best toddler toys educational image
littlenick
Just curious what you stay-at-home mothers do with your toddlers and preschoolers all day? Do you have some sort of formalized "curriculum" or schedule that you do with them to teach them various things? Or do you let them decide what they want to do? I stay at home with my two boys, ages 1 & 3, and I feel really guilty all the time that I don't do any sort of formal teaching or activities with them. We really don't watch much TV; most of the time, I just let them play freely. My three-year-old is especially into playing firefighter these days. Anyway, just wondering!
Thanks!
Answer
I let my toddler play what he wants. He goes two half days at a Montessori and we have two playgroups we attend a few times a month. I don't have a "curriculum" b/c I think that he is learning and mastering things everyday without a lot of structure on my part. We color, read, build blocks(his favorite), wrestle, go to the park. When they're so young, getting their attention long enough to do some sort of formal teaching activities is tough...not to say that you can't sit down with them and play educational toys and things. Don't be too hard on yourself. They've got about 12 years(at least) of formal education so let them enjoy being kiddos. Good luck!
I let my toddler play what he wants. He goes two half days at a Montessori and we have two playgroups we attend a few times a month. I don't have a "curriculum" b/c I think that he is learning and mastering things everyday without a lot of structure on my part. We color, read, build blocks(his favorite), wrestle, go to the park. When they're so young, getting their attention long enough to do some sort of formal teaching activities is tough...not to say that you can't sit down with them and play educational toys and things. Don't be too hard on yourself. They've got about 12 years(at least) of formal education so let them enjoy being kiddos. Good luck!
How much television do you let your toddler watch?
kittykitty
My almost 3 yr old is addicted to TV. Well not TV, her Disney DVDs; Toy Story, Monsters Inc. Mickey Mouse Beach Party, 101 Dalmatians, etc.
I've set a limit of 1 hour a day or 1 movie a day and her father doesn't agree with me. He thinks she should be able to watch them all day long!
Just trying to get a few different perspectives on the idea. And maybe some ammo in my back pocket for the next time mom & dad have a discussion on this matter.
Thanks!
Answer
Well, from what I've read...
Television on all day interrupts with imaginative play. (hey that rhymes!) In other words, a child who is playing teatime with dollies will stop to watch something on TV... thus having her playtime actually interrupted by television.
Television, even educational television, has been shown in studies to not be beneficial. Most of the time, kids seem to copy the behaviors more than anything else (so if they see Dora the Explorer yelling all the time, they yell. If they see happy, cooperative play, or quiet resolution in conflicts, then they are more likely to copy that.)
While some studies have said that a child watching TV for more than 2 hours a day isn't going to have the educational problems they originally thought, it's still a precursor to being overweight.
Movies though are a little better than TV. They don't have the commercials, you know what's on them, and they actually help a child focus for longer periods of time. Even so, as soon as they start playing something else, turn it off. If your hubby likes background noise, then music is better.
The thing is, your hubby isn't all wrong either. It's not really healthy to put too much emphasis on "don't watch too much TV, you'll ____" because that indicates that TV is to blame for any bad habits your child picks up. It also makes the TV a forbidden fruit, and as she gets older, something that she will fight with you more about (and since dad's on her side...) My mom tried it, believe me... it didn't work.
What DID work was her saying "If you do this, then you get this much TV time." So if we had been playing all afternoon, came in and cleaned up, then we could watch a few hours of TV before bedtime. If we read a book, we got a bit more TV time. If we did our chores, etc. She made sure that for every so much TV time, we were physically active. And made sure we had other interests (mostly music) that weren't very conductive to the TV (ie, if I'm playing the piano, then the TV interferes and should be turned off. If you want to play Hungry Hungry Hippos, the TV has to be off. If you want to play Chutes and Ladders... get the picture?) She took us outside and gardened with us, removing the TV entirely. The TV was NEVER in the dining room, and NEVER in our own rooms. We had to share with the whole family, and after a certain time of night it was turned off so the family could prepare for bed. She still had problems with some of us, but it was a better approach in my opinion.
Well, from what I've read...
Television on all day interrupts with imaginative play. (hey that rhymes!) In other words, a child who is playing teatime with dollies will stop to watch something on TV... thus having her playtime actually interrupted by television.
Television, even educational television, has been shown in studies to not be beneficial. Most of the time, kids seem to copy the behaviors more than anything else (so if they see Dora the Explorer yelling all the time, they yell. If they see happy, cooperative play, or quiet resolution in conflicts, then they are more likely to copy that.)
While some studies have said that a child watching TV for more than 2 hours a day isn't going to have the educational problems they originally thought, it's still a precursor to being overweight.
Movies though are a little better than TV. They don't have the commercials, you know what's on them, and they actually help a child focus for longer periods of time. Even so, as soon as they start playing something else, turn it off. If your hubby likes background noise, then music is better.
The thing is, your hubby isn't all wrong either. It's not really healthy to put too much emphasis on "don't watch too much TV, you'll ____" because that indicates that TV is to blame for any bad habits your child picks up. It also makes the TV a forbidden fruit, and as she gets older, something that she will fight with you more about (and since dad's on her side...) My mom tried it, believe me... it didn't work.
What DID work was her saying "If you do this, then you get this much TV time." So if we had been playing all afternoon, came in and cleaned up, then we could watch a few hours of TV before bedtime. If we read a book, we got a bit more TV time. If we did our chores, etc. She made sure that for every so much TV time, we were physically active. And made sure we had other interests (mostly music) that weren't very conductive to the TV (ie, if I'm playing the piano, then the TV interferes and should be turned off. If you want to play Hungry Hungry Hippos, the TV has to be off. If you want to play Chutes and Ladders... get the picture?) She took us outside and gardened with us, removing the TV entirely. The TV was NEVER in the dining room, and NEVER in our own rooms. We had to share with the whole family, and after a certain time of night it was turned off so the family could prepare for bed. She still had problems with some of us, but it was a better approach in my opinion.
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