Do you let baby watch tv/DVDs?

[newcomer]

I was chatting to a friend recently and was bemoaning the fact that I never can watch tv anymore (Baby Newcomer is only 3.5 months so I keep it turned off during the day in case

he starts looking at it) and she said she thought I am being unnecessarily overcautious and confessed that she let her baby watch 'Baby Einstein' DVDs from 4 months, and used 'In the Night Garden' as part of the baby's evening routine. After that conversation I asked my mum for her thoughts and she also admitted that she used to let my brother and me watch kids' programmes like Sesame Street when she needed to get housework done. Would love to know what other people do. Am I being overcautious by banning tv altogether?

[Pickle]

When my first child was 3.5 months I watched a lot of TV, he took ages to feed and it kept me sane having a supply of the shows I like to watch saved up on Sky+. At that age he may look at it, but he won't really be taking any of it in, it will just be the movement that attracts his attention - and in my eyes that's no different to giving him a musical/bright toy to look at.

I stopped having it on during the day when he was slightly older, but then introduced a little bit of child-appropriate TV into his daily routine at about 18 months (by which stage I had another baby, so it was useful if he was happy to sit and watch Night Garden for 20 minutes while I fed her). By default my daughter was exposed to TV a lot younger, however she's not really interested even now, at 2, and happily continues playing with her toys oblivious to the fact it's on.

I don't think a little bit of TV hurts, as long as you monitor what it is they watch. My son has learnt a lot from shows like Numberjacks and Zingzillas.

[Ruth_Baldock]

In a word; yes. My baby has terrible seperation anxiety ATM and the only way I can leave the room is if his baby Einstein DVD is on. He falls asleep watching big brothers little brother with me. I always said I wouldn't let him watch tv but then again I also said I wouldn't use dummies or cosleep or let him eat chips... Oh well!

[Keef]

We did the whole In the night garden thing from a few months. But our daughter has never really gone for the whole routine thing, so it diodn't do us much good.

These days, we tend to stick it on for a short time in the mornings, so we can run and clean our teeth and get ready. It does get addictive though, and she sometimes goes in search of the remote, and moans if we say no, so we had to avoid it for a while as we didn't want her sitting staring at it.

I think it is handy for short periods, but you need to keep an eye on it.

I do love The Hoobs on early morning Channel 4 though!

[Vickster]

My 2 1/2 year old (not a baby but hope this helps) has short bursts (15/20 mins) of things like Chuggington, Peppa Pig ro Roary Racing Car in the mornings while I run and have a shower. I Sky+ and series link them, so I always have a ready supply. I initially felt a but guilty, but I actually think he does learn from them, and it is the only way I would get us both up washed, dressed and out of the house in time in the morning!

[Smiler]

When my daughter was tiny I watched loads of trashy American TV while b-feeding, she didn't pay any attention to it and was great for me in that zombified sleep-deprivation period. Then we had spurts of Ceebeebees etc.

Now she's bigger (nearly 2 1/2) I have the TV on in the kitchen at breakfast times and sometimes lunch and tea-times too, on the days I'm at home, as a way to get stuff done like making meals (she always follows me to the kitchen at the first hint of food being prepared) and having a shower, also to help relieve the odd atmosphere of meals-for-two when one of you is a toddler!

Slummy mummy, but I really don't know how to get through those mealtimes without some kind of distraction for both of us!

[womanofdulwich]

I do no understand the post above- meal times with toddlers should be such fun- wait till you have a grunting teenager opposite you, 2 1/2 is sucha brilliant time ther language is surging ahead and they think you are a goddess-.................

[Belle]

Mine is only 18 months but fun def not the word for our mealtimes together ;-)

we don't have a TV in the kitchen so don't do this, but I use it in the mornings for a bit so I can tidy up the breakfast things and do morning chores etc (in theory should only be 10-15 mins - often is a bit longer). That's meant to be it till some bedtime stuff - 64 zoo lane/bit of in the night garden - but on rainy days like today it's on a bit more. Often find he ignores it as Pickle describes with her child. What I don't do is have 'my' telly on in front of him (did loads as small baby, just like you Smiler with trashy stuff!) - partly because it's not fair on him, also on a practical level I miss loads of dialogue etc so just doesn't work. My husband does watch cricket in front of him (prob hopes he'll convert him early on...).

