Warning: This post contains a true confession.

I let my 3-year-old watch Dora for three hours. She wasn’t sick. I wasn’t sick. She was just cranky. And frankly, so was I. I felt guilty for an hour, but then as she happily watched more and more of our lovely bilingual friend the guilt turned quickly into freedom.

When my first daughter was born I believed that I’d be the kind of mom who rarely let my children watch TV and that a French fry from the golden arches would never touch their lips, but I’ve discovered that’s not realistic. With that said, I also believe that all things should be done in moderation. I’m by no means endorsing lots of media consumption. But there are some products that help you to balance your child’s media consumption. In fact, I think these products help you to consume entertainment in a more controlled and conscious manner, unless of course you’re having one of those days.

1.    TiVo. My kids love that they can access their favorite shows anytime they want and I love that I choose they view. They only watch what I allow them to record. As an added bonus they don’t watch commercials. Not only are commercials a waste of time I think they make children want for material possessions. It’s great to use TiVo as a filter to shut out the negative side effects of TV viewing.

2.    iPod. My daughters are addicted to what my husband calls, “Chick Rock.” I’m not sure you can put Hannah Montana in the category of rock. Regardless, they love their tunes in the car and we listen to our favorite mixes on the iPod endlessly much to husbands’ dismay. But I remind him that when the chicks are rockin’ out in the car there is peace. They’re singing along to their favorite tunes and I’d rather listen to Taylor Swift sing about young love over and over again than hear my children bicker in the car. The things we subject that poor guy to.

3.    DVD players in the car. It never fails to amaze me how often we use our built-in DVD players in the car. Of course, they’re great on long road trips, but they come in handy when we’re waiting in the car for someone to finish up a class or an afterschool activity. They’re great for times we get stuck in traffic (living in SoCal it happens a lot), when kids are tired and cranky in the evening, or as a reward for good behavior.

Question: How much TV do you let your kids watch? How do you monitor their consumption of media (TV, music, video games, etc.)?