Screen Time

l4rk · May 2016

I recently found out the recommendation is generally no screen time period until two years of age, but I'm wondering how strict you mamas are?

It's not like I am plopping her in front of the TV, but if I'm nursing and she looks over at my phone for a few seconds, is that really so bad? Or if daddy walks into the room when I'm watching a show and she stares at the movement on the TV for a couple minutes before they go do something else?

Where do you draw the line in your household?

nackie · May 2016

I feel similarly to you. Sometimes DS will watch me use my phone while he's nursing. Sometimes he'll even try to grab at it. And if he happens to watch a few minutes of tv while it's on and we're doing laps around the living room it's not a big deal. I don't plan to encourage it or use it to entertain him though.

ekscopp · May 2016

I agree with both of you. Although, I ocassionally let my DD do selfies which she loves to see herself. I probably should stop and just put her in the mirror more, but it makes adorable pictures!!

maureenmce · May 2016

LO's dad looooves to take selfies with her, but that's the extent of her screen time. I can't really see that changing much before 2. (Though who knows, she's my first, so I have no idea how things will go!) Anyway, once she's 2 we'll probably do Sesame Street and some Netflix kids occasionally. Oh, and maybe get one of those ipad type things for kids (maybe around 3?) I don't want to do screen time too early of course, but I definitely do want to get her comfortable with technology once she's old enough, since it's going to be such a huge part of her generation's education/jobs/life.

ETA - re: the original questions, I don't think incidental screen time is a big deal at all. If it's a second or two of seeing your phone or a TV, I don't think it causes any harm.

Becky012016 · May 2016

Screen time only becomes an issue when the kids refuse to be active anymore IMO- like the kids who won't play with anytime but a videogame or only watch tv/movies. Limited screen time is what we plan to do when the time comes. Right now, I feel like the bright lights and movement on the screen is no different than the bright lights on toys. Everything in moderation

alisong10 · May 2016

I worry about this. I have the tv on all day. I play with DD and take her on walks and have her do activities. But tv is on in background. I would lose my mind without it I think. DH works all day 10-10 (chef) so this is usually the ovly adult voices I hear. I try to not let her focus on it ever and keep her jumper, bumpo and play mat positioned facing away

Cricket99 · May 2016

alisong10 said:

I worry about this. I have the tv on all day. I play with DD and take her on walks and have her do activities. But tv is on in background. I would lose my mind without it I think. DH works all day 10-10 (chef) so this is usually the ovly adult voices I hear. I try to not let her focus on it ever and keep her jumper, bumpo and play mat positioned facing away

This is what I do too! The tv is on really low in the background for noise. LO doesn't actually watch it as I have him on a mat where he can't see it or in his jumper. I spend a lot of hours alone with LO, but I also take him out on walks and to play groups. He doesn't even seem to notice it's on most of the time and is more interested in the rattling toys he can kick and punch. He does love taking selfies though!

cali1710 · May 2016

My tv is sometimes on and after a feeding she likes standing and looking around and sometimes thats at the tv. She lives the colours and movement. I don't sit her infront of it but I don't see the harm once in a while. Like @012016 said its not much different then all the toys they have. And unless its interfering with development then i don't see the issue

ChrissyD1203 · May 2016

Usually we have the tv off but if there is a sports game on over the weekend or at night and she happens to be in the same room (or tv on when we visit friends), I don't sweat it. I do try to keep my phone away from her (although sometimes I need it) just because I don't love the idea of all the wireless signals (I switch into plane mode when we are doing our selfies lol).

Ebiejay · May 2016

Cricket99 said:

alisong10 said:

I worry about this. I have the tv on all day. I play with DD and take her on walks and have her do activities. But tv is on in background. I would lose my mind without it I think. DH works all day 10-10 (chef) so this is usually the ovly adult voices I hear. I try to not let her focus on it ever and keep her jumper, bumpo and play mat positioned facing away

This is what I do too! The tv is on really low in the background for noise. LO doesn't actually watch it as I have him on a mat where he can't see it or in his jumper. I spend a lot of hours alone with LO, but I also take him out on walks and to play groups. He doesn't even seem to notice it's on most of the time and is more interested in the rattling toys he can kick and punch. He does love taking selfies though!

