Tips to Get the Most
From Your TV Viewing
TV is a tool what children get from it depends on how well it's designed and how
well children are guided to use it. PBS has taken care of the design. As your
child's first teacher the guidance comes from you. Children learn by doing by
interacting with the people and objects around them. Hands-on experiences and
repetition help them to digest and learn information. PBS can give you some great
ideas for fun and interesting ways to do this.
Make your viewing choices from the TV listings, not the remote control. Instead
of turning on the set just to fill time, or surfing channels until you find something
you don't mind watching, use a TV guide or a newspaper. Highlight the programs
you really want to watch and only turn on the set for those programs. It may not
be a rule your children are happy about, but consider making the remote control a
tool that only grown-ups and older children can use.
Balance Viewing Time
Sometimes kids who watch a lot of TV don't spend enough time doing the other
things they need to grow up strong and healthy, like talking, reading, playing,
and relating to others. Limit viewing time to 10-20 hours a week, and make
sure kids have other fun activities to choose from. Keep handy a list of fun
things your children like to do and when they ask to watch TV, suggest something
from the list!
View Actively
It's fine to watch TV to relax, but remember that children learn TV viewing
habits by watching adults. For example, if you tend to be quiet and still when
you watch, so might your kids. And, when kids don't interact with the set, they
don't learn how to view actively. So, at least sometimes, watch with your kids.
Talk back to the set. Ask kids to predict what will happen next or to imagine a
different ending. Encourage your children to sing and dance along with the
program.
Make Connections
Talk about the connections between what you see on TV and your child's daily life. Be
ready to talk, read or do activities that can build on or extend any topic you see on
TV. If you and your children watch a show on penguins, do a web search together
about penguins. If you watch a show where the kids are in a poetry contest write
your own poetry! Other handy activities that can reinforce any program or storybook
include:
- Making a graph;
- Taking a vote;
- Writing your own story or sending a postcard;
- Painting a mural or chalking up the driveway;
- Interviewing one another or other people; or,
- Sharing a storybook!
|
