Big Bird or Bust

Question: What's your opinion on children watching TV?

Answer: Yikes! Already setting me up to get some blog hatters. Just kidding. I can totally take the heat...I think:) On the answer to this question I actually side with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). No TV before they are two years of age and then I plan to still limit TV intake time once they are older. Now I must confess...there have been a few occasions where Ellen might be on in the background while Q (my son) is playing in his playpen. In general though we don't allow Q to be planted in front of the TV.

There is the argument of some parents that claim their son/daughter love Big Bird (or many other characters)! When they watch Sesame Street their little one beams with joy and smiles ear to ear. Uh...of course they do. Even now as an adult if you see some huge yellow bird singing and dancing...you're gonna watch. Most likely you will also die laughing. So can you really gauge that your child is in love with Big Bird and the show is healthy for him/her? Probably not...alas that is why I side with the AAP and Big Bird won't be coming out of his nest until Q is 2ish.

Additional resource:
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/Media/Pages/Where-We-Stand-TV-Viewing-Time.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token