Lately I've been thinking a lot about the television. My kids watch plenty of it during the long, cold Chicago winter and I've seen many studies that indicate this may be bad for them. In fact, my ped actually handed me one of said studies during a well toddler appointment for my oldest son Billy after I honestly answered the question: Does he watch TV. (Of course he does, we are human. How could I lie?)
I've never really agreed with the studies. Some say television makes kids obese. Not true in our house. Some say television makes kids lazy. Also not true in our house. Some say television makes kids stupid. This couldn't be further from the truth in our house.
Case in point -- We recently took a family vacation to Mexico where we were fortunate enough to watch a female turtle crawl out of the ocean and lay 101 eggs on the beach. It was amazing, though I have to admit the kids seemed more interested in digging holes than watching the miracle before us. Talking out loud, I wondered how the baby turtles would find the ocean when they hatched since the mother turtle leaves shortly after laying the eggs. Out of no where, I heard a little voice answer: "they are guided by the moon." It was Billy. I asked him how he knew this and, without skipping a beat, he answered "Diego". I was floored.
It seems to me that, at least in this house with these kids, it is not about the amount of television they watch, but the quality of the programming. What I'd really like to see is a study of the effects of long hours of educational programming on children. I know mine have learned more than I could have ever thought to teach them.
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