1. Make Smart Choices Allow your children to view programs that are age-appropriate and tailored specifically to their needs. Programming for babies and toddlers should be educational and designed to foster their growth and development.

2. Set Limits Limit the amount of time you allow your child to watch television. This will ensure that you and your baby don't spend a disproportionate amount of time in front of the TV when you can be enjoying other activities such as reading or playing outside.

3. Join Your Child Take the opportunity to bond even further and share in your child’s TV viewing experience. It not only makes for great cuddle time, but it also allows you to actively participate in your child’s development.

4. Share Emotions Television viewing is an emotional experience for your baby or toddler, so acknowledge when he expresses emotions such as delight or puzzlement. With a limited ability to verbally communicate, it’s important to share in his feelings as they occur.

5. Keep Programming Fresh and New Babies are naturally inclined to repeat something they’ve enjoyed. Be sure to continually refresh the programs you select so your baby is exposed to new and exciting things. This supports the ongoing learning process.

6. Maintain Control Don’t leave to chance what your toddler watches on TV. As the parent, you are the gatekeeper for what your child views, so keep a constant lookout to make sure she doesn’t inadvertently discover the “on” button.

7. Diversify Educational Content Introduce a broad range of programs to your baby or toddler featuring many different subjects. Not only will this help develop his thinking skills, but it also diversifies the learning process that occurs while he’s watching.

8. Talk About It Even though your toddler may have a limited vocabulary, he is still actively listening and learning. Talk about what you just viewed to keep him engaged while building upon the learning experience.

9. Encourage Memory Recall Optimize your toddler’s television viewing by exercising her memory skills once the program is completed. Ask her questions about the program such as the name of her favorite character, the noise the animal made, the song she liked best, the colors she saw, the story that was told, etc.

10. Have Fun Spending quality time with your child is the most rewarding part of being a parent, so make learning fun! Most importantly, you and your child should have fun no matter what activity you engage in.