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This is great but if your child is watching so much Netflix that 400 hours worth of commercials are avoided, maybe your child is watching too much? Go play with

This is great but if your child is watching so much Netflix that 400 hours worth of commercials are avoided, maybe your child is watching too much? Go play with Legos or do something interactive...

crazygringo 7y ago
Given how educational TV can be in teaching language skills, interpersonal skills, and basic facts, I don't think this is necessarily too much at all, if it's 2-3 hrs/day. When I was a young child before I could read books, I learned tons about the world from watching Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and similar high-quality shows. I still spent plenty of time with my Legos, but my childhood would definitely have been worse without the programming on PBS.
- dpark 7y ago
  Your assumption of 1/3 is wrong and the article gives specific amounts per week and per year. It's over 4 hours a day, which is insane. 2.2 hours a day is also a lot. I think you're also overestimating the amount of meaningful education kids get from TV. Language skills are learned via use. You don't actually converse with the TV. Interpersonal skills are best learned by practice. Basic facts? Maybe the TV can help here, although most kids shows don't cover anything except pretty basic stuff. Kids shows are primarily entertainment, same as adult shows.
  - NeccoNeko 7y ago
    It isn't wrong. > The average 2-5 year old is spending over 1,600 hours a year watching television. > Ratings tracking company Nielsen reported in 2014 that the average hour of television has close to 15 minutes and 30 seconds of commercials. By their count 1/4th of each hour is commercials. 1600 * .75 / 365 == 3.3 hours per day
    - dpark 7y ago
      > It isn't wrong. In what was is it not wrong? He estimated 1/3 commercials which was wrong. He estimated 2.2 hours of TV, which is wrong regardless of whether that includes commercials and regardless of whether the commercial ratio is 1/3 or 1/4. He also went back and edited it[1] to say 2-3 hours which is still wrong, because 3.3 is not between 2 and 3. And for the record, commercials are still TV so scaling down to 3.3 is a really bizarre choice on your part. [1] Actually rewrote essentially the entire comment removing almost everything I responded to.
dpark 7y ago
> The average 2-5 year old is spending over 1,600 hours a year watching television. > The average 6-11 year old is spending over 1,450 hours a year watching television. Jesus. 4 hours of TV every day. That's nuts.
- a_imho 7y ago
  Imagine sitting 8 hours in front of a screen.
nickelcitymario 7y ago
Well, are we assuming they're spending those 4 hours watching TV passively? Maybe they are. Or maybe they just like to have it on while they do other things. I know my own kids tend to have Netflix on all the time, but are also playing games, making art, talking to each other, doing chores, etc. I myself have it on for many hours a night, but I spend almost no time sitting in front of the screen. (Sundays have been an exception for GoT.) It just makes doing dishes, cleaning, and laundry so much more bearable. That's what these studies always seem to fail to address. The assumption is if the TV is on, you must be staring at it. And that's simply not the case.
- danielfoster 7y ago
  I didn't think about this, and what you stated describes me as a child-- I had some access to TV but preferred to do other things (namely Legos) while it was turned on. But I have a very active mind. My fear is that many children will actively consume media rather than passively consume. A major part of the issue probably depends on how parents teach their children to watch TV. This issue needs more investigation because not all TV watching is the same. My fear is that not all parents are as mindful as you or mine.
diminoten 7y ago
I dunno, I'm not convinced TV time is as detrimental to children as we're being told. It sounds a lot like the "kids these days" trope.
- abootstrapper 7y ago
  I agree. As a society, when it comes to "the children" we tend to overreact and overprotect. We also tend to compete and judge other parents about it too. "What!? Bobby Sue watches cartoons before school instead of practicing mindfulness and studying the periodic table, what terrible parents!"
SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
> Go play with Legos or do something interactive... Maybe they're watching Bandersnatch? ;)

This is great but if your child is watching so much Netflix that 400 hours worth of commercials are avoided, maybe your child is watching too much? Go play with Legos or do something interactive...

crazygringo 7y ago

Given how educational TV can be in teaching language skills, interpersonal skills, and basic facts, I don't think this is necessarily too much at all, if it's 2-3 hrs/day. When I was a young child before I could read books, I learned tons about the world from watching Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and similar high-quality shows. I still spent plenty of time with my Legos, but my childhood would definitely have been worse without the programming on PBS.

dpark 7y ago
Your assumption of 1/3 is wrong and the article gives specific amounts per week and per year. It's over 4 hours a day, which is insane. 2.2 hours a day is also a lot. I think you're also overestimating the amount of meaningful education kids get from TV. Language skills are learned via use. You don't actually converse with the TV. Interpersonal skills are best learned by practice. Basic facts? Maybe the TV can help here, although most kids shows don't cover anything except pretty basic stuff. Kids shows are primarily entertainment, same as adult shows.
- NeccoNeko 7y ago
  It isn't wrong. > The average 2-5 year old is spending over 1,600 hours a year watching television. > Ratings tracking company Nielsen reported in 2014 that the average hour of television has close to 15 minutes and 30 seconds of commercials. By their count 1/4th of each hour is commercials. 1600 * .75 / 365 == 3.3 hours per day
  - dpark 7y ago
    > It isn't wrong. In what was is it not wrong? He estimated 1/3 commercials which was wrong. He estimated 2.2 hours of TV, which is wrong regardless of whether that includes commercials and regardless of whether the commercial ratio is 1/3 or 1/4. He also went back and edited it[1] to say 2-3 hours which is still wrong, because 3.3 is not between 2 and 3. And for the record, commercials are still TV so scaling down to 3.3 is a really bizarre choice on your part. [1] Actually rewrote essentially the entire comment removing almost everything I responded to.

dpark 7y ago

> The average 2-5 year old is spending over 1,600 hours a year watching television. > The average 6-11 year old is spending over 1,450 hours a year watching television. Jesus. 4 hours of TV every day. That's nuts.

a_imho 7y ago
Imagine sitting 8 hours in front of a screen.

nickelcitymario 7y ago

Well, are we assuming they're spending those 4 hours watching TV passively? Maybe they are. Or maybe they just like to have it on while they do other things. I know my own kids tend to have Netflix on all the time, but are also playing games, making art, talking to each other, doing chores, etc. I myself have it on for many hours a night, but I spend almost no time sitting in front of the screen. (Sundays have been an exception for GoT.) It just makes doing dishes, cleaning, and laundry so much more bearable. That's what these studies always seem to fail to address. The assumption is if the TV is on, you must be staring at it. And that's simply not the case.

danielfoster 7y ago
I didn't think about this, and what you stated describes me as a child-- I had some access to TV but preferred to do other things (namely Legos) while it was turned on. But I have a very active mind. My fear is that many children will actively consume media rather than passively consume. A major part of the issue probably depends on how parents teach their children to watch TV. This issue needs more investigation because not all TV watching is the same. My fear is that not all parents are as mindful as you or mine.

diminoten 7y ago

I dunno, I'm not convinced TV time is as detrimental to children as we're being told. It sounds a lot like the "kids these days" trope.

abootstrapper 7y ago
I agree. As a society, when it comes to "the children" we tend to overreact and overprotect. We also tend to compete and judge other parents about it too. "What!? Bobby Sue watches cartoons before school instead of practicing mindfulness and studying the periodic table, what terrible parents!"

SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago

> Go play with Legos or do something interactive... Maybe they're watching Bandersnatch? ;)