age appropriate Television

Jennifer - posted on 03/25/2010

Honestly,,it is your home. You do what you need to do for your kids in your home. Would you allow an adult to come in and watch shows in front of your kids that you wouldn't normally let your kids watch? You probably would not. You would ask the adult to watch the show some other time. You can do the same with your nephews.

We watch a lot of Noggin. My 5 yr old loves Scooby Doo. My 40 yr old husband LOVES Star Wars and Sci Fi of all kinds. You do what you feel is right for you and your family. Star Wars has some scary looking creatures for a 2 yr old, IMO, but again,,do what you feel is right. No matter what they watch,,they will play games where they"play fight" and stuff. Kids are kids no matter what they watch on tv. :)

Jeanette - posted on 03/25/2010

Patricia i think you are doing the right thing it is our job to monator what our children watch like they say garbage in garbage out. Personally I dont allow my children to watch certain things ex. Harry Potter, dungen and dragons etc just pray about it and God will put it in your heart my children are 15,14 8 and it doesnt bother them at all i am tring to cut down the tv time in our home and doing game nights, movie night etc I would tell my sister that i would appreciate it if you dont bring those kinds of movies here. Our kids ask us about certain movies we have to check out the movies first before they watch anything.We will keep you and your family in prayers

Brooke - posted on 03/24/2010

Well my daughter is only 2 and a half but she only watches Nick Jr. I feel like if she is going to watch cartoons she might as well learn something! However if she does ask to watch Sponge Bob because our friends kids do I will let her. I think if you talk to your kids about what's right and wrong they will be just fine:)

Shannon - posted on 03/23/2010

Noggin is a great network.. For the computer too.

Maricel - posted on 03/22/2010

I have 3 year-old twingirls and they mostly watch little einsteins, pbs kids and almost everything on disney playhouse...but recently i started not to let them watch tv in the morning and after we come back from the park and surprisingly they play more, talk more and they're getting to know each other more...less tv is definitely good!

Penny - posted on 03/22/2010

My daughter is 1 and we let her watch some Nick Jr and PBS kids. Her favorite is Super Why! She can look at signs and things we write and tell us what the letters are already. My 6 year old step-daughter tells us her mom calls those "baby" shows and won't let her watch them anymore. But when she's with us she will sit with her sister and watch them. We don't like a lot of the Disney and Nick shows that are supposedly for little kids but more teenaged geared.

Michelle - posted on 03/21/2010

Since we have a DVR with our satelite, I record Dinosaur Train and Word World on PBS, The Backyardigans and Go, Diego, Go! on Nick Jr., and Friends & Heroes on TBN. My son is 3 and loves these shows, especially Dinosaur Train. I don't really let him watch anything else. But my husband and I have let him watch Transformers and he likes to pretend to be a Transformer. It doesn't bother us but it might someone else.

Tiffiny - posted on 03/20/2010

i say do whats u think is right and appropriate for ur kids, my 2 daughters 2 and 7 watch nick and disney channel stuff (Hannah Montana is a big one at my house) i do let them watch harry potter i do watch it with them in case they haave q. and at church the nursery is always showing veggie tales thats a cute show star wars seems fine to me. and they r going to learn fighting from other influences other than tv just talk and tell them that u dont hit or fight w/ eachother

Christa - posted on 03/20/2010

I agree with the playhouse Disney, it's what my 2 year old watches and they are all good shows. I also don't see a problem with Harry Potter, but not for kids that young. I think you need to watch what they watch and make those judgment calls. Just because your nephews watch things at their house doesn't mean they get to watch them on your watch when your kids are present. You know your kids best and you know what they are "smart" enough to watch. Meaning you know what can influence them and what won't. When in doubt put in a movie or just turn the TV off. You are the parent and you make the rules not your nephews. :-)

Rebekah - posted on 03/20/2010

I have a four year old boy, and he watches shows on Playhouse Disney which is definitely oriented for the younger set...I don't worry about anything on there. If not that, he has a whole assortment of videos that are also pretty innocuous and educational (Bob the Builder, old Richard Scarry ones, Sesame St, etc). I hesitate to venture in to the other cartoons...I personally get a laugh out of Spongebob, but the one time my son saw it at a family member's house (when he was 2), he came over and started hitting me...it was too overstimulating for him at the time. He could probably handle it now, but I'm still not thinking its what I want for him at this age...there is a lot of disrespect and physical stuff on many of the shows out there (hitting, etc)...we went through a phase of hitting (that left and then emerged again), so I think it would be hard to get that "no hitting" message across and then have him see cartoons where that physical stuff is used like its nothing. I grew up on tom & jerry and bugs bunny (and the ill-fated coyote who was getting demolished every episode) and I'm the most non-violent person you'll find (though I don't know how old I was when mom let us see that stuff, honestly)...however now that I'm a mom, I can't help but see it differently. Plenty of time for him to be exposed to that kind of "entertainment" later...I just don't want him to be desensitized to it starting now. These are young minds...fill them with edifying, constructive things.

I agree with Karissa in that if you have doubt about the issue, then there is something questionable about it that really isn't ok with you.

My thought is, if you are watching the kids (in your house?), you should be the one who can determine what gets viewed. I would suggest finding an alternative that all can be happy with. There are other kinds of shows/videos out there that don't include violence. You can also get good videos from the library (or possibly your church library) so you wouldn't need to go purchasing any. Maybe the kids could even help pick them out.

I have a friend who lets her son watch shows and do (games on the Wii) that I would never do for my son...but ultimately you have to decide for yourself what is consistent with your values as a parent.

Karissa - posted on 03/20/2010

Don't give in to the temptation of a 6 year old. Just because they watch it doesn't mean that your children have to watch it. My parents haven't had TV for the last 6 years, 8 or 9 total. And you know what? You and your kids aren't missing anything. What good comes form TV? I'm not anti TV at all. But I do pick exactly what I want to watch. You can go onto Hulu.com and watch any TV show. I don't pay for cable or anything because the few shows I do want to watch I can see online. Not having TV in the house will make a huge difference. Your children will do more things TOGETHER. They will become more creative.
You are the decision maker!! How do you feel about these shows and movies? If you are watching them and have to ask is this ok for us to watch then maybe it's not. I know that you will make wise decisions!!

Jill - posted on 03/20/2010

i don't let my kids watch harry pottery.... sorcery stuff ... i think is crossing the line...my kids weren't interested in cartoon network till they were like 5.. i won't let them watch billy and mandy but some cartoons are ok...flap jack...tom and jerry...etc,...my 5 yr old is into star wars... i think it is innocent....i was sheltered strictly when i was a child.... and i rebelled big time from 13 -24......so we have to be careful about that too....just remember they are cartoon ...pick and choose what is appropriate... my kids grew up on sponge bob but i have a christian freind who forbids her daughter from watching it... do what you feel is right for your situation....you'll know best...