Is TV really all that bad?   Social scientists say it is and for a number of different reasons – many of which sound quite convincing. First, there is relationship between kids who watch TV and aggressive behavior, poor grades, obesity, and the early onset of sexual activity and/or drug/alcohol use. Second, there is the opportunity cost of watching (i.e., what they must necessarily give up in order to do so) such as having less time to engage in activities that develop their brains and bodies.   Stolen directly from Bulletin #400 of “Family Issues Facts” comes this: The Parents as Teachers National Center says that young children need to “explore, move, manipulate, smell, touch and repeat as they learn. Studies have found that watching television does not increase attention, promote social skills, or foster creative play.”    Kids today watch 3-5 hours/day. This number sounds exceedingly high but I so believe it. I would wager that this statistic has not changed much since my own childhood for I can still recall the programs I watched regularly and it’s more than a handful...   Well I turned out OK. My brain was fine as evidenced by a high GPA. My body was fine as evidenced by a number of varsity letters. So I ask you, gentle reader, what happened or in my case, didn’t happen?   I care about this topic not because of what I mysteriously missed out on (despite my TV habit) but because I now have two daughters who watch with regularity. Perhaps it has to do with what and how. If it’s educational programming then, perhaps, it’s not all that bad. While I certainly loved Bugs Bunny and The Flintstones, my parents made sure I had my equal fill of Big Blue Marble, The Magic Garden and Davy & Goliath. These programs, especially (but not exclusively) the latter, provided me my first real exposure to different cultures, how to use my imagination and morality-in-action.   My two kids (2 and 4) watch educational programs like Caillou, Max & Ruby and Hi-5 and I would argue that these shows are even better. They have honestly supplemented our attempts at teaching language skills, how to deal with complex emotions such as anger and disappointment; heck, they’ve even provided a platform for such social engagement as singing and dancing.   So I say that TV, when properly administered can actually be a good thing. Too much (of anything) will always be a bad thing. But when done right (i.e., executed with care vis-à-vis program selection and frequency) things can turn out pretty good. Exposure to dangerous behaviors – whether on TV or in real life – may indeed create a predilection for replication but thanks to the folks over at Noggin, PBS Sprout, Disney, HBO Kids and Nick Jr. – all is not lost.