Blogger Anne-Marie Nichols’ daughter wants to be a karate master, chef and mom when she grows up. Thank you, Alton Brown and the Power Rangers!

My family watches too much television. There, I wrote it down. I even blogged about it a couple of years ago in a post called, In Defense of Television where I confessed that I needed TV to distract my small children long enough to get anything done.

Now that the kids are older (Lucie is five and Nathan is nine), television viewing has taken on a new dynamic. No longer can my husband Paul and I watch South Park thinking that the children are too young to get it. They get the humor – but not the sarcasm – all too well unfortunately. So, we keep those shows for late-night viewing after the kids go to bed – if we can stay awake long enough to watch, that is.

Instead, TV has become a powerful learning tool in the parental arsenal. As a family we watch NBC’s The Biggest Loser . It’s a great way to discuss motivation, healthy eating, and good exercise habits with our kids. We even get the children to do pushups during the commercials. Of course, my husband and I just sit there. Hey, we’ve done our time at the gym. Instead, watching television is a good time to relax, spend time with our youngsters – and ice our sore knees.

We love the History Channel though we have to be careful – just because it’s history doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for children. One night, while folding laundry, I watched a documentary about Alexander the Great. After the first guy lost his head – literally – I nearly lost mine laughing as a slightly frightened Nathan ran out of the room yelling, “Not appropriate, Mom!” Oops, my bad. However, their series, The Revolution about the American fight for independence is a show we can feel good about sharing with our children. The entire family learns much more from the show than we did (or do) in school.

Some experts say that television controls children’s behavior. As the parent, you can take control of the remote and use television as a positive influence on your family. For example, we use television to inspire our children’s potential career choices. As a regular viewer of MythBusters , Nathan has decided he wants to be a stunt man when he grows up. Unfortunately, Paul had to break the news to our son that very few people make careers out of blowing stuff up – even on TV.

From Iron Chef America to Top Chef we also love food shows and often cook as a family. Now Lucie wants to become a chef, a karate master, and a mom thanks to Alton Brown, Power Rangers, and me.

Yes, me, her mom. Because the bottom line is that you are the biggest influence in your child’s life. You determine what shows they’re allowed to view and what programs you’ll watch as a family. So make a bowl of popcorn, grab the remote, and spend some quality television viewing time with the kids.

Anne-Marie Nichols is an award winning blogger, freelance writer, social media consultant, and WAHM. When she’s not watching Bravo or the SciFi Channel, you can find her at My Readable Feast where she blogs about children’s books and cooking.

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