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Top parenting stories this week
At What Age Should Children Start to Watch Television?
Find out what amount of television your child should watch and what age it’s okay to start.
by: Elizabeth Pantley
In This Article
Baby's First TV
- Children under age two should avoid watching TV whenever possible.
- Children who watch a lot of television during their early years are at an increased risk of childhood obesity, poor social development and aggressive behavior.
- Set a TV time limit, such as no more than 30 to 60 minutes a day, and stick to it.
- The average two- to five-year-old spends 4.5 hours a day watching TV or DVDs.
- TV and DVD watching is on the rise, but the viewing of quality children’s programming, such as Sesame Street, is actually declining.
t’s hard to find an infant or toddler who hasn’t watched at least some TV, but is it good for them? Here’s how to decide when it’s okay to let your baby first watch TV and how to get the most from children’s television programming.
At what age should children start to watch television?
Hold off introducing television and videos to your baby for as long as possible. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children under two years of age avoid watching TV entirely. Experts say that babies and young toddlers see television as a confusing array of colors, images and noises. Children under age two won’t understand much of the content they see on TV and it takes time away from more productive exploring, such as interacting with others.
Also, young children have a very literal view of the world. Babies and toddlers can’t tell the difference between real and pretend. Many young children interpret what they see on TV as true life. Research has found that many young children believe that TV characters actually live inside their TV sets. This can confuse your child’s understanding of the world.
