{"id":9485,"date":"2013-12-17T13:30:31","date_gmt":"2013-12-17T13:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/?p=9485"},"modified":"2014-03-24T12:49:15","modified_gmt":"2014-03-24T12:49:15","slug":"healthy-tv-habits-for-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/healthy-tv-habits-for-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy TV Habits for Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many parents worry about the amount of time their children spend watching the television and it can be hard to get the balance right. <\/strong><\/h2>\r\nSome parents ban TV altogether like this lady who says that banning TV completely sorted out her child\u2019s attention difficulties <\/a><\/span>at school. Other parents have the TV on all the time, using it as a kind of babysitter. \u00a0 Television can be a fantastic tool for both education and relaxation, but we have to make conscious choices about what to watch and when. Here are some ideas on how\u00a0we can encourage our kids to have a healthy relationship with TV:\r\n\r\n1. Keep the TV out of your child\u2019s bedroom; bedrooms should be about sleep and play.\r\n\r\n2. If your child is very young, keep TV viewing to a couple of 10 -15 minute slots a day at the most. An hour a day is plenty for the under 2s.\r\n\r\n3. Choose specific programs to watch using the TV listings.\r\n\r\n4. Watch TV with your child and discuss what you\u2019re seeing.\r\n\r\n5. Carry on the learnings after the TV show, for example, if you\u2019ve seen an episode of Topsy and Tim where they\u2019ve baked cakes, make some in real life.\r\n\r\n6. Encourage your child to sit well back from the TV. If they keep moving closer, you may want to check that their eyesight is ok with a qualified optician.\r\n\r\n7. Have other activities available, for example, puzzles, toys and things to make and do. Children\u2019s curiosity can easily be diverted away from the big box!\r\n\r\n8. Choose gentle children\u2019s programs that encourage interaction such as shows that ask children to get up and move, ones that ask them questions or get them thinking.\r\n\r\n9. Research shows that violent programs can encourage similar behaviour in reality. Your child\u2019s brain is extremely plastic meaning that neurological pathways are being formed\u00a0 that dictate patterns of behaviour and social skills. Avoid scary and violent stuff; it\u2019s totally inappropriate for young children.\r\n\r\n10.\u00a0Don\u2019t allow your child to watch TV too\u00a0 close to bedtime. We need to wind down at the end of the day so that we can sleep well. Over stimulation just before sleep is a recipe for a restless night.\r\n\r\n \r\n

How about you? Do you use the TV as a babysitter? I know I’ve had my moments…<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n \r\n\r\n\"ecard\"<\/a>\r\n\r\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many parents worry about the amount of time their children spend watching the television and it can be hard to get the balance right. Some parents ban TV altogether like this lady who says that banning TV completely sorted out her child\u2019s attention difficulties at school. Other parents have the TV on all the time,","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3503],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-great-family-life-tips","category-parenting-advice-from-parents"],"yoast_head":"\r\nHealthy TV Habits for Children - KidStart Magazine<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kidstart.co.uk\/blog\/healthy-tv-habits-for-children\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Healthy TV Habits for Children - KidStart Magazine\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many parents worry about the amount of time their children spend watching the television and it can be hard to get the balance right. 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