Australian Gov't to Ban TV for Under 2's

[Krista G]

I just read this article.  Anybody have any thoughts on it?  The great TV debate continues but they are including computer time as well.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/children_shealth/6306858/Australia-ban-TV-for-under-twos.html

[krb]

Legislating how to parent always makes me nervous. Of course I want children protected i.e. Child Abuse laws and Child Labor laws, but the slippery slope of allowing gov't in your home is unsettling.

[nhockaday]

I agree. Having the government interfere with parenting is a scary thought.

[Nikita]

It's recommendations for childcare centres. But no doubt even though it wont be a law for parents, maternal health nurses will start asking questions like "how much TV does your child watch" and if doesnt fall within these new boundaries, they'll report you to Child welfare. And then so will vigilante parents, who seem to get a kick out of trying to get peoples kids taken off them. Australia is too intrusive when it comes to parenting. Welfare has too much authority. God forbid any parent who put a cot bumper in their baby's bed and didnt adhere to SIDS guidelines, for instance. They arent guidelines. They're unofficial laws.

[Natmum]

I'm not a big fan of TV in under two's - research has shown it to be detrimental for language and a few other things but I do draw the line at government making it a ban. Exactly how do you think they are going to police such a thing. Maybe educate parents on the reasons why TV in under 2's is not a great tool rather than start banning

[Nikita]

TV itself is not necessarily educational. I use educational dvds, including quite a few languages, yet my 23 month old is the best talker of my 5 kids (I presume the 5th will be better..we'll see). It's WHAT they watch that's most important.

[Nikolett]

here is a similar article on how the gov't handled the issue in France
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/2595495/France-bans-marketing-television-programmes-targeted-at-under-threes.html
reminds the "smoking is bad for your health" on the cigarettes

[Kimba15]

I think we need to put the article in perspective,

First they are guidelines to be submitted to the government it was the MEDIA who put the word ban on the article.

Second it is impossible to police such a thing. The recommendations don't even actually ban tv they state that any more than 3 hours of tv a day is detrimental to an under 2 development.

I think we have to be careful about what the media say because they do tend to hype a lot stuff up to make sure people read or buy their newspapers.

I have attached the guidelines that are to be submitted to the Aus govt for your own reading and you can make your own judgement rather than being fed the dribble from the media.

[KL]

Thanks for pointing that out, Kimba - your observation seems very accurate. Trust the media and their sensationalism!

These seem to be the facts (from reading the meat of the article):

1. This is a DRAFT report (called "Get Up and Grow" report), devised by Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital, and is something submitted as a recommendation to government.

2. The guidelines in the report are intended to help curb the spread of obesity.

3. What the draft guidelines say is that:

Based on recent research, it is recommended that children younger than two years of age should not spend any time watching television or using other electronic media (DVDs, computer and other electronic games).

4. The government has refused to comment on the draft guidelines.

Somehow, that gets reported as the Australian government will ban TV for under 2's!

  

[Nikita]

If they even think it's possibly bad, it wont be long before the minority group makes it law. A mum in my state smacked her 9 year old with a wooden spoon recently, the child mentioned this to a school support person, who reported it to the authorities (under mandatory reporting laws), and the mother was spoken to by police. Told that if it happens again, she'll be charged with assault with a weapon. This generated a lot of comment on TV yesterday, but a child psychologist, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg I think his name was, says it is LAW in Australia not to smack at all, as studies show SMACKING DID affect SOME kids years ago adversely.
Which makes me wonder...they are very anti sleeping in the same bed as your babies, due to SIDS. But yesterday they reported that 50% of all SIDS deaths occur when sleeping in the same bed as your parents. So what are they to do then?? Ban COTS also, as 50% of deaths happen there. So exactly WHERE should babies sleep then? Or perhaps they should be forbidden to sleep at all, as they tend to die when asleep, regardless of WHERE they sleep.

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