Re: children under 2 and TV?

Re: children under 2 and TV?

DD#1 was never really interested in TV (except Elmo) until about 18mos. Even now at 3.5yo she will sit and watch something for a few mins and then run off and do something else.

DD#2 watched TV way earlier only b/c we had it on for DD#1. The TV is always on in our house, sometimes tuned to their shows, sometimes on our shows and they will sit and watch for a bit and then play.

I don't think them watching tv is bad. DD#1 learned colors and shapes and actually interacted with the characters. If either one became a zombie when watching I might reconsider but right now it's more background noise than anything.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

Re: children under 2 and TV?

Re: children under 2 and TV?

ABSOLUTELY let her watch!

She learned her numbers from the TV (dvd called preschool prep – Meet the Numbers) and she learned letters from Leapfrog Letter Factory. She learned to sing and keep time with Yellow Submarine (and count because of the song When I’m 64).

I see NO harm in TV – AT ALL! Its HOW you use the TV that’s the problem not the TV itself. She was never a zombie in front of one. She and I interact. She’ll be a nightmare in movie theaters for years to come. She can’t just sit and zone out she wants me to (if I’m not already doing it) explain this or that. I walk up to the screen and point things out, we dance, we mimic, we talk… we LEARN.

Now she’s 3. Even now she will still interact with the TV, tells me what her favorite parts are. I try to stay away from 30min shows but she’s in love with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Phineas & Ferb. But we go about an hour minimum. I have this kooky idea that by showing children small bits of shows in smaller increments it instills lack of attention, patience and fulfillment. We prefer to let her watch full length movies where we can. Right now its Aladdin. She’s watched The Yellow Submarine since she was one.. in it’s entirety.

I can’t say we ‘never’ use the TV as a babysitter. But I can say we only have one TV in the house. So it’s a family affair. The only time she uses her DVD player is if she wanted to watch “Meet the colors” for the millionth time. But otherwise, what she watches WE watch and if we don’t interact with her and the TV both my husband and I would be the ones becoming zombies! LOL

I am against TV in the bedrooms (any and all) we also don’t turn on the TV at all some days or weekends. Its all just what’s the mood. I’d rather GO OUT and enjoy the day, take her to a park or even walk down the block and back, use her bicycle, let her play in the backyard or … my favorite…she and I will do crafts.

Moderation and Supervision. That’s our motto.

JMHO

Re: children under 2 and TV?

Posted by sleepie76

I have yet to meet a 2 year old that doesnt know Dora

Re: children under 2 and TV?

My TV is on whenever we are in the house. Sometimes my kids watch it, sometimes they are involved in coloring, playing or reading. We watch Nick Jr, Disney channel, Sprout and also watch DVDs. I've seen Toy Story 1, 2 & 3 about 99554151212121 times. I think it is totally fine if you choose to put the TV on in your home. You child will not be any less smart or will not have attention issues because of it. My DD#1 is in preschool and has known things that they are teaching their students for a while now. She is very smart and just fine despite watching TV whenever she wants.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

my 5m old is captivated by sesame street (elmo specifically) and we watch some of the shows after too, like cid the science kid. we only watch 13 kids. it allows me to get things like housework and pumping done. she lasts maybe 30 mins at most before she cries.

am i bad parent?

Message edited 10/21/2011 11:05:36 AM.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

DD is 13months and watches about 30 mins of tv a day on days I'm home (I'm a PTWM), usually 2 episodes of the wiggles, one in the morning to let me get stuff done and one episode at night with Daddy.

I figure watching them sing and tell stories on tv is no different than when we go to Mother Goose Hour at the library and she watches the leader do the same thing...

Re: children under 2 and TV?

My son never watched TV till 2 - and he knew every character b/c of books..so they learn about the characters from everywhere.

I don't think TV is bad - in moderation. I do agree that kids today watch too much TV, movies, video games, etc. and do not have enough physical stimulation.

