Wednesday, May 14, 2008
TV and vegetables
As you can see from the new poll, I've been thinking about TV watching. What do you guys think is an appropriate amount of TV time for kids? What are some good alternatives to pass time? Sometimes letting Ollie watch a show or movie is the only way to get him to settle down and just rest for a while. Also, how many servings of vegetables should we really expect our kids to eat every day? Any suggestions on that?
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6 comments:
Let me answer your question with a question (Michael Scott): Older kids have more activities like homework, sports, and friends. I have kids that are young and we run out of activities to do, so I find that they watch a movie sometime during the day. I felt guilty for a while, but I know this insn't their schedule forever. Does the amount of T.V. change with age? (or maybe I'm just a bad mom)
Most educators believe that anything more than two hours a day is too much for children age 2 and older. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 2 watch no television at all. I think it really is a personal preference. I let my daughter watch educational stuff. Disney Channel and she likes seeing the animals on Discovery Channel as well. Although it captures her interest for maybe 15 minutes she still absorbs singing and ABC's at times. I think when the television becomes the "babysitter" is when it becomes excessive. I do believe that no violence or sex scenes should be seen by little kids at all. I have seen the after math in that situation in an 8 year old and it wasn't pleasing to me or his momma!
Veggies arrggg... I try to feed her at least 2 servings of veggies a day. I can't shove 5 servings in her but I try to do 2 a day carrots and a little corn. She loves fruit too so she has peaches and bananas almost every day. My friend Denice feeds her kids carrot cooked in brown sugar which allows them to get the veggies and all but adds up in the sugar area. I got the following information off of babycenter.com I hope this helps..
Healthy Food Choices for children 2 to 5 years of age include:
• 4 – 5 or more servings of breads, cereals, rice, and pasta
• 2 or more servings of vegetables
• 2 or more servings of fruits
• 3 – 4 servings of dairy products
• 2 or 3 servings of meat, fish, poultry and legumes
Here's what we do in our family:
Ian is allowed to watch PBS kids in the morning while I am getting ready or while his dad is "watching" him while sleeping in. So maybe about an hour of PBS kids a day for him. Otherwise my kids are only allowed to watch tv or play wii or computer games on friday and saturday. I let them binge for a few hours because it is the weekend and they don't have homework or other activities usually. This is working really well for us right now because it cuts down on the weekday whining.
I do make an exception with wii if Aidan or Ian has a friend over for a playdate and they can play for 30 min or an hour. In the winter it is harder because we are trapped inside. Luckily my two oldest children are complete bookworms and love legos.
With the vegetables I usually sneak some into a main dish a la pureeing and they eat at least one serving of fresh vegetables. But I have seen Ollie and LIly eat peas so they are probably fine.
I mostly let the kids loose in the backyard or at a park, but Ian and I also play a lot of Old Maid, Candy Land and Memory. We water plants, we go to the library. We make playdates. I am mostly only alone with Ian so he gets pushed on the swing a lot. The kids also like to draw with sidewalk chalk and ride bikes or play basketball or make potions with plants and dirt.
Is it too hot already to play outside there?
They also have chores to do. They take turns cleaning their bathroom with my help and supervision because it always looks like a tube of toothpaste exploded on the sink and walls. They take out trash and compost. They occasionally pull weeds or sort recycling. They clean their rooms and sometimes pick up the playroom. They have a lot of things they can do other than watch tv and when they say they are bored I ask them what chores they want to do;)
I don't think you should feel bad about the amount of tv they watch unless they are whining when they don't get to watch it, then you know they are dependent. When the kids were younger they watched way too much tv and Collin and decided after cutting it out for a week, that weekend tv for the kids was a good option. It is hard when they are so young to get anything done when they are hanging on your legs or asking for another glass of juice, blah blah . . .
Do french fries count as a veggie?
Sometimes my kids go for days at a time without even turning the TV on, then there are those rare days that they watch like 5 or 6 hours in a day. I don't really worry about it because it hardly ever happens and they show no "addiction" to it ever. The wonderful thing now, is that we just moved into a place that has a playground out our backyard and they would much rather be outside playing than watching TV. It's been wonderful, but I'm afraid the novelty will wear off soon.
As for veggies, I don't know any child that gets the recommended servings everyday, but since I took a Nutrition class last semester I have been more diligent to offer them every day. I love the puree cookbook idea, but haven't used it yet. What I have found that is good is the V8 juice that is half veggies and half fruit juice. My kids LOVE the strawberry banana one. Funny thing about it though is they didn't like the regular, but the loved the light one. Also the veggie V8 is easier to drink if you get the low sodium kind, not to mention better for you. So I get some piece of mind serving them that if they haven't eaten well that day, but it doesn't have the all benefits of the actual fruits and veggies, like fiber. But it's better than nothing.
Thanks for the input! I feel better:)
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