[crystal7]

Like others I used to watch lots of TV whilst breastfeeding (although not at night) she never realy noticed much. Little one is now 18 months and I try not to have it on in the background as I think I tend to watch it rather than talk to her. I put Cbeebies on in the morning while I get ready and after dinner pre bath too. Tbh she doesn't really sit and watch it unless really tired just plays and catches the odd bit. We also have the news on for breakfast- old habits and all that...

[redjam]

Oh my God, you lot are all parenting paragons. My kids would have CBeebies on in the background 12 hours a day if I let them, with the remaining 12 spent playing on the CBeebies website. While I try not to leave the TV on too long, it's quite difficult when both of them are so adept at using the remote, DVD player and i-player on the computer - they are perfectly capable of putting it on while I'm out the room (they're aged 5 and 3 now, but they've both been able to do this for well over a year). Most of the time I don't mind as they tend to get distracted from it after a shortish while, so I'll just nip in and turn it off while they're not looking. But it can come in handy - my eldest child (then two) managed to miss the entire homebirth of my second daughter as she was so engrossed in Numberjacks, which was actually quite useful. It was a quick birth, and I was upstairs - she seemed not to notice my screams...

Overall, I can't say it seems to have done them much harm - they were both early and clear talkers, and are not overweight or inactive. In fact, the first time my youngest daughter got herself out of bed at the crack of dawn, wandered downstairs and figured out how to turn the telly on, I rolled back over in bed and thought, 'Ah, my parenting work is done...' (Well, until she's old enough to learn how to bring me up a coffee.)

[hanstands]

My wee one doesn't watch any tv [which, it seems from reading this thread is quite unusual?!}. This is mainly due to the fact that we don't own one and so we don;t watch it either--to be honest I'm so used to not having one that I forget they exist--lol! We got rid of it years ago, before babies, as was sooo tired of having to wade through the rubbish to get to the good bits on it and if I'm being honest we have never looked back.

Interestingly, I did read a book recently which mentioned a recent report linking children under three watching tv and brain development issues, though don;t know how serious such issues were or if the research was widely accepted. I guess it is worth looking into though and googling it if you have concerns as I guess its not worth the risk.

I'm sure we;ll start showing our little one some childrens' dvd's at some point in the near future as we do have a projector that plays dvd's.

[BeccaL]

The evidence it from the American Academy of Pediatrics, so hopefully fairly reliable. We didn't let our daughter watch any tv until she was 2 (slightly ironic as husband is a tv reviewer!) As we felt that she didn't need it but as am only child we didn't need it as a distraction which I can completely understand if you have more than 1 kid. She still watches very little - charlie and Lola DVDs for preference. Think there's a link to the US research on another thread on this forum if you're interested.

[Smiler]

Yes, sometimes meals with a toddler can be fun, but sometimes, day-in-day-out, three times a day with just the two of us they are DULL! Good as my daughter's language is and lovely as she is, I really miss meals alone / with my husband / with friends etc. I also find it hard to plan easy-and-quick-to-make-yet-nutritious meals.

And I count myself lucky that mine has no probs in terms of eating well, not chucking stuff around etc.

womanofdulwich Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I do no understand the post above- meal times with

> toddlers should be such fun- wait till you have a

> grunting teenager opposite you, 2 1/2 is sucha

> brilliant time ther language is surging ahead and

> they think you are a goddess-.................

[womanofdulwich]

sorry smiler- I guess I worked 3 days a week and the days I had at home I am maybe remembering through rose tinted glasses - but actually I think I may have listened to radio 4 a lot I certainly started listening to the Archers about then!