I see such a huge increase in the amount of overweight children and one of the biggest culprits is TV, and poor eating habits. Kids need to be active, not sitting like a zombie for 5h a day in front of a boob tube. You would be surprised how many parents I see that tell me their 2 year old watches TV for that long everyday.

Just as everyone said, my kids are also "advanced" for their age. Which could be due to a number of things, nutrition (DHA intake), genetics, no TV, love of books, who knows....BF...could be anything.

I don't know what effect TV will have on our children, but the children that I know that watch excessive TV (I mean all day long since birth, where you park the bouncy seat in front of the TV) did to them. These kids had terrible sleeping habits, they were aggressive, out of control and very speech delayed. Now was that from excessive TV or from parents that don't pay any attention to their child and let TV babysit?

ANyway...I think the key is moderation. I don't think some TV is bad (even if I prefer not to have it on in my house), I do think excessive TV is when it takes away most people interactions.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

YES! sesame, barney, Nick Jr I have ZERO issues with it. In fact, he is learning a TON from "educational" TV

Re: children under 2 and TV?

He did, mostly Baby Einstein DVDs at that age.

I knew they recommended after 2. I tried to limit it, but in my household there were times when having the TV occupy him for 30 minutes - an hour a day was a lifesaver. I don't regret doing it and would probably do the same thing again, given the same circumstances.

ETA - just to add about TV when I was a kid vs. now - I got the 40 yr anniversary Sesame St. DVDs so I could watch them with DS. They are a much slower pace and mellower than the show is now.

Message edited 10/21/2011 4:11:07 PM.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

My DD had no interest in the tv early on, although her babysitter used to park her in front of Dora when she was an infant...GOD how I hated that woman.

But regardless, my DD paid no mind at all until she was nearly 2.

My 15 month old DS LOVES TV. He watches a little bit of Barney and a bit of Sesame Street every day. It's the only way DH and I can get ready for work.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

Both my kids watched TV since infants. Mainly Nick Jr, PBS kids and other educational stuff. I also read them a ton of books, do puzzles, flash cards, playdoh, coloring arts and crafts, games play pretend with them, let them use the computer. I do not speak to them like babies and I interact with them all day long. Everything in life I see as a learning experience and take opportunities to engage my children. I do not see an issue with TV as long as it is not the only thing they do and it is used in conjunction with other activities. They have learned so much from TV.

Both of my children spoke very early, love to play pretend, are very social and have been advanced for their age. My oldest is 3 1/2 and super smart, knows more than many kindergarten students..

Re: children under 2 and TV?

My DD has been watching TV since she was 3 months old and I honestly have never sweated the actual amount of time she was watching. She's always been a super happy, outgoing, friendly, talkative, imaginative, creative kid (she's now 3) so I really don't think watching TV is as harmful as they say.........UNLESS of course you're planting your kid in front of it all day long with little or no interaction from you or anyone else. I think TV is fine as long as they are also given opportunities to engage in other things as well.

My DD enjoys cartoons and Disney movies but since she was a few months old she would ALWAYS gravitate to a book or toy before just sitting like a couch potato. Even now, she'll ask to watch something, I put the TV on, and after like 10-20min she's bored and goes and grabs a book or a puzzle instead.

I think everything in moderation is fine!

BTW.........as an infant, my DD LOVED Baby Einstein. They weren't recalled because they were damaging, it was because they claimed your kid would be smarter in various ways and there was nothing to substantiate those claims. I ignored the recall back then because my DD enjoyed them so much. I don't see anything harmful about a bunch of objects in motion set to classical music. Will it make them a genius? Probably not. But she enjoyed watching them nonetheless.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

I'm neither here nor there regarding TV for babies and toddlers-- it will never be as educational as real life experiences and interaction, but unless you're leaving your kid in front of the TV all day I can't imagine it's going to do much harm either. My kids watch a little each day but often lose interest before the show or movie is even over.

However, I'm fascinated by the responses on this thread for one particular reason-- apparently EVERYONE'S kid is advanced! TV or no TV! We need a special gifted program for LIF offspring!

