children under 2 and TV?

did you let your child under 2 watch tv or any dvds?

we have the tv on in the background..usually news or whatever. DD will watch the colors on the screen but not really pay attention to it. I do turn the tv off sometimes.

She does watch a few baby einstein DVDs and other children DVDs. i limit it to 1 DVD a day and not more than 20 minutes. do you think this is ok?

Also I read that the baby einstein DVDs were recalled if purchased between 2004 and 2010. I get paranoid with all this stuff. alot of articles i have read say that children under 2 shouldnt be watching tv.

what are your thoughts?

Re: children under 2 and TV?

If you can get a child under 2 to sit in front of a TV and pay attention for that long, more power to ya! And I wish!

I TRY to get DD to watch TV- she takes a look for a second and is off and running.
She wants it on in the background- will get my attention when the DVD ends and say MORE MORE
But once I turn it on she is off running around and playing.

I dont' think kids that age have the attention span to really watch enough TV for it to be harmful

Re: children under 2 and TV?

Never. The AAP just came out against it again this week.

My 15-month-old becomes a zombie any time at TV screen is visible (at a restaurant, store, doctor's office, etc.).

At that age it doesn't do them any good and may be doing harm, so why bother? Would I love it if she would sit quietly for 30 minutes so I could do things around the house? Of course. But I'll deal.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

I let her watch 20 min- 1/2 hr of bubble guppies a day while I clean up. She loves the singing, she stands and dances while its on. She runs to the tv points and says bubble. I don't want her sitting in front of a tv all day, I don't feel like its good for her. I want her playing using her imagination and learning.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

My youngest DS did not really watch TV until he turned about 15 months. I always had it on in the background but he never paid attention. Once he hit 15 months, he LOVED to watch his shows like Mickey Mouse & Imagination Movers.

My youngest started to really look at the TV & interact around 1. He is in the room with his brother & they are usually playing & watching.

IMHO, I don't see watching TV as doing harm to my child. I grew up on TV & honestly I turned out just fine. I can understand if your child sits in front of the TV all day long without any other interaction but both my boys watch their share of TV but LOVE to be outdoors doing sports or just exploring & while in the house love to explore & watch.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

My DD watches tv. Even from a infant she was always fascinated by the colors and songs. Everyday I leave nick Jr. On and she dances amd sings along to the songs. She can count to 3, she answers the characters back when they ask questions, she dances like crazy.
She's been very early with all her milestones and at 20m has well over 150+words.
I don't think her watching tv has caused any harm IMO.
There are somedays where she won't even look at the tv and just play with her toys.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

DS does watch TV but the only thing that holds his interest for more than 5 minutes is Yo Gabba Gabba and even his interest in that comes and goes. A few weeks ago, he couldn't get enough of it and now he barely watches it. He likes Thomas too but he won't really "watch" it. He'll say "Choo Choo" and point at it and that's about it. He's more fascinated with the remote to be honest. He likes that when he presses buttons, things happen to the TV.

Other than that no. He does not sit and watch the news with me and reality shows and all that. He just doesn't care.

The ped just told us to limit TV as much as possible. There was some study done that said by the age of 2, babies have seen over 2000 murders on TV.

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Re: children under 2 and TV?

Nope..DS watched 0 TV till 2 (except occasional viewing at peoples houses) 2nd child had more exposure.

DS is 3 and he watches 1 1/2 show per day at wind down time...

Re: children under 2 and TV?

My DS is 11 months old and he LOVESSSS Sesame Street!! He is especially obssessed with Elmo's World! I let him watch it everyday, but that's pretty much the only show that he will actually sit down and watch
I have no problem with him watching tv, I think that Sesame Street is a great show for him to watch

Message edited 10/20/2011 10:41:16 PM.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

AAP recently made a policy statement about this. Saying no tv under 2. They find clear evidence of harm. I posted about I the other night ...

Background tv is considered just as bad.

Its not a new policy they just never so clearly presented the specific research.

Honestly, I let DS watch up to 30 min a day, at 8m he wasn't babbling or makinng any noises I was hearing others babies make and I got nervous, I read it impacts listening skills and speach and turned everything off. I waited till he really started saying a few sentences to show him much.

It also affects sleep, and they think impacts overall development and intelligence, but studies aren't complete.

