TV & Babies - ?

Hi...

My kids seem to be addicted to the TV especially my daughter. I try and not prop them in front of the TV as much as I can and usually only have them watch Baby Einstein for no more than 30-45 minutes a day. Even when they are on the floor rolling around... a lot of times they'll move to they can watch the TV. Also, my husband a lot of times (when he is watching them) will prop them in front of the TV a lot or use the bjorn when he plays video games. What can I do to break the kids of this habit? And how bad is it? Thanks

 

Hi...

My kids seem to be addicted to the TV especially my daughter. I try and not prop them in front of the TV as much as I can and usually only have them watch Baby Einstein for no more than 30-45 minutes a day. Even when they are on the floor rolling around... a lot of times they'll move to they can watch the TV. Also, my husband a lot of times (when he is watching them) will prop them in front of the TV a lot or use the bjorn when he plays video games. What can I do to break the kids of this habit? And how bad is it? Thanks

 

I wish I could give you some good insight into the situation but my DD loves to watch the TV. I don't prop them in front of the television but she will always find it. What I have been doing is putting barriers around her. For example, if she is on her tummy I will put a book in front of her so she will look at that instead of the TV or put a pillow next to her to block her view. But my kiddos aren't sitting up yet so I have those options. Sometimes I just turn the TV off. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

 

I am 99% sure the APA says no TV for the first 2 years. I know everyone reading this will think I am crazy, but that's what we are sticking to in my house. I used to watch CNN while feeding, but once they saw the TV and stopped eating and stared at it. I never have watched with them in the room since.

 

I did hear about the "no TV until age 2" rule but I'm not listening to that. I let my girls watch Sesame Street and Baby Einstein. I think both are very educational even for an infant. My girls are 6 months old. They LOVE Sesame Street. I think Baby Einstein is great for the colors, shapes, movement, etc. I don't think there is anything wrong with some limited TV for kids. I usually let them watch TV after their bottle while they are digesting....maybe 15 mintues at a time. Then we move on to something else. Maybe ask your pedi and see what he/she says.

 

We are sticking to the no TV before age 2 rule (but not judging anyone who doesn't!). The only exception is that we will put Baby Einstein on if we need to keep one occupied for no more than 10 minutes (such as bathing the other) and nothing else is working. Other than that, we do not have a TV on when the babies are awake. I have read that early TV-watching has been linked to autism, but I'm not sure if that's been proven. It has also been linked to childhood obesity. In our opinion, there really is no reason for infants/toddlers to watch TV. Everything is new and fascinating to them and it's easy to keep them occupied for an hour with something simple like a piece of paper! As they get older, I imagine that will get harder.

 

We simply do NOT put the TV on unless they are asleep. How in the heck does your DH have time for video games??? Put that man to work. I'm sure there is plenty of stuff to do. Including playing with those babies instead of ignoring them to play video games.

Oops, sorry that sounded a little harsh.

Anyway, we occasionally watch the tiny love DVD which is fantastic. a couple of times einstein or sesame street. but we keep it shorter than 30 min and only 1-2 x per week.

Today, I tried to park them infront of tv for 10 minutes to prepare baths, bedtime routine, etc. They threw a fit. Overstimulated at that point in the day I think.

 

I do have to turn my tv off during most of the day because my boys would watch it if it was on all day. However, if there is something i want to watch and they are up, I watch it. I can still entertain and play with them as I glance at the tv. I just make sure it is not on all day as background noise.

i dont think there is anything wrong with a video here or there. Even once a day for 20 minutes i think is fine. I think some of these videos are really good for helping to increase vocabulary. Yes, they can learn from their parents but another means of instruction is not always a bad thing.

 

I think it depends on the child.

I never used the tv as a babysitter but I always had it on. And it was always on with real people like the judge shows, Dr. Phil, soap operas, etc. My daughter will stopped and watch the tv if something catches her eye but she won't watch it for a period of time. Now that she is older I do turn on the PBS channel but it is only really background noise she rather play with her toys. Sometimes she will copy a word that was said while she is playing. Today on Sesame Steet it was the letter J and they talked about Jumping when ever she hear the word jump she would get excited and jump - since that is one of the action we have been teaching her. But she wasn't watching the tv only listening.

I have my own beliefs on autism, since I have a nephew that has been diagnosed has highly funtioning autism. There are many problems in how he was raised and one of the things was he had a tv and a vcr in his room before he was two and knew how to turn it on and put in a VHS and play it through the VCR BEFORE HE WAS TWO. They used the tv as a babysitter and he always was watched cartoons. I beleive that is harmful for a child. I believe that supervised educational tv time is okay.

My other sister in law also uses the tv as a babysitter. She was watching her niece from the time she was a baby to about a year old. And that child would watch the tv. She is only 5 weeks older than my daughter. So my sister in law wants to preoccupy my daughter with the tv so we can play games. Ha ha she won't sit in front of the tv she wants to be where we are and play with toys right by us as we play games.

I believe every child is different and as always do what is best for your family not what people think you should be doing.

 

The tv stays turned off here unless the girls are asleep. Studies have been done showing a link to poor social development, autism, obesity, aggressive behaviour etc. Of course this is not a causal relationship (A causes B) but rather a multifactorial one (A along with a whole other bunch of stuff such as genetics, environmental conditions etc. cause B. The way I see it if I can control one of the factors I will. There are so many things out of our control that it's important to focus on those that are within our limits.
This isn't a matter of preference, but science. Of course babies like to watch tv, it mesmerizes them but that doesn't mean it's good for them or that they are learning anything from it below the age of 2 years old.
Maybe there are other activities to consider that will keep their attention for a little while so you can do the other things you need to? I'm sure they would learn more by playing with dh (or a toy). Even low activity quite time is better.