TV?

borntorun17

so I'm alone with my son for about 10 hours every day while my husband is at work. We try to get out of the house every day but when we're at home because it's too hot it's raining I usually have the television on the background. This is for a couple of reasons: I like to have some sort of noise in the background during the day to get the babies do it, I like to watch TV from Time to time, and it's nice to have some sort of interaction even if it's with the screen

Recently a friend came to visit and told me she never has a television on during the day when she's with the baby and that the children should have no screen time until they're three years old. My baby is 11 weeks old, he's not watching the TV even if he does glance over at the flickering screen from time to time. This is probably a stupid question but does anybody see anything wrong with me having the TV on in the background of my family room?

emilyk527

Google it. I think it's not going to hurt especially at this age. I think the theory is more aimed at older toddlers who know they are watching TV. As long as your still talking to your lo just as much as if the TV was off.

shelles423

My 9 week old stares at the tv while we watch it at night. I never considered this could be a bad thing. I don't plan on letting her veg out in front of the tv when she's older but i don't see how at this age it would matter.

MrsWhiteToBe

I do the same thing, I just leave the news on all day but we don't really watch it. Sometimes I notice my 9 week old watching it but I don't think it's any different than her watching the ceiling fan because to her it's just lights and sound and movement.

justkeeptrying

I often have a show playing on the iPad while DS sleeps in my arms. We've also taken him downstairs and watched TV while he slept. I usually don't put it on unless I'm rocking him to sleep or he's sleeping in my arms. When he's awake the TV goes off. But that's also to keep me from getting distracted. I want to make sure I am interacting with him when he's awake since he's not up for many hours in the day. I agree that it's good background noise to get them used to sleeping with noise going on. I hate when I have to tiptoe around someone's house at 2 in the afternoon because "the baby is sleeping". I get it at night (because I tiptoed around my own house at night if DH was sleeping even before we had LO) but not during the day.

TheEA

I don't think it counts as "screen time"when they are this young. I did the same with my now 2-year-old. When I noticed he was really noticing and watching the TV I turned it off. That was when he was about 5 or 6 months. Having the TV on for my sanity when he was tiny didn't have any negative affects on his development.

ali0608

I disagree with some of you. I think is considered screen time no matter what. The idea of no TV before 2 is that the images move too fast for their brains. So I don't think it's good at all for them right now. Just listening to it? I don't think it matters.

ali0608

I meant if they are actually staring at it.

Kye042

My personal opinion is if you want to have background noise on .. Then go right ahead and do it. I do the exact same thing!

Think about it our parents or even some of us were raised in a time where people smoked around kids or even pregnant, didn't use car seats etc and we all turned out fine haha

kerriam26

I've looked into this a lot and a simple google search comes up with a lot of reasons why TV shouldn't be on. There are studies that show it can slow development. When played as background it can distract during playtime which is so important for babies development. It can also distract babies from hearing their parents talking when played in the background which is important for language development. 

But I get how hard it is to go without it! I typically have it on quietly while LO sleeps in my arms but as soon as he is awake the TV goes off and all focus is on him. If he's contently hanging out in his rocker by himself I sometimes have the TV on mute and watch HGTV or another program that you get the gist of without sound. But he never, ever is facing or watching the screen.

cassietegtmeier

I put baby Einstein on for my 13 week old and he loves it. Is he sitting in front of the tv all day with it on? No. 15-30mins a day of baby Einstein for me isn't an issue. But it's all about how you want to parent. Something you do is the worst thing to some people and the best to others. As long as you aren't putting your child in danger parent as you see fit. As moms I think we criticize other moms too much just for doing something we don't.

morgansWed105148

I watch tv all the time during breastfeeding and I have caught my son looking over every once in a while, but I don't think it's a big deal till there a little bit older.. I do redirect his attention 80% of the time though.

kat0217

Kye042 said:

Think about it our parents or even some of us were raised in a time where people smoked around kids or even pregnant, didn't use car seats etc and we all turned out fine haha

That really isn't a valid argument for anything. Just because you "turned out fine" it doesn't make those things good or okay. Not having a car seat was fine for most....except the ones who died or were maimed because of it.

alliebsmith

I have the TV on in the background as well throughout the day, sometimes my LO stares at it but I usually have her faced away from it and I see no problem with it. She's not vegging out all day and she doesn't know she's watching TV.

