TV can be good for your child

She has an old-fashioned name, never goes anywhere without her backpack - and will educate as well as entertain your little one while she sits back and watches television. Toddlers who watch small screen heroes such as Dora the Explorer have a wider vocabulary at the age of two-and-a-half than non-viewers and learn quicker, research has shown.
And in what the experts have dubbed the Pokemon phenomenon, children also learn better manners and how to respond in a positive way through watching their favourite TV programmes.
Far from being the evil electronic monster turning our babies, toddlers and children into a generation of square-eyed ‘layabouts', research has proved that not only is television good for kids - it actually makes them smarter. "There's no doubt that TV gives children a broader, more vivid imagination and helps with creative play and fantasy,'' says relationship psychologist Susan Quilliam. "It's also an incredible resource for learning and gaining emotional knowledge."
Devika Singh, psychologist and learning enrichment specialist at Dubai Herbal & Treatment Centre adds, "TV shows can be informative in different ways. On the one hand, the more academic educational shows provide factual information about the world, our body, health, fitness and so on. Other shows based on the life of characters address social and emotional issues that are depicted theatrically to model relationship functioning, conflict resolution, problem solving, and building resilience. Children relate these stories to their own lives and learn rules through their TV watching experience. This can never replace parenting, but can serve as a great way to reinforce the message to children."

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With numerous children's digital channels to choose from, kids these days can watch cartoons, films, documentaries, news, music and the weather. Even babies have their own special channels and programmes to help them develop and reach key learning and behaviour milestones.
"They live in a media-rich environment with so much choice, with programmes that transport them to different places and teach them about different cultures and values that they would never have had access to before," says Susan. "However, while the web is very open, TV programmes are still much more tightly controlled about what is suitable for children to watch."