Now I need to go help my 5 yr old with his calculus homework (after he finishes watching his TV show)

Re: children under 2 and TV?

DD #1 wouldn't pay any attention to the TV until she was at least 2 1/2. My 3 month old is fascinated with TV, and we let her watch it.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

Message edited 10/21/2011 5:38:51 PM.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

This is what I don't get.
So now they are saying it shouldn't be on in the background either.
But WHY????

So lets say me and Dh are talking all day.
We talk. I talk on the phone. My sis comes over and we have a conversation.

DD hears all this talking. And that is how she learns languague. That is how babies learn to speak right- through hearing it? Hence why babies in China learn to speak Chinese and babies in America learn to speak English and babies in France learn to speak French. Because they learn languague through hearing it.

So what differnce does it make if they hear my voice, my sister's voice, my mom's voice, my DH's vocie- or the voices on TV?

What makes the voices bad for their speech development just because they are emminating from a TV rather than from my mouth?

Message edited 10/21/2011 7:22:34 PM.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

Posted by computergirl

I'm neither here nor there regarding TV for babies and toddlers-- it will never be as educational as real life experiences and interaction, but unless you're leaving your kid in front of the TV all day I can't imagine it's going to do much harm either. My kids watch a little each day but often lose interest before the show or movie is even over.

However, I'm fascinated by the responses on this thread for one particular reason-- apparently EVERYONE'S kid is advanced! TV or no TV! We need a special gifted program for LIF offspring!

Now I need to go help my 5 yr old with his calculus homework (after he finishes watching his TV show)

Re: children under 2 and TV?

Posted by computergirl



However, I'm fascinated by the responses on this thread for one particular reason-- apparently EVERYONE'S kid is advanced! TV or no TV! We need a special gifted program for LIF offspring!

Now I need to go help my 5 yr old with his calculus homework (after he finishes watching his TV show)

Re: children under 2 and TV?

Posted by computergirl

I'm neither here nor there regarding TV for babies and toddlers-- it will never be as educational as real life experiences and interaction, but unless you're leaving your kid in front of the TV all day I can't imagine it's going to do much harm either. My kids watch a little each day but often lose interest before the show or movie is even over.

However, I'm fascinated by the responses on this thread for one particular reason-- apparently EVERYONE'S kid is advanced! TV or no TV! We need a special gifted program for LIF offspring!

Now I need to go help my 5 yr old with his calculus homework (after he finishes watching his TV show)

Re: children under 2 and TV?

My 17 month old watches more tv on the weekend than during the week. During the week maybe 15min in the morning while we get ready for work and to wind down at night she probably watches 1 30 min show, such as Yo Gabba Gabba or Fresh Beat Band. On the weekend she probably watches about 1 hour a day total, spread out throughout the day...if we are even home. WHen she watches, she sings, dances, and plays. Unless she is very tired, she rarely sits and stares at the tv like a lump on a log.

I know what the AAP recommends, but my DD is very smart, speaks well, sleeps well and is a very happy and well adjusted child. She is advanced for her age and it is my parental instinct that watching some television is not harming her in a way that will be detrimental to her development. If I thought that, I certainly wouldn't let her do it.

ETA: Read the rest of the posts. Yes, my kid is advanced...deal with it

Message edited 10/21/2011 10:37:20 PM.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

I didn't read the report by AAP, but my kids have had TV on since they were infants. They didn't really start paying attention until maybe 18 months. I feel like they've learned a lot from TV - numbers, colors, letters, shapes, etc. They've learned spanish words from Dora. They only watch Nick Jr., PBS kids, or age-appropriate movies. I don't ever have the news on when they are around. I don't think a lot of the content on the news is appropriate for little ones.
They started speaking at an appropriate age, and were fully conversational at an appropriate age. I don't really know what "advanced" means at this point, but I feel they are right where they should be. They can carry on a full conversation, and all adults understand them. They are very social and talkative. They both eat great and sleep great. What else can I ask for at not even 3 years of age?

Re: children under 2 and TV?