Watching TV with Preschoolers

When television is not watched with reckless abandon, it's a great tool for young children to acquire vocabulary, information, ideas and even learn about values. But how children watch television is very important.

Here are a few helpful tips to guide in television viewing.

• Avoid open-ended TV viewing. Try watching a specific show for a specific amount of time to ensure your kids remain active viewers, instead of simply zoning out.
• Choose a show and stay with it. This helps children understand a show has a beginning, middle and end. It also makes it easier to monitor your child's viewing and limit the length of time he or she watches.
• Watch calm, quiet shows. Not only are they more conducive to learning, the slower pace allows children the chance to think and absorb new words and concepts.
• Not all "children" shows are appropriate for children of a preschool age. Make sure the shows your child watches are suitable for his or her age group.
• Watch TV with your children. This allows you to help them engage in the show, rather than just tuning out. Also, asking and answering questions about what's going on in a show helps expand the ideas and concepts presented while finding out what your child finds most interesting.
• Avoid commercials. Children's cable networks usually offer commercial free TV, as do shows on video and DVD. Being able to pause or rewind a certain scene also allows for further discussion about what's going on.
• Incorporate aspects of favourite shows into everyday games. For example, make a map for your next outing and follow it the way Dora does.
• Most importantly, if there is nothing worth watching, turn it off.

By Rochelle Strauss