Television can be one of the worst influences on your child. But that doesn’t mean that it has to be! By following these tips you can help your child get the benefits watching television without becoming a dazed little “couch potato.”
1. Establish limits on how much TV your children watch. You should do this at a very young age but even if your child is older and has already got used to watching too much TV it is not too late to start putting limits on TV watching time.
It is recommended that children under age 18 months do not watch television at all. While this may be difficult for you if you are a couch potato yourself, you may find that cutting back on TV is good for you as well.
For children between the age of 18 months and three years of age, I recommend no more than 1/2 hour of TV per day. And for that 1/2 hour you should choose something such as Sesame Street.
For children between the ages of 3 years and 6 years old, I recommend setting the limit at 1 hour of television per day.
After age 6 you can set the limit at 2 hours. That should be good limit for your child throughout their developmental period. Once they...