my boys, like most children, are fascinated by ANYTHING that moves... cars, trains, planes... they have all sorts of toys of these kinds and they love to watch shows about them: the movie "cars," "thomas the tank engine," etc, but there hasn't really been anything about airplanes they could watch. several months ago, my good friend, janaya, introduced me to this sweet website that all your little ones will just LOVE..."andy's airplanes."
it features a new, animated DVD series for kids, all about a cute, friendly little guy named andy, who flies around the world learning about history and, of course, airplanes. you can get the first episode, "andy meets the blue angels," here. my boys get so excited about airplanes and can spot an airplane in the sky no matter how tiny, (isn't it amazing how they can do that?) so they totally dig this show. joel runs around the house flying his airplanes saying, "i want to be a blue angel someday! they're AWESOME!" this, by the way, is a direct quote from the first episode. and since kadin does everything that joel does, kadin does it, too. sigh.... so cute. andy's airplanes also has a fan club your kids can join. you can check the fan club out here. so, if you're looking for something new, fun and educational for your kids to watch, or if you need a cool gift for your nephew or your kid's next birthday party, i would totally recommend this. joel and kadin just adore this show, and anything that teaches good values, gets my kids excited about life and gives me 5 seconds to fold the laundry is an A+ in my book.
16 comments:
sweeeeet! so fun that they love it!! :)
p.s. i miss your boys. :( we need a webcam.
ooooh, fantastic! just what i need with a boy on the way. thanks for passing along such a good find!
Blue angels ARE awesome! I love this with all my heart. :)
We miss you guys!!
Blue angels ARE awesome! I love this with all my heart. :)
We miss you guys!!
Kids should not be watching any TV before they are 3 years old and even then only an hour a day.
Oh please anonymous! Do you have children of your own??? And that is YOUR opinion!!!! I let my kids watch tv all the time, most of it is educational.
What about Baby Einstein that was developed for infants even??? Gosh this anonymous comment has me all riled up! I wish some people would leave their opinions to themselves especially when it is UNSOLICITED!!!!!!!
Whitney - Will ordered this DVD for the boys last week and it arrived today! Jaden is watching now! So far, so good!
http://www.seattlechildrens.org/home/about_childrens/press_releases/2007/05/002035.asp
Melanie: I’m glad Jaden is enjoying his new dvd…
Anonymous: Thank you for your opinion… unsolicited as it was. Since you have so kindly offered YOUR OPINION, I will offer MINE… This is MY blog, right? I believe that temperance should be used when deciding about children and TV/DVD/Video watching. Even though I DON’T need to explain myself to you, I will anyway (it’s always a wise thing to remind yourself of why you do what you do):
I’m totally comfortable with the fact that my children DO watch TV/DVDs/videos and I’m totally comfortable with the amount of it that they watch. I have done research for myself: I’ve read articles, read books, talked to my boys’ pediatrician (who, in MY OPINION, is the most wonderful and brilliant doctor a mom could ask for) and come to a conclusion about what works best for me, my husband and most importantly, my kids. My children do NOT watch TV everyday and when they do, they don’t watch it for very long. They are active, polite, and relatively well-behaved boys (as well-behaved as any 2 and 3-year-old can be) who love to play outside, play with toys, sit down and read books…. AND watch DVDs. And I let them watch DVDs (with temperance) because they enjoy it and I occasionally like to let them do things that they enjoy.
The article that you referenced reads that “excessive viewing before age 3 has been shown to be associated with problems of attention control, aggressive behavior and poor cognitive development.” “Excessive viewing” and “should not be viewing” (as you so smartly put) are not the same thing… so if you are trying to back up YOUR OPNION as fact, that article doesn’t really cut it for that purpose. I’m not saying that the article you referenced does not have value… it has EXTREME value. It is similar to the literature that I read when I decided HOW MUCH TV my kids were going to view.
My kids DO watch TV/DVDs/videos, but not excessively. Which brings me to… you go ahead and do what works best for you… and my family and I will do what works best for us and happily continue with our tube-watching ways.
WELL SAID WHITNEY! AMEN!!!
Dylan has been in to Airplanes too. But his is from Little Einsteins. Funny how boys have that need for speed! Looks like you guys have a great apartment. Are you enjoying it?
Whitney-- so well-stated! And shame on anyone giving unsolicited parenting advice! I'm so impressed with everyone's parenting skills (you, Morgan, Summer, etc).... it makes me hope that one day I can do as good a job as you all are doing! And it's part of why I love reading all of your blogs-- seeing what wonderful families you all have created!
I let my little one watch T.V. as well. I really believe some of the shows have helped with her linguistics as well as her little musical skills. And she is also speaking a little Spanish thanks to Dora. Of course only spineless people leave anonymous comments. Apparently can't own up to their own thoughts. Pathetic if you ask me.
