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March 2015 Moms
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Baby won't stop watching tv!

SharLovesAlexSharLovesAlex member
in March 2015 Moms
I am constantly having to turn my baby away from the tv! He seems fascinated by it. I watch a little tv during the day when I'm home alone, and at night when hubby is home, but I have to always turn my baby away from it because he keeps turning towards it! I don't want him watching tv at this age. Anyone else's baby drawn to the tv? Any thoughts as to why?
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Re: Baby won't stop watching tv!

  • adelemsadelems member
    I'm sure it's the brightness of it. And the noise. My baby is attracted to it as well. But I rarely watch tv with him , usually once he's gone to bed and I need some down time I do.
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  • dreyes4dreyes4 member
    I put on baby TV for my baby. She would probably be there watching it all day if I let her. All my kids have watched it as babys and they learn a lot. Its got music, ABC's ,numbers, shapes. Everything they need to learn. :D
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  • klcarr19klcarr19 member
    Sometimes I throw Baby Einstein on... She will not nap well during the day. 45 minutes top. It's a calming time for her and I like it because it's engaging for her visually and aurally
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  • sarah0989sarah0989 member
    Lol! I've let my baby look at the tv. I have a five year old and he obviously watches tv so my younger one will watch too..... And my older son is just fine.
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  • dreyes4dreyes4 member
    I don't let her watch it for a long time. And I'm sure that there is more people who let their kids watch TV. Expecally if your watching tv and your holding your baby. All of my kids have watched baby TV while they have been little. Its sort of like baby Einstein. And needless to say all my kids speak 2 languages and are right on with their age. But that's just my kids. Others could be different. (Not to sound like a smart @$$...)
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  • SharLovesAlexSharLovesAlex member
    edited June 2015
    KD32412 said:

    It's the brightness, sound, and constant movement. My LO also seems fascinated with the TV.

    @dreyes4 Studies suggest no television till kids are 2+ years. Early television viewing can lead to language delay, short term memory, delayed reading skills, sleep problems and short attention span. Their brains are incapable of making sense out of the symbols and pictures.

    I was thinking the same thing, which is why I wondered about others babies...I don't let him watch. I'll watch when he's sleeping or pause it (I have U-Verse so it brings up a nature screensaver when it's paused so long) and let him look at that for a bit (no talking or movement). I just refrained from pointing it out because I know a lot of people that let their kids watch and see nothing wrong. I majored in psych so I've done some research and know that it's best if they don't watch. I received quite a bit of backlash via Facebook for stating such, and those are my friends, people I know! So I just said nothing here. People will do what works for their kids.

    I just gotta stop my LO from being enthralled by the tv! Sometimes I like to watch when he's up, but I don't want him watching so I end up turning it off. Babies are so funny!

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  • KD32412KD32412 member
    Same here @SharLovesAlex Just throwing info out there, in case anyone was interested. I personally know kids who have speech and/or developmental delays, and I know that it's very stressful for the whole family.

    @dreyes4 You should be proud of your kids being bilingual! That's an awesome skill to have.
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  • dreyes4dreyes4 member
    @KD32412 yes I'm very proud. :D
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  • sj3019sj3019 member
    My son does the same exact thing. I put him on the bouncer & make him face me the tv is behind him when he faces me.. But he is super drawn to it, when I'm nursing him the tv is to my left& if he's on my left breast he will try to look at it, at that point I just shut it off..
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  • mamaskittles09mamaskittles09 member
    dreyes4 said:

    I don't let her watch it for a long time. And I'm sure that there is more people who let their kids watch TV. Expecally if your watching tv and your holding your baby. All of my kids have watched baby TV while they have been little. Its sort of like baby Einstein. And needless to say all my kids speak 2 languages and are right on with their age. But that's just my kids. Others could be different. (Not to sound like a smart @$$...)

    Can I ask how you accomplished that? With a tutor, classes, etc? I've been saying right away I really want my daughter to be bilingual and a lot of people roll their eyes at me. But can you imagine the doors that open for them as they get older? I would LOVE some tips.
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  • larenzoDSGV0325larenzoDSGV0325 member
    @mamaskittles09 Does anyone in your family or someone who's around baby a lot speak more then one language? If so have them talk to your baby in that language. My sons fathers Hispanic so his family speaks Spanish to him while my family speaks English, when they learn to talk they kind of pick up on it. That's how my child's father learned English, he learned both English and Spanish as a toddler/infant & is now fluent in both.
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  • SharLovesAlexSharLovesAlex member
    edited June 2015
    @AGM0616
    AGM0616 said:

    I think there's a difference between sitting baby in front of the TV as a form of entertainment for hours and a few glimpses of TV, or educational programming geared towards infants, for a few minutes. We didn't change our own habits as parents, so if she watches a bit while we are, I'm not going to get too concerned. I haven't read all the studies, but I have a feeling that a lot of the major effects of TV exposure were related to an excessive amount of that exposure. I would be interested to see a comparison between non-TV watching, educational TV watching, and general TV watching infants. I wonder how those stats look.

