Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Watching TV and Parenting
As a mother (and single mother!), I feel awful when I have to grade or work on the computer and I let Hannah watch TV. Now, she has moved from the Sprout Network to Nick Jr. What I like about Nick Jr is the fact that there is Kaitlan, who is Chinese, Diego, who speaks Spanish, and Little Billy, who is African American, but not bi-dialectical. I let Hannah watch some of these programs, though I control how much TV she watches. And TV helps with her English language skills. And she is also learning some words in Chinese, which both she and I are excited about! The fact that she is acquiring English through TV makes me feel less guilty about her TV watching habits!
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Being a parent is such a crazy mixture of love, wonder, joy, stress and, yes, guilt. (Oh, did I mention exhaustion?) We have such high standards because know it's the most important job in the world, but the truth is that it's pretty hard to mess up when you have that first ingredient right: love. So, a little TV here, a little sugar there, a hot dog for dinner now and then (guess what's for dinner tonight in my house ? :) even a LOT of those things is quite alright so long as the main ingredient is there. Plus, it's hard to feel bad about increasing your kid's multicomptence!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any children yet, but I do agree with the fact that, as parents, we have to be careful and monitor what programs our children watch. I have seen Dora the Explorer and Diego, I really enjoy them because they both use English and Spanish.
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ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend’s niece was also able to catch some Chinese when she watches one of her favorite’s Chinese cartoons. The more she practice the language the better she got I found it amazing since she is learning a new language without noticing. Some TV programs are helpful for children to learn an additional language. Some parents on the other hand allow their children playing video games in order for them to enhance their communication skills. In my perspective, as long as you are able to control the number of hours that Hannah can watch TV, she should have no trouble to grasp both English and Spanish and become proficient speaker for both language or perhaps even more language as she progress through watching TV. I like to watch cartoons myself because they are fine and some stories are funny. I don’t have cables but I do know a channel that has cartoons 24 hours a day for those who also enjoy watch cartoons. For more information please check Qubo.com and it also can be find on TV channel 30-2.
ReplyDeleteI grew up bilingual. English is my L2 and Spanish is my L1. I remember watching "Sesame Street" as a child and it really helped me to gain the L2 language and other skills. I also liked to watch "Full House." I would try to imitate the character "DJ" because I admired her, so I picked up a lot of English phrases and language by watching these programs.
ReplyDeleteDon't feel guilty! You are busy. I believe that a little teleision is good as long as they are learning something from it. I can see how my nieces say things that i know have learned from watching T.V.. as long as it is monitored, i believe it is okay!
ReplyDeleteTelevision can be a great educational tool. As long as you monitor what your daughter is watching and don't let her watch too much, TV can be a very good thing. Programs such as Sesame Street and the shows on Nick Jr. are good ways for children to learn positive ideas and are excellent reinforcemnt of language skills.
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