No TV or video under the age of 2 years old

glenrapids · October 2011

...according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. TV will harm their development. My DH and I read it this morning here: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/health/19babies.html?hp

We don't have a TV but we do plan on getting DVDs for baby. My friend is giving me her baby sign-language dvd sing-alongs and I plan on using those pretty early on. Her kids loved them. And honestly, I love the idea of having a daily break while baby watches it.

CountingUp · October 2011

We'll be screen free with little one for a few years. When I worked as a nanny my philosophy was that screen time comes after the wee ones learn to love and treat others with care and respect, to speak well, to entertain themselves,and to read.

That said, i am already looking forward to family movie nights but those are a long way off.

EveryNameIWantIsTaken · October 2011

Yeah, that's been around for a while. DS didn't watch any tv until he turned 1, which I felt was good. Now, he will sit and watch something, but he'd much rather be up and playing. He speaks extremely well for his age, remembers everything, can count a bit and say most of his abc's. I don't think the tv harmed him.

chantico23 · October 2011

I used to babysit for someone who took this to an extreme. The parents told me that if I watched tv I needed to make sure the baby was not facing the screen at all. Baby was 3 months old.

For me, my goal will be to achieve balance (my philosophy on all things parenting). Don't over-expose to the tv, but don't shelter from it either. We'll see how successful I am at not going to one or the other of the spectrum.

heatherjh · October 2011

I also enjoyed some of the Baby Einstien videos when watching my nephews, and my son and I used to watch Blues Clues, Seasme St., etc. Some parents permanately park their infants in front of the tv, which isn't good, but like everything else, moderation and as long as you're watching the content, some of these shows/dvds, can be beneficial. I also plan on listening to lots of music with our daughter as well, and we have 2 childen that play instruments in our household, so there will be plenty of stimiulation in addition to normal play. Do what you feel is right for you and your family

MrsT2008 · October 2011

erindworley:
For me, my goal will be to achieve balance (my philosophy on all things parenting). Don't over-expose to the tv, but don't shelter from it either. We'll see how successful I am at not going to one or the other of the spectrum.

This will be our goal as well. I don't think hiding the kid from TV for 2+ years is the answer, but you also shouldn't have them watching hours a day.

GoldenPeaches · October 2011

Just like most everything, I think in moderation is totally fine. All of the studies linking poor attention span, poor speech development, obesity, etc, have been done on children who were plopped in front of the TV for hours and hours.

lageorgiapaperie · October 2011

I think some TV after the age of 1 is okay. Only educational stuff obviously, like Seseme Street, Blues Clues, etc. I don't plan on using it as a babysitter at that age, but it can be helpful at times and teaches kids stuff too!

mintyblue02 · October 2011

Eh, my neices and nephews were all exposed to TV early on (a few hours a day on average probably) and did the baby sign language videos. They all are bright and well spoken children and were so at early ages.

Hopefull11 · October 2011

My ds will be 2 in January and he loves tv. Some days tv is my saving grace now that I am pregnant. My son is definetly not behind in his development at all. His speach is advanced, he can spell his name, count to 10, say part of the abc's. I think as long as you are interacting with your child also and not using the tv for a babysitter all day long, than tv is fine.

EvenAngelsFall · October 2011

MrsT2008:
erindworley:
For me, my goal will be to achieve balance (my philosophy on all things parenting). Don't over-expose to the tv, but don't shelter from it either. We'll see how successful I am at not going to one or the other of the spectrum.
This will be our goal as well. I don't think hiding the kid from TV for 2+ years is the answer, but you also shouldn't have them watching hours a day.

I agree... its all about balance.

Trumom76 · October 2011

Moderation. DDvdidn't watch tv until she was 1 for no reason other than she was not interested and I really was not hip at that time of all the kid friendly channels. While pregnant with DD I said no way would I use tv as a babysitter. Thank god for tv and yes it is a babysitter from time to time.

HazelBee22 · October 2011

All things in moderation. I can't imagine using TV as a babysitter (as in hours of it), but it can sometimes be a much needed distraction! My SIL is a multiples mom and Dora was a lifesaver.

We plan on keeping it to educational shows/movies or just music with LO.I honestly might go BSC if there isn't something going on in the background, so the music channels will probably get some major play.

