How much TV do you let your baby watch?

I usually let them watch 2 movies a day....Baby Einstein and Sesame Street....and then if the TV is on for me....Ellen, Oprah, etc...they might watch it!

My friend does not let her baby watch TV cause she read they should not have any TV before 2 yrs. Well, she doesn't have twins!!! The TV keeps them quiet, ya know???

 

I usually let them watch 2 movies a day....Baby Einstein and Sesame Street....and then if the TV is on for me....Ellen, Oprah, etc...they might watch it!

My friend does not let her baby watch TV cause she read they should not have any TV before 2 yrs. Well, she doesn't have twins!!! The TV keeps them quiet, ya know???

 

It's funny you posted this today. I was just wondering the same thing. I read that as well, no TV before age two, and if I didn't have twins, I'd probably hold to it. But, they are mesmorized by the screen. We watch Price is Right and Family Feud, then they might watch sit coms in the evening with DH. (I usually take a nap when he gets home) maybe 1.5 - 2 hours a day.

 

We're not letting them watch any TV right now and don't plan to until at least 18 months... one exception is that sometimes we'll put on a cartoon while they eat in the highchairs if I need to keep the twin who's done eating occupied! The other exception is a baby einstein video every so often for specific reasons (like occupying a baby while the other is bathed), but for no more than 10 minutes during any given day.

 

I have the TV on almost all the time when it's just me and the babies and for the most part they totally ignore it. If I put on a Baby Einstein Erin will watch but Annie isn't interested and ignores it. My son who is autistic plays a lot of Teletubbies and Veggie Tales videos when he comes home from school and they pretty much ignore those too LOL!

I think as long as it doesn't become an electronic babysitter, or the child doesn't become totally fixated on it, that's it isn't a huge deal. JMO.

 

Mine don't seem to interested in Baby Einstein. They do watch Sesame Street, but only really seem to pay attention when Elmo is on. Then Lily is mesmerized, Grace sometimes is.

It's funny because I got them a TMX Elmo in September when they were not quite 6 months old. They watched it from a distance at that point (with big eyes).

We pulled Elmo out again a couple weeks ago and now they love it! They chase after it, grab it when it is laughing and doing its thing. When Elmo comes on TV Lily will watch Elmo on the screen for a little while, then look over at her TMX Elmo doll, then look back to the TV. It amazes me that there is any connection between the 2 for her yet, but there must be.

 

I have the tv on a lot of the day as well. They will glance at it sometimes. THey love Baby Einstein videos thiough.

 

We watch Teletubbies religiously, sometimes Sesame Street, and occasionally a Little Einsteins. Other than that the TV is usually off and the radio is on.

In the evening I might watch something recorded but they don't seem to even care/notice.

 

we watch alot of Sesame Street - its on in the background while they play on the floor in the mornings - they watch certain parts and then will go back to playing...

Baby Einstein really holds their attention so I generally save that if I need them to be in one spot for a half hour (like if I need to shower or cook dinner)...

I've always loved Food Network and my son thinks Giada DeLaurentiis is the greatest thing since sliced bread

 

from about 5:30am -8:00am the t.v. is theirs. I love the morning Disney channel programs. They don't really watch it the whole time but our play area is right by the t.v. so they will glance at it when something captures their attention.

 

i usually do 2 baby einsteins a day or one baby eintstein and the movie, 'calm baby'. i usually put it on at 6:00am when they first get up because i am too tired to start the day- they both are still getting up in the middle of the night. Then i put it on again around 4:00, right before bath time because they get a little fussy. I never feel bad if i have to throw a video in. two babies is hard to handle throughout the day and for my own sanity it needs to be done. i sometimes have the tv on for me but sometimes, i have to turn it off because one of my babies is obsessed with the tv and his head turns that way whenever it is on. That i dont like.

 

At that age, none.