Wow... heated words in the comment section of the shafer blog. looks like i missed all the debate and such. i thought you handled it very well whit, very well informed and nice. i say to each there own. i have come to realize that everyone has such differing opinions on child rearing, and different things really do work for different people. i am a total "sleep freak" when it comes to Asher, but there is this girl in my ward who has really strong ideas and opinions about nursing and co-sleeping, and as a result, her 16 month old still sleeps with her and wakes up 3 or 4 times a night, and she LOVES it!! of course, i for sure have my own opinions about that (she is sacrificing something very important for a baby...sleep, for something else important...breastmilk and nurturing), but it really is interesting to hear about other people's styles and why they choose that route. so i just try to listen with an open mind and not be judgemental. that is the key i think.
i actually do happen to have pretty strong opinions about tv watching, (which whitney knows, and NO i did not leave that comment!!) but i would never venture to tell anyone that they shouldn't let their child watch tv or judge anyone for doing so. i do think it is an interesting topic to discuss though. i actually have been thinking that maybe asher does miss out on some language stuff because he doesn't watch tv, but nothing that he won't catch up on later, he is only 18 months and doesn't need to be saying his ABCs and 123s yet, and i think other benefits make up for that:
Like the fact that it has gotten me in the habit of not watching tv or movies at all during the day,
and i don't ever have to deal with him asking (or grunting/whining) to watch tv like he does when he wants something,
and so far, the tv is not involved in his life at all, and i think that is a great thing for our family, especially because nate and i have gotten in really bad ruts where we are always watching tv, but now we have a reason to turn it off! it's just a good habit to get into, not just for kids, but for anyone.
he does have a good attention span, when he finds an activity he likes, he will sometimes keep at it for 45 minutes uninterrupted (people who see him running around at church may find that hard to believe, as he can be very active as well, but it's true!). but i know whit's boys can do that too. so, everything in moderation i say. i think for us, it is just easier to not have it at all, because sometimes moderation is hard.
plus, sorry this is so long, my FIL is a pediatrician and also believes the no tv until your 2, if not 3 rule VERY strongly, and Nate and I really respect and trust the things he says. but nate's bro's kids watch tv, and my FIL isn't breathing down their necks. even my MIL, when she babysits will let the little kiddies watch tv. the fact of the matter is, it's not a life or death decision here folks, a little tv is not going to hurt your child.
i've decided lately that sometimes you just have to throw your rules out the window for the day and just have fun and let loose. let kids be kids, and let yourself not have to be perfect every once in a while, it can really be so exhausting.
ok, so there's what i have to say about it, thrilling, i know! although i do think it's kind of weird that someone should leave such a random, judgmental comment on your own personal blog, where it was definitely unsolicited, it is always fun to have a good old fashioned debate! i've seen people do this on other blogs, and it's so interesting to read the things that people believe, some things are VERY interesting... or WEIRD, one of those! :) i just don't like it when it gets mean spirited, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, no reason to get upset over it!
For ANONYMOUS:
You need to wake up at smell the PIXELS! Your kids
and even infants see and experience TV everyday.
In there minds there is no difference between it or interaction with us ... just a question of what stimulates them. So they might as well sit down in front of something that engages them and educates
at the same time. We are loosing this battle everyday instead of fighting it shouldn't we embrace it by creating MEDIA and GAMES that challenge and educate so our KIDS learn in new ways. Lets find a way to use these devices as tools . DOWN WITH BARNEY! HOORAY FOR ANDY'S AIRPLANES! and learning through the eyes of adventure!
It isn't about what engages them between birth and age three it's the fact that the tv flips images so quickly their little brains don't have a chance to see what is going on. There is nothing out there that is slow enough not even baby einstin. Their brains are growing so quickly that they get hard wired with images changing so quickly. And after age three I think the tv is a good tool for education and used in a timely manner. I agree with Morgan. I hardly ever read peoples blogs and especially the comment section and I think this will be my last. The blogging world is weird. I'm glad I started a good discussion because I don't think it is addressed enough. Sorry if I hurt anyones feelings and I'm happy to own up to my comments I just wanted to see what would happen. I say good luck to everyone and sometimes it is just getting through the day. With four boys under the age of four it isn't easy to keep tv to one hour but I think I do pretty good. I sometimes have to distract my 20 month old not to watch it which he only watches a few minutes and then he moves on. A good book about tv is The elephant in the room. This is the end for me. Whitney your geat sorry if I offended you. That was not my intension and I wrote the comment in one breath with out even thinking about it. Like Morgan said nothing to get upset about. Lizza
anonymous # 2,
i have to say that I don't really agree with you. I think a little TV is all fine and good, especially the good shows like Thomas and Blues Clues, and Barney etc, but why would you want your kids to be sitting in front of the TV all the time, regardless of how educational and stimulating it is. I guess you didn't say anything about watching it all the time, but it's just weird to me that you are basically saying you can't succeed in what you are trying to do, so why bother. You don't have to be "losing the battle", it's all about the choices that YOU make as the PARENT, if you don't want the TV to be a big part of your kids or families life, than it doesn't have to be, and I think Lizza (anonynous #1) and her kids are living proof of that!
But if you're comfortable with the TV being a part of your lives, then I am all for embracing educational and adventurous shows. And even if they're not, than at least kids can be entertained for a little bit while we get the laundry folded! ;)
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