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TV, Videos, Computers and Video Games - who is to say whether these are good or bad? How can these be bad if you are a kid but OK if you are a grown up? Although I see many parents are completely against letting their kids watch TV or videos, rarely have do they do it because of the right reason - Eyes. Yes, more than anything else, it is the Eyes that take the most damage in case you let your kid watch TV for more than an hour at a stretch.

I have seen kids as young as 1 watch TV without blinking their eyes at all. This leads to dryness and damage to the retina. The parents should focus on that instead of anything else.

As they say, everything in moderation is OK. This holds true for the question above also.

DO NOT STOP your child from watching TV, just organize a proper time-table for everything and FOLLOW it! A child who does not watch TV does not lose his existing brain power but he also does not DEVELOP any. More than that, it is the peer pressure which causes a bigger impact on a child's mind than anything else. In fact, I have a very well defined system for my 5-year old. I let him watch ANYTHING he wants, be it Cartoon Network or any crap he wants to, for 45 mins a day, BUT SUBJECT to the condition that he will HAVE to watch what I want him to watch for 45 minutes FIRST. And what do I force him to watch? Usually it is Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Discovery Travel and Living or Voyages. And I prod (literally force) him to ask questions. Then, I make a little quiz based on what he has watched and give him points which are then redeemable for certain gifts!

How has that helped?
1) His TV is restricted to 1h:30ms a day, not more, unless it's the weekend.
2) There are no fights, no sulking and no bad blood.
3) This is most important - His social skills and general knowledge are probably the BEST in a class of 30 students and amongst his group of friends!
4) Finally, there is a lot of Father and Son bonding.

So, letting your kids watch a little TV; in moderation, with some planning and organization and some will-power; is NOT really a bad thing.

Try it!

Learn more about this author, Amit Nagpal.
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