Its also correlated to ADHD and Autism but research shows no causality.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

Well, I would like to think that my son is pretty advanced...he says Mama, Dada, Papa, Nana, Baba, Hi, OK, and yeah...he started walking at 8 months, 3 weeks and he has been sleeping 12 hours a night since he was 2 months old (He is now almost 11 months)
ETA: I am not trying to start an argument either, I am just saying

Message edited 10/20/2011 11:07:20 PM.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

TV is on all the time. They watch movies, play while the TV is on in the background.

They prefer books to TV, and I think my kids are pretty smart, so it doesn't bother me.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

Message edited 10/20/2011 11:08:01 PM.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

I'm not arguing, I'm not debating, I'm saying this is what aap says and why. Its not anyones personal opinion its based on scientific research.

So its totally possible, your kid/s don't match the majority of the thousands studied. nothing to debate.

Here is the link to my post

http://lifamilies.com/chat/topic.aspx?ID=695414&Highlight=

Message edited 10/20/2011 11:09:28 PM.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

can't argue with research that is true..
I don't condone watching hours of tv either...I try to keep it off as much as possible! My DS does love Sesame Street though!

Re: children under 2 and TV?

This is easy for parents of one child, but once you have a second or third, the older ones may want to watch a favorite TV show. Then you have the younger one watching along. It would be hard to take them away everytime the TV is on. I believe everything in moderation. I did not let DS watch any TV till about 15 months old. He wasn't interested in it till then anyway.

I do agree that children should not have TV's in their rooms. They especially should not fall asleep with it on. This goes for adults as well. You will have a poor quality of sleep without even realizing it.

Message edited 10/20/2011 11:23:52 PM.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

This is such a personal question and you will get many different types of replies. Some will say none, some will say some. You have to do what you are comfortable with. I agree with the poster that said up to a certain point, many kids aren't even noticing the tv and don't have the attention span. I think around 1 is when you have to pay attention to the amount of tv your kid watches but also know your kid. I am comfortable with my DS watching some tv because a) he goes to daycare and is active/engaged most of the day and b) he is developing beautifully. I have no concerns. So if he wants to watch an episode of Sesame Street in the morning? Absolutely! I love to watch it with him, ask questions and interact with him. Do I always get to do that though? No, sometimes I'm a lunatic in the morning trying to finish getting ready for work. You do what you have to do. My point is, do what works for you and your child.

Re: children under 2 and TV?

We let DD who is almost 2 watch some TV. We limit it to Sesame Street, Dora, or Wonder Pets. On the weekends, we allow a movie: Bambi or Happy Feet.

I always thought that I would follow AAP rules and not allow TV until after 2, but for us it wasn't realistic. Having her watch an episode of SS in the morning let's us get ready for work quickly.

I don't think it has hurt her development at all. But we do limit exposure to one hour a weekday. We also interact with her - ask her what they are talking about, point out things, etc.

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DD watches TV for about 30 minutes a day while I shower. I don't think there is anything wrong with that! She loves Sesame Street!

She also watches General Hospital with me and kisses the screen when some of the guys come on. . . yes, I do think there is something wrong with that!!!!

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Re: children under 2 and TV?

I always have the TV on in the background. DS1 had an interest in TV early on. He would watch baby einstein while I cooked or if I needed to vacuum etc. I know these videos were recalled due to the fact that they dont really educate, but each kid learns different and my son did learn alot from them. All of which I could have taught him however honestly I didnt expect my 15 month old to grasp counting objects so I never did it with him, however he loved numbers nursery at that age...

Anyway, DS2 has no interest at 6 months...he is too wild a child to sit still!

My first DS was talking at 15months, complete 5+ word sentences prior to 2yo. He is now almost 4 and I see no ill effects to his early TV watching habits. If the TV is on and I ask him if he wants to read some stories he will jump at that, if I ask if he wants to play monopoly Jr or Uno, he will always pick the game over TV.

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John is 23 months and watches tv.. He is in daycare for 9 hours a day with NO tv.

he watches about 1/2 hour in the morning and Id' say in total...about 1.5 hours in the evening.

My son speaks great..interacts with the tv..asks questions during the shows.. yells out everything he sees..copies words and sentences.

so Im good with my decision and where he is at this point.

If I felt it was created a problem I would limit it more.

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Re: children under 2 and TV?

I can't get DS to look at the TV (he is 22 months). If I could, I don't have a problem with him watching. Not for long periods of time, but here and there, I am okay with.