By Elizabeth Hawksworth
Unless it’s raining or a child in my care doesn’t feel well I do not turn the television on while working. There are many other things I can be doing with my charges, like crafts, reading books, going to the park, or playing imaginative games.
I never allow young children to view more than a half hour of TV per day or more than an hour for older kids. I don’t allow babies or toddlers to watch television at all.
My nanny confession this week is that I don’t like my charges to watch TV in part because I can’t stand a lot of today’s children’s shows. I don’t like the frenetic pace of shows like “Wow Wow Wubbzy” and I can’t stand the whining that shows like “Caillou” exhibit. And what’s up with “Max and Ruby”?
These children’s shows are irritating and I find that they inspire bad behavior in my charges. I can find much more productive things for the kids to do -- like drawing pictures of our favorite TV show characters instead!
Unless the children specifically ask to watch their favorite show, I usually choose TV shows that are gentle and educational. Limited television viewing should only be used as a quiet break in which I can get some chores done, put a baby down for a nap, or to have some downtime if we have had a busy day. I don’t want to wind my charges up by allowing them to view shows encourage unwanted behavior during our precious TV time!
What are your least favorite children’s shows? What shows do the children in your care love to watch?
Stop by next Tuesday for another Nanny Confession by Elizabeth Hawksworth.
3 comments:
I think there shouldn't be any television watching while nannies are working. It should be saved for time when parents are home only. We don't want to raise couch potatoes. A occasional parent approved movies are ok though if a child is sick.
Congratulations Nikki. Keep it up.
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My charges most like Caillou, Curious George, and the older one likes Johnny Test. I rarely let them watch Johnny Test...he wreaks havoc all of the time!
The older one doesn't play pretend very well so I like to show him Caillou and say, "See? Caillou is pretending to be a pilot." I agree that they put to much whining in this though...luckily my charges are good at not whining (we had to work on that).
Curious George is all of our favorite out of those three. He is so cute and loves poking his nose everywhere. I love that because it makes kids more curious, and you can use opportunities like that to teach them something new.
BUT my favorite is Yo Gabba Gabba. It encourages getting up and moving instead of just sitting on the couch like zombies. Dancing and acting goofy is one of our favorite things to do together and this show promotes that.
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