[Lou]

I breastfed in front of Telly, until it started to become a distraction for little one. She is now 2 1/2 and allowed to watch TV after supper (Peppa Pig DVD and Bob the builder current favourites.) A friend doesn't let her child watch TV, doesn't actually own one and as soon as the child sees a TV she wants it on! It's my opinion that when you totally ban something it makes it more desirable. Another example I only gave my little one water for ages and she used to drive me mad trying everyone else's sippy cups trying to find juice. Now she has juice occasionally and the rest of the time is happy with her water.

On another level, what do you think about toddlers playing "Toddler Apps" on IPhones? A good friend was saying that her toddler loves them. I felt a bit weird at first, probably because it's something that didn't exist when we were young, but since then my husband has got a IPhone and I looked into a few apps. There are loads, we have downloaded some educational ones (Touch the circle type thing). I find it incredible how quickly my daughter learns how to work them, much quicker than me! Does anyone else let their little ones play these apps?

[sb]

.

[Jamma]

Toddler apps?? I'm off to start another thread...

[????]

Academic studies on this (as on most baby areas) just must be hors*ehit other than as qualitative observation shaped around the researchers own prejudices. You can strip out ALL of the other factors around a childs development and say "X happened because they watched tv"?...laugahble science as is most baby babble from studies, hence the many contradictions from study to study. Our youngest just 8 months is bombarded with it thanks to having a 2 and 5 year old...I really am not that bothered

[cuppa tea]

"Overall, I can't say it seems to have done them much harm - they were both early and clear talkers, and are not overweight or inactive. In fact, the first time my youngest daughter got herself out of bed at the crack of dawn, wandered downstairs and figured out how to turn the telly on, I rolled back over in bed and thought, 'Ah, my parenting work is done...' (Well, until she's old enough to learn how to bring me up a coffee.)"

Ha ha brilliant! Can't wait for this moment. Far preferable to having the kid jumping on my head at 5am!

I don't think telly does them any harm unless they are watching it more or less round the clock with no interaction whatsoever....probably does happen in some families, sadly.

[Fi from West Dulwich]

i completely agree - feel terrible when i hear of studies forcasting doom for O given that he has watched baby einstein and, dare i say it, desperate housewives (oh those early days breastfeeding on the sofa), but then I remember why I plonked baby einstein on and it was because it was normally 5am and he was raring to go whilst I was shattered after a night of feeding and could barely open my eyes. I do make much more of an effort now to avoid TV as I am sure when he is older it will be much harder, but sometimes you just have to do what you can do make it through the day.

[legalalien]

From 6 months to 12 months DS was put in a swinging chair in front of baby einstein from 5 until 5.20 on the dot, while I self-indulgently poured myself a gin and tonic and read a book. I was quite depressed for the first year - I swear that 20 minute period was the only thing that kept me sane!

Otherwise, TV has always been part of the bedtime wind down routine - an hour between bathtime and bed, with bed at the end of the programme. And generally not otherwise - although a recent obsession with football seems to be leading to regular father /son "Match of the Day" bonding on Sat or Sun am. Fantastic!

[Coach Beth]

I grew up in the 70's - watched TV CONSTANTLY - my mother was doing her PhD in psychology at the time and well, me and my brother were put in front of the telly alot so she could get on with it! I have to say that I've never worried about my son watching telly really. We don't have strict rules about it in our house (and let's just say that we would way exceed 20 minutes of having Cbeebies on) and I've never really worried about it particularly now that he is five and he always prefers to do other things - given a choice between TV and going out the the playground or romp around the garden or playing with friends he never wants to watch TV. Funnily enough, he has a friend who comes to visit who isn't allowed to watch much TV and she often asks us to put it on - and my boy will get upset and say to her that she has come to play with him not watch TV.

[Keef]

I think, as with most things, it's just a case of knowing, and watching your own child. We don't want our daughter sitting glued to telly for ages at a time, but I don't really think it will harm her.

When she watches a bit, then loses interest and starts playing with a toy, that tells us it's all good. When she starts constantly asking for it, and trying to find the remotes, that tells us it's probably getting a bit much.