Kid TV

In our book, Melissa McCarthy can do no wrong. The scene-stealing star of Bridesmaids and Identity Thief has made us laugh so hard, we've actually cried, but now she's taking on a role geared toward a much younger audience than usual. The funny lady and mom-of-two — Vivian, 5, Georgette, 3 — is joining a long list of celebs who've visited Sesame Street to help introduce a new vocabulary word. Joining Elmo (and a penguin), Melissa will appear on the March 21 show to explain the word choreographer. Take a peek at the segment — we dare you not to laugh!

Here's a post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we bring you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post about television and kids.

We've all heard the warnings about TV time for kids: Introduced too early it can have a negative impact on your children's development, allowed too often and their behavior, attention spans and even waistlines may suffer.

Related: Why Can't I Fire My Inner Supermom?

A new study, however, takes a different approach to the hot topic of kids and television.

"We often focus on how much kids watch and don't focus enough on what they watch," says Dr. Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children's Research Institute and the study's author. "While too many children watch too much TV, this study shows that content is as important as quantity."

Dr. Christakis' team studied 565 families with children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old. Half of these families received a "media diet intervention," receiving advice on how to substitute violent programs like Power Rangers for "prosocial and educational" ones such as Dora the Explorer, Imagination Movers, and Sesame Street. The other half, those in the control group, didn't receive this guidance.

(Confession: My gut reaction to this premise was, 'Why is a 3-year-old watching anything but prosocial and educational shows?' Then I guiltily remembered how my own standards have slipped since having my second child. At 2 years old, she already knows the theme song to her older sister's favorite show, Spongebob Squarepants. If you've ever seen Spongebob, 'educational' probably isn't the first word that pops to mind.)

The families who took part in this study remained in regular contact with the researchers for a year after the media intervention diet was introduced and "the children in the intervention group demonstrated significantly less aggression and more prosocial behavior compared to the control group, and the effect lasted throughout the 12 months."

"It's not just about turning off the television. It's about changing the channel," concludes Dr. Christakis. He urges all parents to stage a similar media diet intervention by keeping a diary to track what kids are viewing, choosing less violent programming and watching alongside their children so that they're aware of show content.

I usually brace myself for bad news when I read studies on TV time, but this one actually helps ease my guilty conscience. Like most kids, mine watch their fair share of TV. While I'm not always militant about cutting their screen time, I do try to keep a close eye on what they're watching, making sure it's not scary or violent or — particularly for my 6-year-old, who's starting to show some interest in Hannah Montana and the like — just too mature. And every time my girls tackle a problem with an Imagination Movers-inspired "idea emergency" fix, I like to tell myself that TV may not be all bad.

Do you see anything positive about your kids' favorite TV shows?

More great reads from BabyCenter:
Kim Kardashian Braves a Pregnant Bikini Photo Shoot
Would You Leave Your Child Home Alone?
10 Secrets to Raising Awesome Kids
A Love-Hate Relationship With Pregnancy
Is This What We Want Motherhood to Look Like?

Parent-friendly programming alert! ABC has just announced that it's adding a new primetime game show to its Spring lineup, and we're loving the premise! Bet On Your Baby is an hour-long show that will feature parents trying to predict their toddler's next move. Each episode will focus on five families with tots between the ages of 2 and 3 and a half. The families will compete in self-contained challenges against the "house" (as opposed to playing against each other), and at the end of the show, they'll have the chance to win $50,000 towards their child's college education.

Bet On Your Baby will be hosted by actress and comedienne Melissa Peterman, who has had roles on a variety of network and cable television shows, and is currently part of the cast of ABC Family's Baby Daddy. "I'm very excited to be hosting Bet On Your Baby. The concept of the show just appealed to me on many levels, because as a mom, I liked the fact that the kids are having fun and being themselves — it's the parents who are playing the game. As someone who likes funny, there is no one more naturally hilarious and fun to watch than a toddler," Peterman said. We couldn't agree more! How do you think you'd fare in trying to guess your baby's next move?

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