Screen Time

Recently I joined the party and purchased an iPhone. I used to have a crappy Blackberry for work that never functioned properly, took poor quality photos and didn't have any fandangled technology like maps or weather. I finally bit the bullet, paid out of pocket and now have a shiny new iPhone. I've entered the world of apps and Instagram. Yippee!

I downloaded free Fisher Price apps for Tory and all too often, I find myself handing over my phone to entertain / distract her during diaper changes. She's just so wiggly! Andi bought a car mount for the iPad and we're guilty of playing Backyardigans on repeat during weekend drives to / from the cabin. Better than her fussing the whole drive! Now that Tory feeds herself for the most part, I've been turning the TV to PBS and allowing her to watch Arthur or Curious George while she eats. Gives me a few minutes to make dinner with two hands! All this technology makes life so much easier now that Tory's growing into a little person. Lately it has me thinking, how much screen time is too much? As parents, should we have a limit to how much we allow our child to interact with TV, iPads and iPhones?

This is one of those topics where I'm sure everyone's got an opinion. I have friends who've waited to expose their kids to screen time until age 2 and others who allow their kids to watch Elmo and Mickey Mouse as young toddlers. Honestly, I don't think either choice is a bad one. I fall into the "everything's ok in moderation" category and feel like a little media won't hurt anyone. I want to be a good parent though and so I don't want to overdo it either. I definitely don't want to be sitting in a principal's office one day saying "we should've limited TV time or we would've never found ourselves here."

When I was growing up, we didn't have a limit on television at all. My sister and I watched movies and played video games. We watched Sesame Street and Barney as young kids and Full House and Family Matters when we were school age. We didn't abuse it though and we still clocked many hours playing Barbies and riding bikes around the neighborhood. Andi was sort of the opposite (by choice? I'm not sure. I should ask his mom). He never saw Dirty Dancing until we started dating at age 26. The shame! Ha, my sister and I dreamed of being Baby and learning dance moves along a tree log down by the river. I wouldn't say Andi's obsessed with TV now, or has a firm stance against watching it. I can't say I struggled in school or fought childhood obesity because I watched too much TV as a kid either. I'm not sure either end of the spectrum stunted our development, shaping us as different people today. Well, except one of us gets references to pop culture and the other one's still trying to figure out why someone put Baby in the corner.

If we develop strict rules for Tory (aka: kid 1), I wonder if they'll be thrown out the window by the time Kid 2 or Kid 3 comes along? How will I censor Toddler Kid 3 from watching Grade School Kid 1's shows or reading Tiger Beat when his/her older sister does it? Am I putting too much thought into this whole thing when it likely doesn't matter anyway so long as everything's in moderation?

I mentally fist-pump when I hear other parents talk about their toddler's obsession with Elmo or Mickey because it makes me feel less like a parenting failure for exposing Tory to the world of technology at age one. She's not hypnotized by any specific character at this point. Well, except for the intro song of Backyardigans which she could watch over and over and over ... and does while I clip her fingernails.

I guess I'm not looking for strong opinions on one side or the other; I'm just saying I worry sometimes if I'm doing the right thing by my daughter. I want her to have every chance to be smart and creative and original and I hope by exposing her to the Great Big World too quickly, I don't hinder who she becomes.