<![CDATA[TV time for toddlers]]>Hi mummies/daddies,


Do you think there is anything wrong if kids of coming to 3 yrs old do not watch any television, including educational DVDs etc? Or really minimal TV time, say only occasionally on weekends? They only watch the occassional Leapfrog and Barney…Learning wise, not much problem as we do read quite a bit. But just wondering if they are missing out on anything….

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/topic/11808/tv-time-for-toddlersRSS for NodeFri, 24 Apr 2026 05:42:48 GMTMon, 21 Jun 2010 07:13:18 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:36:33 GMT]]>Thanks for sharing..the tips that i read here are useful! 🙂

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/217091https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/217091Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:36:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:22:11 GMT]]>smurf,

That’s right kids are different from adults. Most kids don’t know how to control themselves, because they don’t know what is bad for them, whether it is TV or electronic games, if given the freedom they will just go on and on.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208641https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208641Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:22:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:40:39 GMT]]>Hey Tam,


you just gave me some inspiration! you have very good ideas! but I dun bring books out for them as they will dirty the books by putting them on the floor, toilet, etc...

actually to me, TV and games are the same. They are both addictive...if I want, I can sit in front of the TV for hours and not move an inch, or I can choose not to...similarly, if I want, I can play games for hours especially those strategic games...but I choose not to, cos I know that it does nothing except to while away time...since I'm a SAHM, I dun have a lot of time to play game or watch tv...hahah...

the difference is, an adult is mature enough to know that, but a child expecially younger ones, dunno...so must educate educate... :celebrate:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208258https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208258Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:40:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:19:24 GMT]]>

Funz:

I agree with Buds and Tam about handheld games. I firmly believe that they shorten the attention span of the kids.
This is absolutely true. Sadly, I have seen many young people who are very intelligent, but they lost the chance to go into the university because they preferred to play games. One mother asked me what to do with her son's addiction to computer games, the truth is that nothing can be done because he is already over 18 years old. We must do the right thing when the kids are young.

Back to the topic of TV, it is actually much less harmful compared to games. I was addicted to a brilliant TV series earlier this year, watched 70 episodes of the series over 2 weeks. But once I finished watching the whole series, life goes back to normal 😉 Games are different, kids can be addicted for many years continuously because there are so many different types of games.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208256https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208256Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:19:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:43:13 GMT]]>

smurf:
I dun give handheld game also leh, but my boy still prefers games than books and others.:(


he sees other children have handhelds and wanted too. keeps asking me to get one for him (he has a nintendo, but I kept it, and seldom bring it out). actually he just wants to fiddle with gadgets. mobile phones, digital camera, handheld games, etc. I think he finds it bored to go out with me. and when he goes out with me, he just has to bring something with him, why ah?? :? a piece of paper also can!

if he has nothing to do, he will ask me, what can he do??? he wouldn't take the initiative to do something!:(

When my kids go out, I make sure that I bring papers and pencils with me, and books if I expect long waits. Now the papers can also be used by my boy to fold origami, if he is bored with drawing. Papers are very useful !

I have many books about drawing, origami, arts and crafts, so my kids can learn from these books. I do not have a lot of time to teach them. My P1 girl likes beading and jewellery making, and she is learning to sew now. So she always has lots of things to do.

Adults can think of ways of occupy a child by providing the necessary resources. I don't expect a young child to just sit quietly and wait.

My kids do not ask me what can they do. Come to think of it, when they ask me, I always give them the \"blank look\" 😉 That is why they would rather find things to do themselves.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208252https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208252Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:43:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:12:25 GMT]]>

DesertWind:
Hi Hi, 😉

My turning-3 soon DS watches mainly Barney and Elmo DVD! These are educational so he is picking up ABC and 123s! It is getting a bit hard to control the number of hours because he now just go to the DVD player and demands for it to be switched on! But no TV beyond 10 pm! If not this mummy will beat his backside!
:spank:
I keep the Leapfrog and Little Einstein DVDs, as well as the DVD player, high up in the shelves so that these are not at my kids' eye level. Since they don't see the DVDs, they don't ask for them.