This is us too. I worry about it sometimes but we try to position him so he can't see it, and I take him out a lot. I don't fret about occasional glimpses, though my husband likes to rest the baby on his lap in front of the computer while he's playing, which kinda bugs me, and makes me feel like I have to be even more careful the rest of the time! On the other hand, we both have really poor eyesight so our kid is probably doomed regardless of screen time lol

stephanienjer · May 2016

I read that if TV just happens to be on in the room, adults speak 700+ words less an hour. This means that baby hears 700 less an hour. Now, if that means it's on for an hour a day, while they're in the room, I don't think that's a big deal. All day would be another story. Our LO is at daycare all day, where there are no screens, and then we have a strict policy in our house that we don't turn our TV on until 8 or 9. (This is when my husband and I talk.) So, as far as background, she may hear TV for about an hour as I'm feeding her and she's drifting off. It's mostly out of her sight, though. She would have to unlatch and turn all the way around to see it.
I did a little looking into just why they say not until 2. Apparently, it has to do with the cutting style of television. If you personally roll a ball toward a baby, they see it from beginning of action to the end. If it's on TV, it may be shot from different angles and then spliced together. This, babies don't understand.
I'm on the fence about TV. I admit when I'm desperate for a shower, I've turned on one of those 10-minute shows on On Demand. We really try not to make it a habit, though.

ctmamaoftwo · May 2016

I occasionally let my LO watch Ellen she he's having a 4:00 scream fit and it calms him down for 10 minutes while I can either get his bottle ready or distract him with another activity. Reading this post though I felt guilty. Haha I read this article in which they are coming out with new guidelines this fall and found it interesting

https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/06/health/screen-time-rules-change-pediatricians/

MissMheMhe · May 2016

LO is fascinated by the TV. But he's also fascinated by trees and leaves, the wind on his face, and the business of the bowling alley when we are there. He's nosey and loves to watch people. The TV is always on in our house, but we are pretty active, too. Whenever LO is on the floor, he's got lots of activities around and DH and I are constantly talking to him and singing him songs. Sometimes the TV catches his eye and he focuses on it for a minute, but he always turns back to his toys or his feet!

melturz · May 2016

Bennet can get super fussy in car and the only thing that I have found to call him down is a youtube video of the songs: the ants go marching & elephants have wrinkles. They are both kids somgs and he only watches each one once.
What about baby Einstein which is aimed at young kids?

juliaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa · May 2016

Also heard about the no screen time til 2 years old recommendation and try to abide by it, however I make an exception for video chat sessions with family and friends so they can see the baby from time to time and she can see them, as we live in a different country than our family and friends. I feel bad about that screen time sometimes as it does seem to overstimulate baby a bit but I would feel worse about her not seeing her grandparents and vice versa... I try to limit it to one a day at most and it is quite cute to see her interact with family and friends and get excited about these calls... Hopefully they don't have the negative effects people worry about with screen time as they are quite interactive...

juliaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa · May 2016

@amberjinnett just read the article you posted, interesting and good to know, thanks for sharing !

jrouge12 · May 2016

When DD is awake TV is off. We have started streaming music through Amazon prime and the lyrics scroll on the TV but she has no interest in watching that. I mostly play kids bop and nursery rhymes that I sing to her and she likes that. I do use the TV to clean under her chin. I turn it on behind her and she stretches her head/neck to see it and I can get all her icky neck cheese without her flinching. I figure 30 seconds of TV a day is better than a neck yeast infection.
Mine and DH's parents don't get it. They all let us watch TV when we were babies (I have a masters and DH a PhD) and they say we turned out ok. So I rationalize it by pointing out that there are way more screens these days and kids use them at school from a young age. No need to start so young. I don't make a big deal if we're somewhere and it's playing, but at home it's a no TV rule. DD watches our goldfish like it was TV though.

ChrissyD1203 · May 2016

@jrouge12so funny - I do 2 minutes of tv for the same reason (only she actually had a neck yeast infection). The tv neck clean is working well- all cleared up

stephanienjer · May 2016

melturz said:

Bennet can get super fussy in car and the only thing that I have found to call him down is a youtube video of the songs: the ants go marching & elephants have wrinkles. They are both kids somgs and he only watches each one once.
What about baby Einstein which is aimed at young kids?

I used to nanny a little girl who wore out the Baby Einstein collection. I thought they were pretty ok, but the company lost a big lawsuit, because of claims they were making over it making your baby smarter. They had to pay out a lot a money, to anyone who wanted to claim that and had purchased the videos. After that, they discontinued the series completely. You can find them used, but you're likely to pay a pretty penny.

PedsIsHardcore · May 2016

I sit DD2 where she can technically see the colors on the TV but that's it. And she is only sat where she can see it for a few minutes, like if I need to go use the bathroom or make her a bottle and she is sick of her swing or bouncer or gym mat or activity saucer thingy. She's not getting any iPhone or iPad screen time.

chillmama1518 · June 2016

We FaceTime'd wth grandma and grandpa today...this is technically screen time I guess!?!

kimber308 · June 2016

No TV for us. I want to limit the likelihood of her having ADHD. I'd also like her to develop a strong vocabulary from listening to us speak.

klbh · June 2016

We never show him the TV in particular, but I think DH watches while giving him bottles. I'm not crazy about it but choose to pick my battles.

He also holds LO while reading and occasionally using the computer, but they have plenty of conversation and face-to-face interaction, so it doesn't seem like a huge deal to me. We don't watch TV together until after LO's bedtime.

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