Not everyone may think how much TV can affect our children but it can; how many times do we see smoking, alcohol abuse or violence on the TV? About every channel has some type of abuse displayed to our children and sometimes we may get distracted and not realize what they are watching.
Parents need to make sure that they are monitoring closely what their kids are being exposed too.
So many children show signs of violence at a young age or have temper tantrums daily.
Do you ever wonder if TV is the cause? Watching TV is an easy way to keep our children busy so we can do chores or cook dinner but you may be causing harm to your children.
Children who watch hours of TV a day are more likely to become overweight and may have socializing issues.
We should encourage physical activity every day and try to limit TV watching to a minimum.
Some educational programs are good but not for prolonged amounts of time.
Add some physical activity to the routine as well.
For children who are under the age of 2, watching TV may be detrimental to the development to their brains.
A baby's brain is developing the most under the age of 2 years and watching TV causes the brain waves to malfunction.
Avoid allowing your young children to watch TV and give them toys to play with instead or read them a book.
Little Einstein was thought to make babies smart but it is actually harming our baby's development.
If you need ideas of activities to replace TV watching here are some that I came up with.
Some ideas to keep your baby occupied when mom has things she has to do around the house are:

• Put your baby in a bouncer or swing, safely secured.
  
• Put your baby in his play yard with safe toys to play with.
  
• Have a family member watch the baby while you cook dinner.
  
• If you have a walker, place your baby in that but make sure all doors are closed and stairs are safely off limits.
  
• If you can safely carry your baby in a front carrier or back carrier, you can do that as well.
  Do not carry baby while cooking because oils or water may splatter and burn them.
  

Some ideas to keep your toddler occupied:

• Use a kiddy gate to block off a section of the house that is safe for your child to play, give him or her some books or a puzzle to play with.
  (Make sure your child is in sight's view).
  
• Have an older sibling safely play and entertain your young child.
  
• Allow your young child to have snack, close by incase of choking, and out of harm's way so you can work around the house or cook.
  
• You can also set up a kiddy gate to create a play area, make sure you baby is in sight.
  Place a blanket down and toys to play with or put finger foods on a plastic plate for snack time.