A Part of Me

RUNNING HEAD: CHILDERN WATCHING TELEVISION VS. PLAYING OUTSIDE

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Children Watching Television vs. Playing Outside Angela Clark ENG 121 Amber Anaya March 14, 2012

CHILDERN WATCHING TELEVISION VS. PLAYING OUTSIDE

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Children Watching Television vs. Playing Outside

Although play has been a well-established curriculum component in early childhood education, the increasing emphasis on accountability appears to have led to a corresponding decline in the general understanding of the important contribution that high quality of play. What is the perfect medium for both watching television and playing outside? There are many advantages and disadvantages in children watching television and playing outside. “The average two to five year old spends 4.5 hours a day watching TV or DVDs. Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children under two years of age avoid watching TV entirely. Experts say that babies and young toddlers see television as a confusing array of colors, images and noises. Children under age two won’t understand much of the content they see on TV and it takes time away from more productive exploring, such as interacting with others”. Pantley E.(2010, January 20)At what age should children start watching television?. Just the Facts Baby, para.1. Which might not sound like a great amount but, that adds up to 31.5 a week or 126 hours a month. The brain of a baby develops more in the first five years than any other time in a human’s life. Everything an adolescent sees, hears or experiences in that time make that child develop into what he or she will become as an adult. Pertaining to which shows children are allowed to watch and some have rules about time how long the Television can be on. The Author’s son Travis, whom is two, is above average as far as what he knows his age group. He was started with “your baby can read” videos at the age of eight months old (against Academy of Pediatrics “rules). Within a month he recognized the words “arms...