Introduction
I had the wonderful opportunity of interviewing
my sister-in-law, Anona, about her opinion on infants and the media. Anona provided some great answers to the
questions that were posed, namely feelings on infant exposure to television;
videos aimed at infants; and overall opinion on whether or not she allows her
infant to watch television. This was
such an eye-opening experience for me into parenting and media-use, and helped
me better understand the purposes behind infant media.
Analysis
Infant exposure to television. Anona is one who enjoys reading parenting books and articles on recent
studies about child development. Most of
what she has read is about the importance of limiting infant TV time. She does not like to let her kids watch TV,
but especially as an infant. Anona
believes that “ten ‘educational’ shows will never equal in developmental value
to ten minutes of reading a book to your baby." Anona is the mother
of three girls, with the youngest being 18 months old. Never has Anona turned on a show specifically
for her youngest; the only time that her infant is allowed to watch something is if her
older sisters are. To other moms of
small children, Anona said that it is okay to let them watch a show every once
in a while, but to recognize it for what it is – an electronic babysitter – and
to not confuse it for being an educational tool.
Videos aimed at infants. The attitude that Anona has in regards to videos specifically aimed at
infants, is influenced strongly by her mother.
As a child, Anona remembers watching a program every now and then, but
states that her mother was very careful that she “watch shows marketed as
educational, and never Power Rangers or cartoons or anything with no redeeming
merit in her eyes." Shows like Little Einstein’s versus other
“fluff” programs seem to be age appropriate, and educational in some
respects. So, educational or not, her
opinion on “videos aimed at infants” is this: children should know how to
entertain and play by themselves, and recognize that TV is a sorry substitute
for real life at any age.
Overall opinion. Now that Anona is a parent herself, she likes to let her children
interact with one another, playing dress up, doing puzzles, reading books, and
even fighting with one another to work out their social issues. Anona feels better about herself when she
takes the time to read, play with, and have her children help clean and run
errands – “I feel like they are using their brains in active ways and not
passively accepting what is presented to them in a TV show." However, she understands that sometimes a mom/parent needs a temporary
babysitting measure is needed, “like a month ago when I was nauseous all day
from being pregnant, preparing to move, and renovating another house all at the
same time;" but no need to worry,
because she will shortly be back to her parenting template!
Conclusion
Not only does Anona use personal experience to
shape her views on infant’s and TV, but she does research – asking friends,
reading studies, etc. Balancing the
media act with a 6-year-old, 4-year-old, 18-month-old, and another on the way is
tricky! What is deemed appropriate for
the oldest may not be so for the infant.
Be aware of what your children are watching, when they are watching, and
their age. Though she believes that TV
for infants may not be the most “appropriate” thing on the block, Anona is
grateful for it.
Thanks for reading! What are your thoughts on infants (and children in general) and their exposure to media? And what do you think the data shows us...?
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