the laundry, cook the meals, do chores, and clean up, AND lead circle, do calendar and weather, read stories, have music, put the preschoolers and infant down for nap, and put out art projects. There really doesn't seem to be an excuse for using electronics at all, to me. I know some accrediting bodies now want teachers to incorporate technology, but there will be time for that later, with less negative side affects. In the meantime, we build forts, pretend, hike, build shelters outside, count money, do math and science and reading and gross motor and fine motor activities. I encourage this gang to work things out, and help as needed. Everyday, here, even though my day is hours longer than it ever was at a center, and even though it means I live at work, my day is smoother, the children are happier, and we all have a genuine experience of daily life, life's work, and the kids get their "interest areas" too. Why bother with tv?

My reflections on this article are as follows: I wonder why infants are so attracted to the TV? Could it be that there is not enough in their lives to hold their interest? Maybe children need more dialogue, more exploration, more tactile exploration than they are allowed or invited to participate in? So what human needs does TV satisfying? How can it be recaptured in a more productive healthy manner? Here is a provocation worthy of study.

Viewing T V at the center may be a part of the activities for the children in
early childhood . But views will be appropriate according to the age of the children . If we may use DVD for enrichment why cannot we use T V ?

As leaders in the child care industry I do not understand why it is acceptable to have televisions in center's let alone allowing staff to allow children to watch the television.
There is so much we can offer children and if we are committed to children's growth and development we need to assure that the day is full of enriching activities for all the children.