All the children's books are at the lower shelves, as well as the Lego and ZOOB toys, these are what they always see around them 😉

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208249https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208249Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:12:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:31:35 GMT]]>Hi Hi, 😉

My turning-3 soon DS watches mainly Barney and Elmo DVD! These are educational so he is picking up ABC and 123s! It is getting a bit hard to control the number of hours because he now just go to the DVD player and demands for it to be switched on! But no TV beyond 10 pm! If not this mummy will beat his backside!
:spank:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208179https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208179Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:31:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:12:43 GMT]]>I dun give handheld game also leh, but my boy still prefers games than books and others.:(


he sees other children have handhelds and wanted too. keeps asking me to get one for him (he has a nintendo, but I kept it, and seldom bring it out). actually he just wants to fiddle with gadgets. mobile phones, digital camera, handheld games, etc. I think he finds it bored to go out with me. and when he goes out with me, he just has to bring something with him, why ah?? :? a piece of paper also can!

if he has nothing to do, he will ask me, what can he do??? he wouldn't take the initiative to do something!:(

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208172https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208172Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:12:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 10:50:59 GMT]]>I remember when dd was 2yrs old and I was begging her to just sit down for 10 mins and watch what is on TV so that I can have a breather. She is 1 kid who did not take to the TV until she was about 4+. And even then, she will only watch for about 10-15mins b4 wanting to be engaged in some other activities. Till now at 7yrs old, she has problems sitting through an entire movie. At home if she is watching a programme, she will also be reading a book at the same time.


I agree with Buds and Tam about handheld games. I firmly believe that they shorten the attention span of the kids. But I am fighting a losing battle with DH who is a gadget freak 😢 . The kids have an ipod touch each. But mummy here controls when, where, how long and what they can do with the ipod touch.

I am pretty particular about dining behaviour. I do not allow anything at the dining table, be it books or games. It is a personal thing I guess but I find it rude for one to be engrossed in a book or games when there are others at the table. When they were younger, a crayon and paper or a couple of small blocks to keep them occupied was acceptable. But now that they are 5 and 7yrs old, I expect them to engage with the people dining with us, not shut them out.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208130https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208130Wed, 23 Jun 2010 10:50:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:20:00 GMT]]>i dont allow my DDs to bring Gamesboy/PSP out when there were young. Now, Mobilephones need to be kept in the bags unless is necessary.

I cannot stand many of the teenages start to look at their phones during dinner with family! Always tell my DDs that we need to sociable and take part in conversation.
No runnning around in the resturant and speaking loudly too.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208104https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208104Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:20:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:12:44 GMT]]>

buds:
Heyya tamarind! :hi5: Same with my girls too!

They'd either be drawing or writing.. sometimes
reading while waiting for our food to arrive. 😉
buds,
Glad to know that your kids do the same thing.

In fact, I don't remember seeing another family with kids reading/writing in restaurants.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208101https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208101Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:12:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:07:33 GMT]]>

smurf:

so envy Buds' gals and Tam kids...both of your kids can read and draw on their own. my boy just wants games. any kind of game (except board games)...PSP, com games (even those rubbish game), national geography games, playhouse disney games, etc. including handhelds (which I dun give, but during gathering, relatives children would dish out those)...

you see, he can't sit still, so reading is a torture to him since he cannot read a book on his own for more than 5 mins...but play game, he can play for hours!
My kids are able to read and draw on their own, because they were never given any PSP or other handheld electronics games. If I were to give them, they probably would also prefer to play PSP for hours, and not like to read at all.

My 6 year old boy now likes origami. He can spend hours folding complicated objects without looking at instructions. This is so much better than PSP because his fine motor skills, as well as his ability to remember complicated instructions have improved. PSPs only have bad effects on kids.