    Recent studies have actually shown that there are no positive effects to letting your infants watch educational programs designed for infants. It has the same effect as letting your baby watch regular tv, and it's advised against by a lot of pediatricians. I know a few parents that have, and no developmental problems. But I do know, personally, one that did and her child is now behind developmentally. I'm just trying to be safe rather than sorry I guess!
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  • SharLovesAlexSharLovesAlex member
    Here is the article, if anyone is interested in reading: https://www.wired.com/2011/10/infant-tv-guidelines/

    I'm not in any way putting down anyone's practices with their kids. We're all great mommies here! :) I'm just sharing for anyone that's interested in tv watching and infants.
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  • KD32412KD32412 member
    SharLovesAlex said:

    @AGM0616

    AGM0616 said:

    I think there's a difference between sitting baby in front of the TV as a form of entertainment for hours and a few glimpses of TV, or educational programming geared towards infants, for a few minutes. We didn't change our own habits as parents, so if she watches a bit while we are, I'm not going to get too concerned. I haven't read all the studies, but I have a feeling that a lot of the major effects of TV exposure were related to an excessive amount of that exposure. I would be interested to see a comparison between non-TV watching, educational TV watching, and general TV watching infants. I wonder how those stats look.

    Recent studies have actually shown that there are no positive effects to letting your infants watch educational programs designed for infants. It has the same effect as letting your baby watch regular tv, and it's advised against by a lot of pediatricians. I know a few parents that have, and no developmental problems. But I do know, personally, one that did and her child is now behind developmentally. I'm just trying to be safe rather than sorry I guess!
    You're my new best buddy. I agree 100%. Why risk it? I am doing everything in my power to make sure my babies are healthy, happy, and functioning to the best of their ability. For me, the worst feeling is looking back and wondering, "What if?"
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  • SharLovesAlexSharLovesAlex member
    KD32412 said:

    SharLovesAlex said:

    @AGM0616

    AGM0616 said:

    I think there's a difference between sitting baby in front of the TV as a form of entertainment for hours and a few glimpses of TV, or educational programming geared towards infants, for a few minutes. We didn't change our own habits as parents, so if she watches a bit while we are, I'm not going to get too concerned. I haven't read all the studies, but I have a feeling that a lot of the major effects of TV exposure were related to an excessive amount of that exposure. I would be interested to see a comparison between non-TV watching, educational TV watching, and general TV watching infants. I wonder how those stats look.

    Recent studies have actually shown that there are no positive effects to letting your infants watch educational programs designed for infants. It has the same effect as letting your baby watch regular tv, and it's advised against by a lot of pediatricians. I know a few parents that have, and no developmental problems. But I do know, personally, one that did and her child is now behind developmentally. I'm just trying to be safe rather than sorry I guess!
    You're my new best buddy. I agree 100%. Why risk it? I am doing everything in my power to make sure my babies are healthy, happy, and functioning to the best of their ability. For me, the worst feeling is looking back and wondering, "What if?"
    It's just too risky to me. And if I can prevent it, I'll definitely try! Already my LO is pretty advanced and doing things now that 5 and 6 month old babies just start learning to do...why mess with that? I don't think a baby needs television to become a healthy, intelligent toddler. Letting then learn things on their own and helping them figure stuff out is much better (imo) in the long run. So, high five to you!

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  • dreyes4dreyes4 member
    @mamaskittles09 my husband speaks spanish to them and i speak english. My 6 year old is actually the translator un his school. I can just imagine the jobs our kids can get when they get older. :D
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  • aamari15aamari15 member
    I am having a problem with my 11 week old watching tv too, I actually blame it on my SO . When baby was a newborn my SO would sit in the recliner and watch tv until she fell asleep, now that she's older she wants to be facing the television while being held
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  • JeshiRooJeshiRoo member
    My 12 week old catches the tv from time to time but I make a point to not always have the TV on(it's a good break for me too). This also gives me some good bonding time playing with my baby and interacting with him. Plus if they're watching tv before nap time it might be too stimulating and makes it harder for them to calm down to sleep. So I make sure when it's nap time to go into his room and look at some books, calming music or just have some quiet time while I feed him and he sleeps MUCH easier now.
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  • JeshiRooJeshiRoo member
    TV can supposedly cause some kids to get a little behind because children learn better by example from actual people. Their vocabulary and speech development are largely learned from listening to the people in their lives(primarily parents) and from being talked to and read to as well. Plus it doesn't hurt to have some designated no TV time to have family time
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  • SharLovesAlexSharLovesAlex member
    finallyourturn2 said:

    Thestudy above is not a peer reviewed journal article. There are too many other factors to say that the cause of delayed development is TV. I have one baby that is advanced and another that is slightly delayed and they are twins that get the same interaction. It is about common sense, like any other parenting issue. As long as it isn't a frequent thing a little TV will not hurt your baby. If it buys you a couple of minutes to do something necessary like eat or shower then so be it. But if you are putting your baby in front of the TV so you can Facebook or be on the bump that is a little different.

    Here you go!

    https://m.pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/5/1040.full
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  • karenidunhamkarenidunham member
    Our baby girl loves to watch "Everybody Loves Raymond". When we put that show on she smiles a huge gummy smile.  I think it might be because they are always so loud and rowdy on that show.  She can sit and watch that show for a very long time!
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  • SharLovesAlexSharLovesAlex member
    Again, I'm not saying that you're a bad mother if your kids watch tv. I'm just saying that I don't want mine to watch so I'll either turn it off and wait til he's sleeping, or turn him away and play with him so he forgets about it. And just curious what everyone else's thoughts are on television in infants.
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