Even ds10mos doesn't zone out. We watch mostly on an iPad, and his main communicative technique is to point and say "ahhhht?". I'll let you guys work the rest of that one out. Anyway....
The only way we don't fit with the article is on the repetition thing. DS3yrs is really into Dora right now, and he's on his second trip through the Berenstein Bears. Also, Zoboomafoo, which isn't as repetitive as Dora, but certainly formulaic. He also likes less repetitive stuff, but he does not avoid repetition.
(Dora is great for social skills, though, gotta say)
When DS was about 18 mos, we gave up on keeping him away from TV, and within a few months, he was asking for obscure Japanese train videos on YouTube, well enough that babysitters would have to compair notes later... "did you know there's a train called Mimigo?" "Yeah, it's what he usually means when he asks for "red and white go train" "ohhhhhhhh, yeah, that is a good way to describe it!" Ahhh sweet memories! That was back when the SLP thought he had a language delay, and we just thought he had a strange approach.
I don't think the article said anything about kids relaxing with TV. We do 30 min TV before bed, because it's the only thing we've found that can be accessed regularly that gets him to really simmer down. It's a weird combination of being stimulated, but also focesed. No TV and we're discussing the pros and cons of war in the general case for an hour before he can sleep. Books kinda sorta work, but he isn't tired out by them, he's focused, but he just wants another and another and another... And the questions tend eventually to turn towards... Well, right now it's mostly war. And then we're back where we started.
Last edited by Michaela; 09/18/12 08:27 AM. Reason: Half of post failed to appear