Like insider, I believe in making my kids' life as boring as possible. Kids will find that reading a book is the most exciting thing to do.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208096https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/208096Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:07:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:56:26 GMT]]>I agreed that sometimes TV may be a source for vocabulary. :oops: to say that I learnt vocab thru watching tv, and those mandarin tv series u know. cos last time, only have access to those nonsense tv programmes. But, I think that if I've more access to story books, my vocab would have been stronger. 😞



so envy Buds' gals and Tam kids...both of your kids can read and draw on their own. my boy just wants games. any kind of game (except board games)...PSP, com games (even those rubbish game), national geography games, playhouse disney games, etc. including handhelds (which I dun give, but during gathering, relatives children would dish out those)...

you see, he can't sit still, so reading is a torture to him since he cannot read a book on his own for more than 5 mins...but play game, he can play for hours!

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207604https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207604Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:56:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 06:48:23 GMT]]>TV, with controlled programs can make a difference in terms of language learning too.


I have a student from Taiwan. His parents are very strict. They are totally not allowed to watch TV at all.
The result: he has very limited vocab for both English and Mandarin.

Common words like 'spy', 'hero', etc are hard for him to understand. And when it comes to creative writing, he is unable to describe with his imagination because he has not seen/experienced it before.
For example, the recent compo he had to write about was about a fire. He could not picture the emotions felt, the order of how things was done until I showed him a video on Youtube on a real fire with rescue effort by the fire brigade.

My boy is 3yo. His list of vocab comes from TV shows (educational ones only) and his experience. We try to show him the real item if possible but sometimes it's really not possible, TV will come in handy. His fave shows: Imagination movers (they teach some science concepts too), Leapfrog's programs and the chinese series Shi Wan Ge Wei Shen Me (10 000 whys).

TV did not interfere with our interaction/bonding time. 😄

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207457https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207457Tue, 22 Jun 2010 06:48:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:30:27 GMT]]>Heyya tamarind! :hi5: Same with my girls too!

They'd either be drawing or writing.. sometimes
reading while waiting for our food to arrive. 😉

TV watching for toddlers for me was done as a
together TV time for me. This way i can monitor
what they watch. When i first started allowing the
girls to watch TV... like tamarind it was also carefully
selected DVDs, not free TV and left alone to potato couch.

My selection were a lot on Richard Scarry videos. They used
to sell more variety in Kiddy Palace. But alas they have now
ceased to distribute it here in SG anywhere.. They also get
to watch Sesame Street, a little on Barney, Dora or Diego
episodes, Strawberry shortcake and stuff..

When they were older and could flip channels on their own,
i sit with them again to see which shows are good to watch.
That's where i found Tao Shu, Sid the Science Kid, Fingertips,
Backyard Science (etc) rather cool for casual viewing.

It's really preference and not of good or bad or wrong or right.
That said, too much of anything isn't good for anyone.. which
includes too much TV. It also helps that we don't do cable TV.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207331https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207331Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:30:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:07:44 GMT]]>

smurf:
hmm, quite sure Tamarind would disagree with watching tv.hahah...


I think 3 yo is still ok to watch a bit of tv, but I read somewhere that under 2 yo, it's wiser not to let the child watch...but anyway, I do let ds2 watch...but not too long though...
Actually my kids do watch TV, but only when they were above 2 years old. From 2 to 5 years old they watched only the Leapfrog DVDs and the Little Einstein DVDs which I think are the only DVDs that kids need to watch at that age.

After 5 years old I let them watch about one hour of cartoons on the cable TV.

It is PSP and all forms of electronics games that I am totally against. Kids can absolutely do without these. TV is a lot less harmful in comparsion.

Last Sunday when we were having lunch at a Chinese restaurant, the waitress was amazed that both my kids were totally engrossed in drawing and writing on papers. At the other table, 2 kids age about 5 to 6 were totally engrossed in playing their PSP. I wonder why parents think that PSP is necessary to keep their kids occupied.

