AIBU to ask our neighbour not to put baby in front of TV while she babysits?

There are two equations here:

1. your concern about your baby actively watching shows. This is what the guidance on no screens is about.

Personally we did use screens under 2, though mostly not excessively (when pregnant with an 18m old toddler and housebound due to SPD, that role went out of the window). At 7m we'd sometimes put on dancing fruit for 5 minutes for my eldest. I miss dancing fruit!

Whilst I didn't subscribe to 'no screens', if babysitting I wouldn't generally put a kids TV show in for them. If they were inconsolable then as a last ditch before calling you, I would try the dancing fruit.

2. having the TV on for adult shows in the background.

We didn't do this much because we don't tend to have it on background, but occasionally put on a show for us when they were young. Frankly 99% of people do this. I've not known anyone who on principle doesn't put on any TV whilst their baby is awake in case they somehow catch cooties from it or something. You'd be very controlling if you tried to ban this.

Im sure a 7 month old baby is not going to be sat for 2hours on their bum staring at the tv ( although if you never have it on it may well be a novelty for them)
enjoy your time away your little un is in safe hands with your neighbour

Oh my word. This cannot be real! That's enough Mumsnet for today! 🤣

I think that unless you are paying her you can't really tell her what she can and can't do. And it wont do the baby any harm. much more worrying things out there than this, and i do get the concern but seriously just go out and have a lovely time and if you get back to a happy baby, then it was all good! 😊

Don’t worry. I put mine in front the TV to watch Obama being inaugurated when she was 4 months old. It definitely didn’t rub off on her, she has no interest in international politics, American politics, history in the making etc. it was completely wasted on her.

Another made up mumsnet post!

Red tops are shit newspapers, that have red tops (e.g. daily star, sun etc). She is inferring you are not well researched or educated. If you think tv causes adhd then she'd be correct. My dd has adhd, it's genetic, my dh has it and so do I- my mother was a psychiatrist and we didnt have a tv until i was 6. It's very very offensive to infer it is caused due to bad parenting. So thanks for that.

It might be worth reading the Instagram "Oreo" story and working out how uptight you want to be. In theory, of course no screens is better, but obviously it is much better long term for your fanily to have a happy, trusted, lovely babysitter nearby. Leave it alone, pack some toys and books and go enjoy lunch!!! Your baby will see screens in life, walking past shops, in other people's homes, at school etc - you can't control every variable, all you can do is make rational decisions based on what is reasonable at the time. No harm will occur if he catches a glimpse of a tv for 2 hours. Also, knowing most kids this age, he will be bored of it quickly and be demanding human, interactive attention pretty quickly.

kindly OP are you very anxious generally? Do you worry about app aspects of his development?

I only ask because this is quite (I don’t want to say OTT) unusual thing to worry about. He is only 7 months. 2 hours of TV won’t be something he’s developmentally able to focus on anyway and even if he looks it isn’t going to cause damage as a one off. If you’re concerned about this at 7 months you’ve got a long road ahead so may be worth managing your anxiety if you feel this way more generally.

Wow two whole hours!!! You are being ridiculous.
If you don't trust her to watch him then don't accept her kind offer at stay home with your child.

Yes, you’re being absurd. A couple of hours won’t hurt him.

If it was a regular thing it would be reasonable to mention that you don’t like him watching tv, but as a one-off it really doesn’t matter.

You're lucky that your neighbour has offered to look after the baby. You should want it to be as easy for them as possible. If it was a long term child minding arrangement then fair enough, but you're literally going out for lunch, and he's 7 months old. Even if he sits in front of the TV from when you leave to when you come home, without one single break, he will be absolutely fine.

Thank you neighbour strongly, and don't leave a list of rules for someone who's doing this out of kindness.

Why don't you watch TV in front of your baby? What damage do you think it will do to them?
Moderation in everything is what matters. Not compete abstinence. She will encounter screens in nursery and at school so I don't see what the harm is in her seeing them at home.
Some of my favourite memories are being snuggled up on the sofa with my children watching TV together and also now with my grandchildren. Watching TV with a toddler is totally different from teenagers scrolling through social media where you don't know what they are looking at. Not all screens are dangerous

I highly doubt that she will just plonk baby in front of the TV for the whole time they have them, but if they do it won't do them any harm.

I'm not sure where all this panic about screen time came from. In my day, most parents plonked the little ones in front of the TV for an hour or so while you got on with chores, prepared dinner etc, just for some peace and quiet. Never did any of ours any harm at all.

A couple of hours won't hurt, I promise, and you may find you can loosen up about it yourself. What harm do you think will come from baby being exposed to the TV for a short amount of time?

Hi OP
I hope you're OK after some of the over reactions on here. The irony of them telling you that YOU are over reacting 🙈😳😂
Seriously, I've read your responses, and can see that you have decided not to mrntion it, which is great, and absolutely the right thing to do. But I can pro.ise you now, that every single mum on here, has "over thought" and panicked over something or another, when their first was born .. and the more time goes on and the more kids you have, the more experience you gain and the less you panic. Loads of us will have started out with all the "best intentions" of no TV, no sugar, no bottles, no disposables, no toy guns, no feeding until they fall asleep, regular nap times etc etc, and by the time youre on number 6 with older kids to tun round after, most of it goes out of the window. It sounds as if you're doing a great job, enjoy your lunch and follow up with baby cuddles afterwards.

ADHD is usually a genetic condition, you don't catch it by watching TV.
Some people have a traumatic brain injury which is linked to the development of ADHD again no TV involved.

No it won't hurt your child
And yes it would be rude to put conditions like that on someone who has kindly offered to babysit to give you a break
You either trust her or you don't m if you don't decline the offer.

OP is avoiding all posters who have challenged her views on ADHD. This is sadly indicative of the wider public's ignorance & how many get their info or views from the red tops, Insta or TikTok 🙄.

Googled....
A 7-month-old baby watching television does not process the images or plot like an adult, but rather sees a confusing stream of bright colors, sudden movements, and changing sounds..
One day he will enjoy plonked on the couch as a toddler watching tv with his parents..or home sick cosy watching tv...it isnt all bad is it.

Agree.

He won’t be damaged but to be honest I wouldn’t leave my baby with someone I thought would just put them in front of the TV for a few hours.

I honestly don't think TV is the same as other screens - phones, tablets, games consoles etc because they are not so 'in-your-face' and all encompassing. It's perfectly possible to have a tv on in the corner of the room and get on with other stuff. Not so easy when you have to hold the device and have it 3" from your face.

Obviously, the content has to be suitable, and there are a lot of age-appropriate programmes.

The Tv was on a lot when my 2 were small. They didn't have other screens though. Both have graduated with 1st class degrees, so I don't think it causes brain rot!

@Ellie126 I don’t remember what I was doing at 7 months!

I highly suspect it’s watching some tv. Are you an incapable adult affected by brain rot? You don’t need to get on the internet to gain consensus you are being ridiculous, you just need to use some common sense.

This has to be a reverse!