When I was pregnant, I read all of the studies about the best way to raise my baby and while doing so, I reached the conclusion that my baby was definitely not going to watch any TV. I wasn’t even going to have the TV on for myself while she was awake. Then when she was about 6 months old, a friend of mine who had her twins about 2 months earlier than my own daughter was born called me up and told me how much her babies loved Yo Gabba Gabba on Nick Jr. At first, I just thanked her and went on about my TV-free day, but when I spoke to her again and she told me how her babies loved the music and colors, I decided letting my little girl watch a few minutes wasn’t going to be the worst thing that ever happened to her.
Now it’s almost a year and a half later, and my daughter has a few favorite shows. Bubble Guppies, Blues Clues, Team Umi Zoomi, Jacks’ Big Music Show and, of course, Yo Gabba Gabba. We don’t watch them constantly, but she gets in a few good hours a week, and the benefits are incredible. She’s at the stage now where she repeats everything she hears, and can now count to at least three in as many different languages (Mandarin, Spanish and English) along with a plethora of different words.
Thanks to Bubble Guppies and especially to Jacks’ Big Music Show, she’s learned a lot about music- Jack and his friends taught her how to march, and when the Little Bad Wolf stopped by, he helped us to learn the difference between loud and soft (not to mention, my kid now does a wicked impersonation of being blown around the room, yelling “Whooooooaaaa!!” as she goes). With all of the (pleasantly) repetitive songs on Bubble Guppies, she sings her favorite almost daily- “What time is it? It’s lunch time! What time is it? It’s time for lunch!” It’s incredibly helpful that my picky toddler has a fun way to tell me when she’s actually hungry.
Dora the Explorer and Ni Hao Kai-Lan are both fun little shows that are great for helping my baby girl to get an early start on her bilingual skills. They also teach a lot of lessons about empathy and being nice to your friends, and these are never things you want to pass up on teaching your child. In a world full of bullies, it’s helpful to have back-up when it comes to teaching human decency.
Yo Gabba Gabba is kind of the crown jewel of kids shows these days. With multiple guests and even some sly jokes insterted to keep the parents entertained as well (Did anyone else catch DJ Lance as Sheriff Bart in the “Dress Up” episode?), every episode is a high note. The songs are catchy and fun, there are dances that teach numbers and manners, and the “Sleep” episode has some of the sweetest music to sing to your baby as they head off to Dreamland.
TV is never a substitute for parenting, and it should never be the babysitter. Used correctly, however, it can supplement the things you want to teach your child and even teach you a thing or two in the process.