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207312https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207312Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:07:44 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:02:19 GMT]]>i think it is fine if the kids do not spend a lot of time in front of the tv. my ds prefer to talk and play (or maybe boys cant sit still at younger age) when he was little. now that he is older (6 years old), he is starting to take a bit more interest in shows. but both my kids are not one of those \"die die must watch tv\" types.


anyway, i think most kids' programmes are rubbish and comes with a high price tag taking into consideration their own books, toys, cards etc.

hehe, however, i dont stop them from watching any shows they like even if i think it is rubbish.

:lol:

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207224https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207224Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:02:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:13:04 GMT]]>hmm, quite sure Tamarind would disagree with watching tv.hahah…


I think 3 yo is still ok to watch a bit of tv, but I read somewhere that under 2 yo, it’s wiser not to let the child watch…but anyway, I do let ds2 watch…but not too long though…

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207207https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207207Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:13:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:53:48 GMT]]>Hi,


Thanks for sharing…we do not deliberately forbid them from watching TV. Just that I only have about 2-3 hours with them on weekday evenings and there seems to be many activities to engage them now that they are of a more interactive age. I also enjoy watching them engaging in their own imaginary free-play, e.g doctor-nurse, shopkeeper-customer, taxi-driver-passenger etc. Maybe because they can still take pretty long naps (2-3 hours) in the afternoon and we try to put them to bed by 9pm, or maybe we also do not watch too much TV ourselves…hubby likes documentaries though, but most of them seems to be showing only quite late, like 9-10pm, unless it’s on cable TV?

Maybe we can share any programs available on the free channels which are good for young tots?

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207050https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207050Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:53:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:39:57 GMT]]>dun deprived them from watching tv, quite pathetic rite, they need to relieve stress also… just make sure its educational and doesnt contain violence animation… imagine all his friends talking abt Mickey mouse, donald duck, then yr child will said:"Huh"???

I limit my boy to watching cartoons and documentary show every 15 mins everyday.
There is alot of stuff a child can learn other than reading.
Last wk when i attend PT meeting, the childcare teacher ask me what i have been teaching my boy? I gave the teacher a blur look and ask what happened so she told me when she show my son a picture of sun, he would tell teacher sunlight and sunbeam. a picture of flower, instead of reading out the word "flower", he would say there are petals…
the teacher tld me she is very amazed by his answer and ask me how did i coach my son and my ans to her was: watch documentary show

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207043https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207043Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:39:57 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to TV time for toddlers on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:26:41 GMT]]>It's fine as it is really a question of preference here.

No right or wrong answer here, if you ask me. 😄

I like that my girls watch varied TV shows as there
are much to learn from them. Animal Planet, National
Geographic and even Super Nanny! Hahaa! :lol:

My DD2 says, \"Aren't you really lucky mummy... that
we aren't like that?\" :!: Compared to those kids there
we are really excellent children, aren't we, mummy?\" :please:

I'd just go.. 😐 .. \"Aren't you lucky that i stayed home
to look after you, teach you and raise you well enough
not to be even close to behaving like that at anytime?\"

My girls are appalled esp at kids who can kick their parents.
They gasp and cover their mouths in shock and wonder how
the children get away with it. My DD2 sometimes says, \"I do
think some of these kids should be caned a looong time oredi.\"

:lol:

Sorry sean wife. I :offtopic: a bit. But just for sharing purposes
only. :oops: I also like watching Backyard Science and Sid The
Science Kid with my girls and not to mention my favourite show,
Fingertips! I love their craft ideas!

To answer your question, i suppose yes, they might be missing
out on stuff a little here and there... cause when children are
younger we can manage their TV options & TV time accordingly
& appropriately. There were many things my children have learnt
beyond reading books but on TV instead. That said, we do a host
of many other stuff than just going thru books and watching TV
definitely.. 😉

]]>https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207035https://forum.kiasuparents.com/post/207035Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:26:41 GMT