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Almost school age tv and video games?????????HELP!

Sarah - posted on 02/20/2011 ( 1 mom has responded )

8

3

My son is turning 4 in May. He didnt watch tv until after he was 2 and even now we monitor what he watches and for how long. He doesnt watch a lot of movies because I find it is hard to find an age appropriate one. Also we have not allowed him to play video games (other than jumpstart on our computer). We have recently had changes to our living situation which now there are other children that do play video games and watch things that we would not normally let him watch. So now I feel like I am stuck, do I give in a little and let him play the dora and deigo video games even though they are doing nothing to better him so he is not left out from the other children? and with the movies their mother will say that something is too scary for my son and then say his mommy wont let him infront of my son, I dont want him to think he is scared of everything and to think that I am just mean and wont let him do anything. I dont know what I should do. The other two kids are 3 turning 4 and 5 turning 6. Any advice would be helpful I feel so confused.

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Sarah - posted on 02/20/2011

1,577

14

I think it is good to limit and monitor tv and movies. I also agree with trying to keep things educational in their watching. I think you just get creative. He might watch more tv then you wish due to your current situation, but maybe encouraging that into your imagitive play when you are together can help mesh his experiences. At his age there are SO many games and shows that are learning. Even Dora and Deigo are learning. They teach numbers, shapes, patterns, and problem solving (which is a life long learning process). Some of the tv shows don't focus on your academics but instead on your social skills, which at his age are perfect for learning. I think the best way to use tv as an advantage for learning is putting the shows into everyday situations. This works especially well with the social skills learning. When you do your imagitive play work what is talked about on a certain show into your play. PBS has some AWESOME letter shows working on letters, their sounds, and putting them into words. You can also find them in DVD form that maybe could be used as movie time. I do think that there are times when it is ok to just watch a fun movie because it is fun and not so educational....everyone needs time to just enjoy and have fun too. If you don't have a Leapster that might something you may enjoy for educational games to play. They have many games that are character games which are educational. They go from preschool to 2nd grade I believe. There are also many different websites that you may enjoy and maybe could be a sub. to tv at times. www.starfall.com is one my daughter loved. I find that preschool and kindergarden ages are the easiest ages to find educational tv, movie, and games. It is when they become 8, 9 years old when many of the shows become more entertainment and less of the educational value.

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