TV

Latham12

So I'm a SAHM and I play all day with DD and love it. But I usually have the tv on and idk I guess I feel a little guilty. I don't let her watch it, she has never sat in front of it or anything. I also put Raffi radio on and sing songs to her on it so I change it up. Anyone else have the tv on in the background during the day? I just don't want to feel like a bad mom and want to do the right thing while keeping sane lol

zbeesma86

I'm a SAHM as well-- DD loves Sprout TV- Chica show and Play with me Sesame.

I DVR them and let her watch them to relax or wind down before a nap. (hour tops for the day)

 It's only TV-- you are still a good mom whether she watches it or not.

stacylynn1982

Our ped. told us that ADD and ADHD can be related to infants watching television. Whether or not that is true, I don't know, but we do not allow our son to watch any television at all. Or ped. said until age 2 their brains cannot process the movement on the television the way we can. Might be information worth researching. Not passing any judgement, just a personal choice we made.

kristen3546

We are doing no TV until 2 as well.  Although I stay at home so the TV is on most of the day sometimes.  I'm not even watching but the silence drives me crazy.  DS plays in an area where he can't even see the TV.  My gut tells me as long as he's not watching it then it should be fine. 

For whatever reason my parents think I'm crazy for not letting him watch cartoons, apparently they stuck me and my sister in front of the TV when we were little and we turned out fine they say lol.

Latham12

kristen3546:

We are doing no TV until 2 as well.nbsp; Although I stay at home so the TV is on most of the day sometimes.nbsp; I'm not even watching but the silence drives me crazy.nbsp; DS plays in an area where he can't even see the TV.nbsp; My gut tells me as long as he's not watching it then it should be fine.nbsp; For whatever reason my parents think I'm crazy for not letting him watch cartoons, apparently they stuck me and my sister in front of the TV when we were little and we turned out fine they say lol.

Yeah, I've never sat dd in front of the tv or anything. Just have it on and turn it off if she is distracted by it. My mom was here visiting and I took a shower and came out and my mom had her watching Barney! I was p!ssed lol

Socialworkgirl

I am also a stay at home mom and I try to limit the tv being on but I don't obsess about it.  I will maybe turn it on 1 or 2 days a week and it will be on for an hour or so while I feed DD and do dishes or something.  Then, I will be sure to turn it off.  I don't worry about it as much on the weekends but she is probably only exposed to it for a few minutes each day of the weekends as well..  She doesn't pay that much attention to it and where she plays with all her toys she can't even see it.  

There have been studies showing that babies that watch tv score lower on communication skills than those that don't get screen time (which also includes computer and video games).  There is also more preliminary research that even background tv noise can be associated with ADHD.  Now, I know that lots of people in our generation were probably exposed to tons of tv as babies so I am sure there are tons of factors, but it is something to keep in mind.

I definitely don't put kids shows on specifically for DD to watch and right now, my plan is that she won't be able to play games on our phones or computers before she is 2 or really have access to them at all unless we are right there with her and it is only for VERY brief periods.