What do you think of parents allowing Sesame street for children under the age of 2?

As long as they're not plopped in front of the TV for hours on end, Sesame Street is a wonderful program for toddlers to watch. How do you think my dishes & laundry got done? ;o)

I have let my son watch tv ever since he first became interested which was about 18 months. His favorite movies are CArs, Happy Feet and Ratatouille and some of his favorite tv shows are mickey mouse club house, Ni Hao Ki LAn, Go diego Go, Dora, Thomas the train, Handy Manny and Wow Wow wubbzy. He is a very bright little boy. He knows his colors, shapes, can count to 15 and recognizes numbers 1-10 and can recognize his ABCs and knows what sounds they make. He loves to learn. I do not think that tv is all bad for kids even younger than 2 as long as they are getting tons of interaction with their parents too. I sit with my son during his tv shows and we talk about what is happening and answer the little questions they ask. We also go outside to play everyday either in his pool or to the park to feed the ducks or various other places. We try everyday weather permitting and we read a bedtime story every night or whenever he would like. So no, tv is not bad but it is not all they should do. They need other activities too.

Children under the age of 2 should not be in front of a TV in the first place.

Kids under that age of 2 have a very short attention span. Sesame street is designed by use of short skits. This gets your child to lengthen his attention span by sitting still longer and longer. So while TV is not good for your child in long sessions. A short period of TV.[under an hour] can be beneficial.

My under two's only watched Sesame Street because the older than two's were. Otherwise, my oldest didn't until right before 2 when I was watching something on PBS and it came on and she screamed when I turned it off. I left it on and the girl couldn't keep her eyes off!! That is one of the few things I ever gave into her screaming for! As for watching anything else, I don't put on anything that is specifically geared to the under two's, because I don't believe under two's need 'educational' stuff outside of what they learn from interacting with family. Babies in yesteryear still grew into children knowing basic skills that are appropriate to their age without videos, why do our children need it. As for entertainment with education intermixed, like Sesame Street, the child won't get it till they are older anyway, so why intentionally start them so young?

As for TV as a whole being good or bad? I think the fast paced shows and especially commercials are worse than the idea of watching TV. So my kids did watch PBS (before we pulled the evil cable plug and don't have access to local until we get a convertor box) because the shows were mostly slow paced (not for the older ages, but they didn't watch those) as were the commercials. Videos also, I don't mind because of lack of commercials. But even now, unless I am feeling sick or it's just an off day, at most the kids get 1 two hour movie/ video or sometimes none at all because I don't want couch potatoes or them getting used to being entertained instead of being able to play through their imaginations or other fun means.

Minor TV watching is best, since children especially of a young age need social interaction and to stimulate their external senses. However, some studies show that shows like Sesame Street help children to learn and develop social skills, so its really up to you. If your child spends too much time infront of the TV you might want to limit it though.

I think its all a bunch of hooey myself. Yes, if all the child does is watch tv then that would not be good but a video or a tv show once in a while wont hurt them.

My daughter is 18 months. She doesn't hardly watch TV. A commercial here and there or a show where they are singing occasionally catches her eye. She saw Blue's Clues one day and watched for about 7 minutes, and she will do that every few days. But she never will sit and watch an entire show.

A friend on the other hand, has a daughter the same age. This girl will sit and watch TV everyday for hours a day and cries when Elmo isn't on the TV when she wants it to be.

I think that it horrible, yet my friend thinks its an abomination that my daughter doesn't know who Elmo is. I refuse to buy into the commercialization of babies. My daughter has no character toys, nor will she ever.

I limit my son on TV, but on OnDemand they have a show called Play With Me Sesame where it is not all the confusing story line or the overly vivid little films. It's only the puppets with little skits and my 16 month old LOVES it. He ardors Elmo and I let him watch 1 episode a day. He really does get something out of it. He counts with them and claps when they are clapping and trys to sing with them. I really feel like it is educational for him. I think that it's defiantly ok if baby likes it and seems to be getting something out of it.

Well, if they are under the age of 2 then they won't really understand what's going on in the show so there's not much point in them watching it. But I wouldn't say it's bad for them, unless the parents are literally forcing them to stare at the TV for 5 hours straight. I think it's fine if it's just occasional.