I agree it's a personal choice and we shouldn't be making other moms feel bad for their personal parenting choices. I don't think I'm a bad Mom because I have the TV on and my child occasionally glances at it. My daughter is happy and healthy and I can engage her and play with her at the same time. You are the mother you know what's best.

ashtownyeah

kat0217 said:

Think about it our parents or even some of us were raised in a time where people smoked around kids or even pregnant, didn't use car seats etc and we all turned out fine haha

That really isn't a valid argument for anything. Just because you "turned out fine" it doesn't make those things good or okay. Not having a car seat was fine for most....except the ones who died or were maimed because of it.

I can't speak for this poster, but I think the sentiment behind the "we turned out fine" argument is too not worry so much. Of course we can all choose how to parent our children, but some people (including myself!) can get overwhelmed by all of the "rules" out there (breast is best, no screen time, sleeping guidelines to prevent SIDs, etc). Sometimes it's good to have a reminder that parenting doesn't have to be so rigid, and that there are many different ways to approach it. I have to constantly remind myself to lighten up a bit.

Kye042

kat0217 said:

Kye042 said:

Think about it our parents or even some of us were raised in a time where people smoked around kids or even pregnant, didn't use car seats etc and we all turned out fine haha

That really isn't a valid argument for anything. Just because you "turned out fine" it doesn't make those things good or okay. Not having a car seat was fine for most....except the ones who died or were maimed because of it.

Y

It's called having an opinion and what I was getting at is that having tv on in the background is not the end of the world or harmful to a child.

Kye042

ashtownyeah said:

kat0217 said:

Kye042 said:

Think about it our parents or even some of us were raised in a time where people smoked around kids or even pregnant, didn't use car seats etc and we all turned out fine haha

That really isn't a valid argument for anything. Just because you "turned out fine" it doesn't make those things good or okay. Not having a car seat was fine for most....except the ones who died or were maimed because of it.

You summed this up perfectly!

I can't speak for this poster, but I think the sentiment behind the "we turned out fine" argument is too not worry so much. Of course we can all choose how to parent our children, but some people (including myself!) can get overwhelmed by all of the "rules" out there (breast is best, no screen time, sleeping guidelines to prevent SIDs, etc). Sometimes it's good to have a reminder that parenting doesn't have to be so rigid, and that there are many different ways to approach it. I have to constantly remind myself to lighten up a bit.

jc0n15

We are a TV family, we have one in almost every room (DH would have one in the bathroom if I let him). So the TV is always on there are very few shows though that I just sit and watch, mainly background noise while I am doing things. We waited until our first was one to let her watch tv with DD2 though I think it's going to be harder because of the DD1.

tdart14

I personally, can not muster the energy to be so overly concerned about something so simple.

borntorun17

tdart14 said:

I personally, can not muster the energy to be so overly concerned about something so simple.

This. Thank you

Also, if you don't have a colicky baby, you don't have the right to judge lol

Amber Woods

I usually watch an hour of TV a day and my little man watches right along with me. He literally chills and watches. I have read all the books and understand TV is not "good" but you know I just go with my gut and what works for us

ewiley63

tdart14 said:

I personally, can not muster the energy to be so overly concerned about something so simple.

Agreed. If we worried about and micromanaged everything they say is not the best for our babies, we would go crazy. Everything in moderation.

ali0608

dm28 said:

tdart14 said:

I personally, can not muster the energy to be so overly concerned about something so simple.

This. Thank you

Also, if you don't have a colicky baby, you don't have the right to judge lol

Your question was, "does anyone see anything wrong with this?" Don't get upset if people answer your question honestly. Answering honestly is not judging people. Based on everyone's life experiences, we will raise our kids differently. I'm avoiding it for my kids. You can do whatever you want with yours.

lola2bee

I never have the TV on because it's a time suck and I'll watch it. So usually I just have music on. DH and I just watch our shows after the kids are in bed. The few times that the baby has been up she hasn't paid much attention to what's on but I'll keep an eye on it. My older son is limited to 2 hours or so a day though. Otherwise he'd veg out all day on the couch if I Let him. So would I!

borntorun17

ali0608 said:

dm28 said:

tdart14 said:

I personally, can not muster the energy to be so overly concerned about something so simple.

This. Thank you

Also, if you don't have a colicky baby, you don't have the right to judge lol

Your question was, "does anyone see anything wrong with this?" Don't get upset if people answer your question honestly. Answering honestly is not judging people. Based on everyone's life experiences, we will raise our kids differently. I'm avoiding it for my kids. You can do whatever you want with yours.

Defensive much? Lol means laugh out loud for future reference.

I assert my right to agree with previous poster who basically said don't waste time worrying. And if I care to make a joke about how it's hard to worry when My baby is colicky i can do that too.