As a new mother, I did a lot of 'studying' online about how to raise a good, healthy child. One of the key things that I learnt was to limit screen-time. And I agree. Looking around everywhere, I see people with their noses in their phones all the time, even kids as young 8-9 months. Parents usually resort to this tactic to keep the child occupied, say when shopping, eating out or when they have guests at home. To me, all these instances are opportunities for stimulating a child's social development. Why not let your child experience the chaos of shopping, the joys of eating at a fancy restaurant of mingling with people outside their family. Little children may not 'act' the way we expect them to do, but that's how they'll learn and acclimatize, right? Anyway, so I was all set to raise a child who did not have any screen time. But I am a working mother. Enough said. There are times when TV has to be the babysitter so I can get some work done. And so far, from whatever TV my three year old has seen, I feel she has only benefited. She does not watch cartoons with excessive violence or 'adult' content (a particular cartoon show has characters with romantic interests in each other!) We have stuck to the more innocent and informative shows, which I feel every child who is allowed screen time can benefit from.
Sid the science kid: The name is self-explanatory. The show is about a child, Sid, who wants to know everything about everything! The show explains concepts like how our body grows, life of insects, how and why water freezes, and cool stuff like that. The characters use very contemporary language and the show is also cool because it shows a dad who shares house chores and mom who goes to work!
Mother Goose club: It's all fun, song, dance and learning at Mother Goose Club. It has some standard characters who sing and dance to various nursery rhymes. The little ones will be clapping and singing along, and learning a few new tunes too.
Sesame Street: Of course, the classic. A lot of kids have learnt their alphabets with Elmo, and laughed at the antics of the cookie monster. Each character in sesame street is lovable and they make learning concepts like letters and numbers fun!
Daniel Tiger's Neighbourhood: We all want our children to grow up with good values and learn to conduct themselves in social settings, right? That's exactly what Daniel Tiger and his friends are learning in every episode. From learning to wait your turn, how to handle your anger and what to do when a friend is sick, Daniel Tiger and his friends learn a new lesson everyday, and so does your child. Now whenever my daughter is annoyed or angry, I ask her to do what Daniel Tiger does - take a step back and breathe. Works 90% of the time.
Storybots: Have a question about how it rains, or why we brush our teeth? Storybots will explain. Storybots take the children on a visual journey of explaining everyday science. The fact that they stumble and fall a lot, makes the children love the goofy characters.
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