France Bans TV Shows Aimed At Children Under Three

I just got my new edition of Mothering magazine (a great one by the way). Anyhoo, there's an article about how France has banned French channels from airing tv shows that have a target audience younger than three years of age.

I think it's great that the French government is acting on behalf of children. However, I wonder who should have the say in this? I have no definitive opinion on this. I'm just sounding off. Should the government be able to ban something that's not good for children or should networks be able to do what they want, with parents making the final decision?

At this point I lean more towards leaving the networks alone and letting parents make the call. But, I can definitely see the other side on this issue.

I think there is far too much tv watching going on in this age group. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children younger than two years should not watch television.

My Boo does have a few Baby Einstein videos, but honestly I could probably count on two hands the number of times that he's watched them. I'm not against it and at this point don't feel like there needs to be any kind of similar ban in this country. But I do think that children who don't have the option of staring at a screen will have to be more creative in creating their own fun. Also, there are studies that have linked television viewing in young children to ADHD and/or autism.

I admit sometimes I feel a little left out that other people's toddlers are going nutso over Elmo and my child has no clue who Elmo is. But it's always a passing feeling.

Anyways, something to think about at least. My personal challenge is to watch less tv myself. Granted, my daycare is a television-free environment. The tv absolutely does not come on while dc kids are here. But all too often it gets turned on when hubby gets home and is on the rest of the evening. There's been times where Boo has shut the tv off and brought a book over as if to say, "Please stop staring at that screen and pay attention to me." So, while he's really not allowed to watch tv, I think I'm going to try to watch less myself.