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Ideas for helping your child with TV

All families enjoy watching TV but did you know, too much television can affect your child’s ability to talk, listen and concentrate.

  • Try to limit TV to half an hour a day for children under two and one hour for three to five year olds.
  • If your child gets frustrated when you turn the TV off, encourage them to sit and play with you and their favourite toy. They’ll soon be enjoying themselves so much they will forget about  the  TV. Put the remote control out of reach.
  • If no-one is watching the television turn it off. Background noise can be distracting for your child. They need to hear what you’re saying clearly so they can learn to talk like you one day.
  • Avoid putting a television in your child’s bedroom as it is harder to control what they watch and the length of time that they watch it for.
  • Choose programmes which are suitable for your child’s age.
Child with dad on sofa while on phone

How TV can help with learning to talk

  • Sit with your child as they watch TV and talk about what is happening.
  • If they’re singing or dancing on the programme you could both join in. Talk about what you are doing together, e.g. ‘we’re jumping’, ‘we’re clapping’.
  • You could sing the songs you have learnt from the TV programmes throughout the day. If your child has the toy TV characters, encourage them in pretend play. These are fun ways to learn how to talk.
  • Watching the same DVD or video can be better than watching TV. Hearing the same stories, words and phrases over and over again can help your child’s talking.
Published: 23 October 2024