My toddler watches TV. The parenting police have deemed that unacceptable in this day in age. My child doesn’t live in front of the television, but my nearly two-year-old has a few favourite TV shows. I do not think that makes me a bad mom.
My son’s recent favourite TV shows are Dinosaur Train, Thomas and Friends, and Sesame Street. I am sure you can see a theme here. When I turn off the TV, he goes to his bedroom and takes out the trains and train tracks that he was given by his grandparents and plays. He then takes out his dinosaurs and roars.
He hoots and toots and makes train noises and knows the difference between the different types of dinosaurs. His first two-word sentence was “no diaper” and his second two-word sentence was “train track.” He is learning his colours from picking out dinosaurs and trains. He is using his imagination when he “helps” us put his trains together every morning. Because leaving them out day after day has caused some safety hazards for me. As I am writing this article I hear my husband and son putting his trains together for the day. My son saying “up and down” and my husband encouraging him.
Saying there is no value in allowing your child to watch TV takes away from the fact that some kids can find real enjoyment and a genuine interest in something. My toddler watches tv and it encourages imaginative play and allowing your kid to watch some TV can do that. I am not an expert; I have a child and I was a child before, but I do not have a degree that has anything to do with children. I see a value in allowing your child to watch cartoon dinosaurs dance on a train, and teach my son the names of different dinosaurs, or allow Grover to teach him near and far, and I will try not to allow myself to feel guilty about this anymore.
