One of the most worrisome parts about staying at home? The abundance of screen time. Even though some parents have been very cautious about the amount of television their kids watch, they may be rethinking that now. Simply put, keeping children entertained for hours a day is just hard to do. But have no fear. Reese Witherspoon watched a ton of television growing up, and she ended up fine. (In fact, it may have helped her career.)
It may seem hard to believe, but Reese entered the entertainment world as a child. Back in 1991, she earned the role of Dani Trant in the movie The Man in the Moon. Her career hasn't stopped since. Currently, she's working on a bunch of television projects — most recently, The Morning Show. She's also become an executive producer on many of her recent shows.
While she might not have had a ton of downtime managing work and school back in the day, she still made time for television. Reese did a call-in interview with Today’s Jenna Bush Hager, and the two discussed the struggles of parenting these days. Of course, screen time was mentioned.
"We didn’t really used to let our kids look at screens, like during pre-quarantine," Jenna said. "We didn’t let them do it during the week, we were always reading, and now, I’m like, all right y’all, TV time while I clean the kitchen because you kind of have to." Plenty of parents like Jenna are feeling a bit guilty about it.
However, we do what we can to survive. And according to Reese Witherspoon, television actually helped her grow. "I read books too, but I’m not kidding, Jenna," she said with a laugh. "I watched probably five hours of television a day, and guess what? Now I make TV shows! So don’t worry about it."
Reese makes a good point. Sometimes, watching television isn't just for the entertainment. It's also due to curiosity on how such big shows get made. Even though Reese may be best known as being a movie star, her focus these days is more on television than anything else.
Reese also credits television for helping her develop a sense of humor. She went on to tell Jenna that thanks to shows like The Jeffersons and Saturday Night Live, she "learned what a joke was, like a deliberate joke." So it can be argued that it helped her socially.
These days, television is more important than ever. Even though some shows like American Idol are in rare form due to stay-at-home orders, it's important for us to take our mind off things. And plenty of celebrities have been open with sharing what they've been bingeing on during this time at home.
USA Today chatted with a few celebrities to see what they've been catching up on. For many, reality television has been the way to go. "We usually watch some kind of mindless TV where we don’t have to think too much. Below Deck Sailing Yacht I love," said Jimmy Fallon. "The last episode of Survivor was fantastic. If you want to binge, check out this season of Survivor. It’s really good."
Other celebrities, like Allison Janney, are stuck at home with their parents. And it's been a little difficult finding shows they all enjoy. "I'm here with my parents (in Ohio). It's been pretty funny trying to find a show we all want to watch," Allison said. "I had never been a Jeopardy! person, and now I'm addicted. We watch together every single night."
Even though any show would be lucky to have a star like Reese Witherspoon make a cameo in it, she told Vogue back in 2014 that she would have loved to have a guest role on Girls. While she didn't get the opportunity, many people are still pleased that she got a chance to have a small role on Friends. Funny enough, she played Jennifer Aniston's sister — and later went on to work with Jennifer again for The Morning Show.
While talking to Reese, Jenna admitted that some of her own best childhood memories involved watching television with her sister Barbara. "My sister, Barb, was kind of like, ‘Remember when we used to watch MacGyver in mom and dad’s bed for hours?’" she said. "And I was like, ‘I do!’"
Jenna then realized that maybe she was being too hard on herself. And experts also think that a little more screen time won't hurt kids. After all, their future is going to be surrounded by screens. Unless you ignore your child all day without monitoring what they're watching to some degree, you're probably fine.
Today backed this claim up by chatting with author Jordan Shapiro. "All the research has consistently shown that there's nothing toxic about screen exposure," Jordan said. "You don't turn into a zombie. Your brain doesn't rot. Therefore, the question of duration is not really relevant."
Jordan wrote the book The New Childhood: Raising Kids To Thrive in a Connected World. The book is a good read for people who may be fearful of the role that technology plays in childhood today. It also talks about how children today are very progressive.
If you're a parent who's relying heavily on television, give yourself a bit of a break. Nobody should be judging your parenting during such a stressful time. Also, you need a break every once in a while — and if you're also working from home, those breaks can be hard to get.
Just know that there may be more benefits than you realize. Perhaps you can show some of the classics to your kids and expand their minds when it comes to television and comedy. Or maybe you can watch a dear show along with them and create a new memory together. Television does serve a purpose, and Reese Witherspoon is living proof.
