effect of Tv on young children

Nowadays, almost all the children begin watching Tv at very young age. Some children watch Tv as they enjoy it but there are a few others watch it as their parents feel, it is good for them. Most of them feel the variuos educational programmes available, will help their children learn more and better this way.  I include myself in this group.
   
         When my daughter was 17 months old, she began showing interest in TV but I only let her watch when I had to keep her busy, so that I could do some of my daily chores like taking bath. I stopped watching my daily soaps and other programmes with her. I would watch them when she was sleeping, as I thought it is not good for younger children to watch television. But as she grew older her sleeping time became shorter and as a result my free time also reduced.
   
      Later on I tried to keep her busy in other activities like colouring, playing with blocks, reading books etc. BUT all these activities required my continous presence with her. All this made me reconsider my decision of not letting her watch television and not watching myself infront of her. So I set out to find the harmful effects of TV on young children. After doing a lot of research on internet this is what I found : 
     
              The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that kids under 2 years old not watch any TV and that those older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of quality programming.A 2008 Thai study published in Acta Paediatrica found that if children under 12 months watched TV for more than two hours a day they were six times more likely to have delayed language skills.Infants as young as 14 months will imitate what they see on a TV screen, but they learn better from live presentations.
         
              Studies show that if the children see educational programmes rather than cartoons or other entrtainment based programmes relative to their age, they will have better pre-reading skills. Initial years of growth plays an important part in the development of the language and other cognitive skills of children and heavy tv viewing can interfere in that.
     
              Heavy TV viewing causes the children to become lazy, obese and  adversely affects their performance in school. They loose interest in other activities like reading books and playing outdoors with friends. Certain cartoon shows nowadays show sudden flashes of light which may cause damage to eyes and headaches if viewed for prolonged periods of time. Besides this  research also shows that Tv promotes aggressive behaviour in children. Sometimes certain Tv shows scare the children and they begin imagining things. As a result their sleep gets disturbed and behaviour changes.

                          My research led me to the conclusion that young children especially the pre-schoolers should be allowed to watch tv only for limited period of time and the programmes of educational content, related to their age only. THe following websites proved helpful to me:-
  
http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_tveffect.shtml
http://www.limitv.org/preschool.htm
http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/17540.html      
http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html        
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090113074419.htm

right age for preschool education

What is the right age for children to go to play school? Is my child ready to go to the playschool? will she be able to overcome the separation anxiety? how long does it normally take for a child to adapt to school environment? These were few of the questions that trouble every parent's mind when they begin looking for play school.
        In India and Singapore ,children above 18 months of age are considered old enough to go to preschools. But is a child of 18 months age really old enough to go to playschool. In my daughter's playgroup there are few children who are not even two year old.These children stand apart from the rest of the class. Some of them do not pay attention at all to what goes on  in the class. they keep themselves busy in something or the other. At times they encourage other children to join in the fun, making it immensly difficult for teachers to manage the class. while there are few others who are unable to follow instructions. above all most of them are still not toilet trained.
            All the playschools nowadays are well equipped with good teachers, assistant teachers, variety of toys and other accessories. Even the student teacher ratio is also well managed. In singapore it is 15:1 i.e. one teacher for every 15 children plus one assistant teacher but still these younger children (below two years of age) demand more attention. Younger children usually cry for many days before finally accepting the change. For working parents it becomes a necessity to send children to playschool as early as possible but still it is good to wait and watch your child for some time and then accordingly decide. Children are very sensitive at this young age and any harm at this age can go a long way. So, considering the individual needs and requirments of the child and parent both the decision should be carefully taken. It is very difficult to point out the right age of sending children to school but parents can consider the child is ready to go to play school when the child:-
-  becomes atleast potty trained
-  manges to pick up words more clearly
-  follows instructions sometimes atleast
-  watches tv continously for atlest 15-20 minutes
-  manages to convey what he/she wants
-  tries to learn new things
-  enjoys company of other children 
                   

Hi, I am mother of a 27 months old daughter and 14 months old son. My daughter recently started going to the playschool and with that came up a whole bunch of new problems. Everyday when I got her ready for the school and took her there she would cling on to me and cry out so loud that i could hear her voice even far away from the school. Although the teachers assured me that she would adjust in some time, but still it saddened me to see her behave that way. In my heart I knew I have to make it an enjoyable experience for her, so I started taking few things that she might like to eat like her favourite chocolate, ice-cream, potato fries..Some days I let her take out eatables from the vending machine, which she enjoys a lot. On other days I would buy some toys for her.. By doing so she was able to associate these experinces with her going to playschool, and adjusted faster to her new school environment..Besides this I always told her that I would be back to take her home after some time and I made it a point to be on time when the school ends.. On our way to schoo0l and back I used to show her other children going to school or returning from school..I also read a lot of related articles on internet regarding the issue. I particularly found Daycare or Preschool: Helping Your Child Adjust by Tonia Moore on www.ahealthyme.com helpful. I would also like to mention the article Helping Your Child Adjust to Preschool on www.itsamomsworld.com, and A Smooth Start
by Gail O'Connor www2.scholastic.com.