She will also have to get used to ESPN, which is basically on TV whenever Daddy is home. Stick out tongue Ours will be the only preschooler that can identify a sail route or define a pick and roll, lol!

edited for clarity

indomesticbliss · October 2011

we introduced LO to TV about a month ago with veggie tales dvds. we get 5 mintues and he is bored. we do let him watch jeopardy (we dvr it so it takes about 10 minutes total) and he LOVES dancing to the final Jeopardy music.

emd2887 · October 2011

erindworley:
For me, my goal will be to achieve balance (my philosophy on all things parenting). Don't over-expose to the tv, but don't shelter from it either. We'll see how successful I am at not going to one or the other of the spectrum.

I agree. We don't have cable, so the amount of TV in our household is already at a minimum. I don't plan on having LO watch any shows for a while, but if I'm watching something while I'm BF'ing and LO happens to turn towards the TV, I won't freak out.

MrsT624 · October 2011

FWIW, before kids I said I wasn't going to let my kids watch TV at all until they were 2. Never say never. My DD never really cared that the TV was on until she was about 1 anyway, and she would only sit and watch basically one show, and she would play with other toys while it was on. Just don't plop them in front of the TV for hours. If you do other developmentally appropriate stuff with them (read books, play with them, teach them things like letters and colors, etc.), a little bit of TV is not going to hurt them in the long run.

JNicMTek · October 2011

I watched TV when my mother needed a break. It was usually PBS since we only got two channels, but I don't feel my development was stunted in any way. We let DD watch TV and have no guilt about it. She pretty much ignores it after a couple minutes here and there. As long as I know what she's watching (generally PBS or Disney), I'm fine with it.

DarthNBJenni · October 2011

The girls never paid any attention to the TV until probably 2. Now that they are 3, they freaking love Thomas (Audrey) and Disney movies (Natalie). Hearing your kid recite the entire score from The Little Mermaid is pretty cool.

asyph107 · October 2011

Certain TV is fine. Its like everything else in life moderation is key. I think people who say not until this, or never about things like TV really set themselves up. DS has in no way been stunted by his watching blue's clues while I get ready in the morning for work, or curious george while i make dinner.

No one knows until the unpredictability of life hits them what will happen, there are times home sick with the flu with a toddler that TV can save your butt and keep a LO happy when you are least able to entertain them.

sunandsand · October 2011

We do PBS only (on netflix) and not only do I believe it has helped DS (he sings the songs, loves elmo books because of SS, counts along with the show, etc), but when I threw up for 17 weeks with this pregnancy, it was a LIFESAVER!

getnmarried910 · October 2011

erindworley:

For me, my goal will be to achieve balance (my philosophy on all things parenting). Don't over-expose to the tv, but don't shelter from it either. We'll see how successful I am at not going to one or the other of the spectrum.

That's our thought as well.

MesmrEwe · October 2011

It's funny if you read through all the recommendations that a lot of them seem like they're written by people who don't have kids.

It's up to you as the parent to decide what, when, and how much TV your child watches. In some ways I think TV can be beneficial at an early age but like all things, moderation is absolutely key and as a parent it's also your responsibility to stay on top of what specifically your kids are watching (which can be hard - especially when they're old enough to run the remote). In many ways I wish Mr. Rogers was still on because there are so many topics that are hard for parents to explain to children that he explained so well.

One thing we've tried to do is direct DD (she's now 6.5) to tv shows that don't marginalize parents. Even some PBS shows are guilty of this right now. We've noticed when we do this DD's attitude toward us improves greatly. OTOH, there's also great value in turning the TV off and leaving it off for a few days or weeks.

silivren · October 2011

MesmrEwe:

It's funny if you read through all the recommendations that a lot of them seem like they're written by people who don't have kids.

It's up to you as the parent to decide what, when, and how much TV your child watches. In some ways I think TV can be beneficial at an early age but like all things, moderation is absolutely key and as a parent it's also your responsibility to stay on top of what specifically your kids are watching (which can be hard - especially when they're old enough to run the remote). In many ways I wish Mr. Rogers was still on because there are so many topics that are hard for parents to explain to children that he explained so well.

One thing we've tried to do is direct DD (she's now 6.5) to tv shows that don't marginalize parents. Even some PBS shows are guilty of this right now. We've noticed when we do this DD's attitude toward us improves greatly. OTOH, there's also great value in turning the TV off and leaving it off for a few days or weeks.

I agree with all this. I didn't have cable for the first couple years of my DD's life but I did have animated movies that I would let her watch occasionally. I found that I actually sat down with her and got into some of the interactive parts of the tv shows. We would clap and sing and dance together.

Moderation is definitely key.

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