Babies watching TV

[ellasmum]

When I first had DD I was convinced I was never going to use the TV as a way of amusing her.She is now 5 months and I am finding that Baby Mozart etc.. is getting used more and more frequently when I need a bit of time to do a few jobs.

I have also discovered that Teletubbies at 6.00pm is a great way to fill the time before the bath.

I am beginning to feel a bit guilty that she is going to become a telly addict.

Does anyone else ever feel like that or is it just me??

[Alley22]

Everyone needs 15 minutes here and there to get some jobs done!

i have a few videos that last approx 20 minutes (the Noddy one is his favourite) that my little boy watches (22 months) oooh the valuable time!! , its enough to let me get ready for work anyway (we have hectic mornings as its just us two!) and he loves Noddy so much, & sits there eating his breakfast.

Please dont feel guilty, being with babies is 24/7 you need time to yourself too.

[aloha]

I actually think moderate amounts of TV specifically made for babies is quite good for them. It's only when they are stuck in front of programmes they don't understand that it has bad effects on development. Baby Mozart and Teletubbies are specifically made by people who understand baby development. I wish my ds would sometimes sit happily for 20 mins and watch, but he doesn't. I even bought a Baby Bright video but he wasn't interested. He gets very excited by the opening sequences of Teletubbies but then loses interest. Anyway, I remember watching hours of TV as a kid, and I work with words for a living now and love to read, so I think we can all worry too much.

[threeangels]

I will admit I love tv myself and I seem to have it on alot during the day but we dont watch much. I mainly have it on just for noise. My ds watches very little mainly when passing by the screen while playing or if "Spongebob Squarepants" his favourite show is on. I think Im just addicted in having something to listen to while in the house whether its the tv or radio.

[Enid]

Dd was never that into tv when she was little but joy of joys, now she'll watch The Little Mermaid in its entirety while Mummy lays on the sofa reading magazines and generally being unstimulating and rubbish

[ionesmum]

Ellasmum, dd loves sport as well as Baby Mozart etc but I can't get her into the Teletubbies! I've also heard that selective viewing of educational programmes is good for children, and like Aloha I watched loads of television when I was a child but still loved reading, playing outside etc. I think that content matters far more than quantity.

[Tillysmummy]

My dd loves her Baby Bright video also Baby Mozard. Her favourite kiddy programmes are Teletubbies and the Hoobs. I always do Teletubbies at 6pm as winddown Ellasmum and think it's beneficial. I don't let my dd watch any old rubbish, just selected programs and she likes to watch some telly during the day.

[ellasmum]

Glad to know that I am not the only one watching Teletubbies at 6.00pm. DD also loves football and cricket much to DPs joy.

MIL just arrived so no doubt there will be comments about TV watching. By the way MIL was sprung on me 10 minutes before she arrived last night. Needless to say I am currently speaking very few words to DP!!!

[Janeway]

ds loves Tiny Planets (Bing & Bong), but got scared by Baby Mozart. He's not usually easily startled - last week he was fine watching fireworks - but we watched it for the first time yersterday and yelled then cried his eyes out when the dragon went "blahhh" never mind when the bug dropped into view.

We'll try again tomorrow

Other than that he likes the morning chat shows - he's 6 months and realy into watching people talk, but telly only keeps his attention for a few moments unless you're really working at it ("oooh, look at the apple" ) generally if its on it's just background noise so he doesn't feel so alone when I'm out the room.

[robinw]

message withdrawn

[mines]

As far as ds is concerned, best thing on TV is pop vids, particularly Kylie's vid to 'Spinning Around' (where she is wearing those ridiculously hot hot pants) - he just spends the whole thing grinning from ear to ear.

And he's only 7 months - what have I bred!?!!

[Chinchilla]

My ds loves it when I say 'Imagine, Imagine, Imagine a story' to the Storymakers. He has now become expert at anticipating it, and grins at me!

[ionesmum]

Robin, dd loves football which is similar to rugby - or at least I would think it is to a baby. She also loves the sports news on Sky which has loads going on - flashy pictures, moving bits at the bottom plus a newsreader in the middle. One big hit was the synchronised swimming from the Commonwealth Games, it was very blue and splashy with plinky-plonky music and bright ladies. This was hepled by mummy falling off the sofa as the commentator said solemnly, 'this next piece represents the power of fire' as two women swum about.

[JayTree]

This thread fills me with joy! At last, loads of you are prepared to admit that you allow your children to watch TV and baby specific videos. I have come across such a snobbish attitude about TV from friends and the media alike ("last resort", "couch potatoes", "lazy parents" etc.) and it is good to see that plenty agree that tv in moderation is actually beneficial as well as enjoyable for young children.

Our video machine finally died and we replaced it with a DVD - has anyone else noticed what a shortage there is of DVDs aimed at younger children? You can get the Disney stuff for older kids but there just isn?t the DVDs out there for babies and toddlers - seems to be a video only policy. I wonder if this is deliberate or have I just shopped in the wrong places? (high street, amazon.co.uk?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 etc.)

(My dd loves Ethelbert the Tiger and 64 Zoo Lane - pity they are no longer on CBeebies, hope the new series comes on soon!)

[ionesmum]

Jaytree, I think that so long as children aren't exposed to violence and other unsuitable things then television is great, so long as you do plenty of other things too.

[MandyD]

Janeway - I thought I was alone in that my DS loved Kilroy, Jerry Springer, Tricia etc when he was around 6 months. He's 3½ now and I don't let him watch them because he understands what they're talking about and gets upset by arguing and fisticuffs!

[MandyD]

ThreeAngels - I don't think "Spongebob Squarepants" is on in the UK. What channel is it on in the US? Can you tell us more about it?

[emsiewill]

SpongeBob Squarepants is on "Nick Toons".
Oh, how I wish I didn't know that!

[MandyD]

Ahhh, the plot thickens! My DS does not like cartoons so we've never watched Cartoon Network or Nick...anything. Is it a cartoon? My sympathies emsiewell!

He likes Tiny Living, GMTV2 (both morning channels) then Cbeebies at other times, though he knows if he's seen them in the morning it will be the same episodes again for the rest of the day..!

Ballymory

[threeangels]

Hi MandyD, Its on ch 27 nickelodian. Its one of the goffiest cartoons I truley have ever seen. I honestly dont know how to explain it but he is a yellow square sponge who wears these funny square pants and acts so crazy. The cartoon is set under the sea with sea character friends. You can probally go to yahoo and type in Spongebob Squarepants for more. My son is 22 mo and is so addicted to it. Thats what his 2 yr b-day will be.

[threeangels]

One more thing I really think the attraction is the way his voice sounds and the way his teeth and overall body shape is.

[Ghosty]

I am so relieved that my ds is not alone in this very strange attraction to SpongeBob Square Pants. We only got Sky a couple of months ago and he loved it the first time he saw it. I think it is harmless but I am just fascinated watching his face when it is on. He just 'gets it' and he is only 2.9 years.

Thankyou for making me feel better about it because I just can't see the attraction - it's not like Teletubbies or the Tweenies who are so sweet. (I know, I must go out more!)

[Janeway]

The squarepants has arrived on terrestrial (I think on ITV, but could be wrong). It was heralded as Britney Spears' favourite - enough to put me off before it started

[Ghosty]

LOL Sobernow!!!!

[ionesmum]

Sobernow