 

DH is a SAHD 3-4 days a week while I teach third grade. He would have the TV on all day for company when the girls were little. We decided we wanted to limit their TV viewing-even occaisionally glancing at our programs-so we moved them from the family room with the TV to the living room without a TV and babyproofed that. It is harder for both of us not to have the TV for company when we are with the girls all day long on our own, but I think it is better for them and for us not to have the TV on for company throughout the day. I got too used to watching too much TV when I was on bedrest. My girls enjoy "Musical Baby" from Fisher price and do watch it or a Baby Einstein at most once a day-many days they do not have any TV. Actually, the last time they watched TV was Monday.

Angela

 

Usually one baby einstein video a day. I always forget about them, then I remember and I am like YES! 20 minutes of quiet!

 

The tv is pretty much on all day at our house. First its lilo and stitch for my 3 yo, then a couple of other cartoons, then possibly martha, then some news, then the view or cartoons, then they go down for a nap and then I turn on the news channel to get caught up on all the news, then cartoons, then later that night the adult shows when the kids go to bed.
Our tv may be on but its usually not watched constantly they are either playing, napping eating or whatever. So they probably watch maybe a total of 2 hrs total every day or so. Some days may be more if I need to get a lot of stuff done and I need to entertain all 3 of them, I will let them watch tv and then einsteins etc.

 

I minimize TV exposure as much as possible. I would love to go TV-free until 2, but sometimes, if I need to pump and they are really edge and no one else is around to entertain them, I'll put on Noggin or maybe a Baby Einstein video.

 

When they were really little and I was still home with them I would watch TV while feeding them. I kept the TV on mute with closed captioning and they didn't seem to notice it. if the sound was on they would get distracted.

Their playroom is the living room and there is no TV there, so generally they don't seem much tv.

Last week was the first time I put on a DVD for them to watch. They seemed to enjoy it so now I put it on for them once a day, usually at the witching hour (5pm). It's a sesame street DVD and it's pretty short, after I skip through most of the boring stuff, i think they see maybe 10-15 minutes.

Mona

 

I didn't let them watch TV until about 9 months old because I wanted them to be mobile so they could leave if they wanted to. Sierra still wasn't mobile at that point but I figured at least one baby was. We kept it down to one Baby Einstein per day and they'd watch Star Trek or Rachel Ray with us at dinnertime.

The TV was sometimes on when they were in the room during those earlier months but they weren't really watching it so I don't think of that as "watching TV".

 

Mine didn't really start watching it until about 6 months of age, and I let them watch a movie a day... I did always have the TV on, and they would glance at it, but if it wasn't Monsters Inc they wouldn't watch it.

 

No TV for them in my house until age 2. Once in a blue moon I will watch CNN while feeding, but if they glance at the TV, they stop eating and STARE. So I turn it off.

 

My twins are 10 months old. I try to limit the exposure they get but, I also have a 3 year old who watches anywhere from no TV in a day to 1 hour a day.
I was very strict with my 3 year old and she never watched TV until she was over 1 year and at that point she watched only about 1-4 hours a week. It is harder with the twins because if my 3 year old wants to watch a show, she is usually in the same room as the twins so they watch it but, mostly play and ignore it.
I am a firm believer in really trying to limit TV before the age of 2 because of all the reseach that has shown that limiting or eliminating TV increases attention span, literacy skills and languauge development,and decreases risk of obsesity as well as a host of other benefits but, I agree with many of the posters that sometimes it is the only way to get stuff done. But, in my experience, babies aren't very interested in TV. I think around the age of 15 months or so, they seem to want to watch instead of ignoring it and playing.

 

We don't give them any to watch on purpose (Baby Einstein, etc.). And they are in daycare M-F so they don't get any there. But we do tend to have football or the Food Network on on the weekends for a couple of hours. So I guess they are exposed to it then, but they don't pay any attention if they're playing. The only time it seems to distract them is if it's on while they're eating.

 

Baby Einstein has been a part of our bedtime routine since about 2 months. We rotate between 3 different ones. Also, I have DVR'd a few Sesame Street episodes. DD really loves Elmo. She doesn't like any of the filler stuff during Elmo's World, but the parts that show Elmo. By the time I fast forward through those parts, it's about 10 minutes of Elmo. I also DVR'd Magagascar and they like that for about 10-15 minutes. The zebra is black/white and a main character. The colors are really good on it.