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AIBU?

To let baby watch tv?!

134 replies

Wishfulmakeupping · 28/06/2013 10:37

My dd is 5 months.
We do stuff everyday babygroups/meeting friends/family/shopping trips in morning and go for a walk in afternoons as well as playing on play mat for couple hours.
But I do let her watch baby tv for about an hour-1.5 in morning while I'm getting ready sorting out bag etc and and another 30min to an hour at teatime.
Is this so wrong? People have said its too much tv and she shouldn't be watching any.

OP posts:

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justabigdisco · 28/06/2013 22:21

heidihole can we have a link to these WHO guidelines that you mention?

CreatureRetorts · 28/06/2013 22:21

YABU

Why on earth so much tv? She is 5 months - she cannot cause havoc in that time.

CreatureRetorts · 28/06/2013 22:23

I will also add, I have two DCs and my youngest (18 months) doesn't watch tv while my eldest (3) does. I won't let dd until she's a bit older. It's easy to do.

Tv for babies is so lazy. It's beyond belief quite frankly.

primallass · 28/06/2013 22:37

Stand as firm as you like. Until you have experience every child how do you know what is easy to do?

CreatureRetorts · 28/06/2013 22:40

Not stick them in front of the tv for a start. It's te duration that gets me. Up to 90 mins at a time? We're not talking a few mins at a time here. That is shocking.

mrstigs · 28/06/2013 22:41

Can I start by saying I have no deep feelings on tv watching by other people's children. I don't think it makes you either an especially good parent or a particularly bad one.
I used the tv loads with ds and dd1, had it on almost constantly at one point, even if noone was watching it.
Then we went on holiday and went cold turkey. And once the dependence was broken I realised that we didn't need it, and the background chatter wasn't really necessary. The kids can entertain themselves just fine without it after all. That was nearly three years ago and other than the odd kids film my kids don't watch tv at all (they are 7,5 and 1), it's not forbidden as such, just not thought about.
Obviously the amount of tv the OP watches is nothing like the amount I had on. I was just thinking that I would have also thought the idea of keeping several kids amused and controlled without the tv inthinkable several years ago, but now I don't even think about it. Reckon it's an addiction or dependence of some sort?

Signet2012 · 28/06/2013 22:49

Dd is 10 months old and has the tv on from after tea (5) until bath time (6). It's usually baby tv or cbeebies depending what's on. I don't think it's an issue. I'm not leaving her stuck in front of it. I talk to her as we are watching it and repeat things or sing along to the songs. It's good for killing the half hour between her finishing her tea and her going into her bed routine without her getting cranky.

I put it on at other times if I see something I think she will like. There is one in particular that has children looking at animals and again I talk to her about it. She probably doesn't understand but its communication.

more concerned that she gets visibly excited and dances to neighbours theme tune

happyfrogger · 28/06/2013 23:02

working9while5 how lucky for your HI DS to have a speech therapist mummy! My 14 mo DD also has a moderate bilateral loss, how fantastic he has your expert knowledge on tap daily! (We love our speech therapist)
/tangent

We don't do much TV in our house but we do put on a lot of songs etc via the iPad. 9 times out of 10 we sing along and do actions together so its more interactive than giving me time to do something without a limpet - but sometimes I wonder if she may be hooked... It also comes in very handy as a distraction when dinner is not going down well or I need to nip and run her bath...

pigletmania · 28/06/2013 23:16

All this too much tv is fuss over nothing IMO. Dd 6 has asd and is a visual learner, and learned all her colours, shapes and phonics from Micky Mouse clubhouse and mr men, despite me trying to teach her myself, she responded better to this medium. In the early days it used to be te only thing that would calm her mealtdwns down. Now aged 6 she hardly watches it, prefers to play outside and make things. Ds 17 months is not really into it really. As a youngster I watched copious mounts of tv alongside playing and activities (you can't entertain a child 24/7), I cannot think what damage it has done to me, I have good graduate and postgrad degrees,and I think that my brain is not completely dead. You pick your battles.

pigletmania · 28/06/2013 23:20

I am not saying put them in front of the tv all day, but some tv in the day is not a bad thing at all. I used to take dd shopping, baby groups, park, read etc, but you cannot entertain them every waking minute of the day

CreatureRetorts · 28/06/2013 23:21

I agree to some extent piglet. My 3 year old watches tv every day. But a 5 month old baby watching for over an hour seems wrong to me.

pigletmania · 28/06/2013 23:24

Creature my dd would cry from 9-9 everyday, sometimes it was the only thing to calm her, ds does not have asd and is just not fussed about tv

pigletmania · 28/06/2013 23:24

Ds is 17 monts old

pigletmania · 28/06/2013 23:25

Dd dies not care for tv now much, only if sets really tired a bit before bed

quesadilla · 28/06/2013 23:28

I think there is a lot of quite silly hysteria about this. The guidelines are there as a sensible preventative attempt to warn people not to bombard their kids with it but there is no convincing evidence yet of significant damage done to kids by moderate exposure to TV.

It's just common sense really isn't it? If you dump your baby in front of it for hours on end its not great: is not fostering an interest in other activities etc. But millions of babies/toddlers are exposed to it without real harm.

An hour/two hours of supervised watching a day in the context of a life packed with other stimuli isn't going to harm a kid IMHO. Fretting about it endlessly will probably be worse.

yakisoba · 28/06/2013 23:39

I generally feel there is no harm in small amounts of TV for babies/toddlers. My baby DS seems enthralled by anything on the TV, so maybe what they watch is as important as how much. As illustrated by this fascinating clip:

CreatureRetorts · 29/06/2013 06:24

Yes I had two crying clingy babies. Low point was when dd woke every twenty mins at night - I had a toddler to look after as well. I used tv for toddler but not the baby. 2.5 hours a day for a five month is loads. I won't be budged on that.

Wishfulmakeupping · 29/06/2013 07:27

That's me told then god feel like shit now thanks Creature
Guess I'll be taking my dd out all day every day then. I am trying my best

OP posts:

Wishfulmakeupping · 29/06/2013 07:28

Sorry meant to say generally thanks for the advice people

OP posts:

pigletmania · 29/06/2013 07:42

Well creature you do what you have to do at te time. Yes it's lots but looking at dd now I can't or the life of me see how it's affected her! Yes she's Autistic, but has been since a newborn. I really don't know, you can't tell.

ABitLesMis · 29/06/2013 08:07

The OP does say that it's not that amount of time in one block, just here and there for around 20 minutes.
I did exactly the same and my son and at 20 months now, he is way ahead of most children we meet of the same age with speech and communication.
I believe this is down to creating a good balance of activities throughout our day. Interacting with me, other adults, other children and a little bit of Peppa Pig! He also knows his way round my iPad and has learnt all his shapes and colours from one of the apps.

I have to take him to the supermarket which he hates sometimes...does that make me a bad mother too?

OP, you are doing a great job. Don't let some people on here make you feel that you are somehow failing your baby. You will put enough pressure on yourself without these comments from 'perfect' parents.

theodorakisses · 29/06/2013 09:18

You should her some of the things that get picked up from Radio 4! I don't get it, why people think that absolutely everything should be educational, some of the dullest children I know have parents who only do educational food, games, clothes, etc.

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IShallCallYouSquishy · 29/06/2013 09:25

Our night time routine includes baby tv.

Cup of milk with 30 mins baby tv before bath. She loves watching the bright colours and jiggles to the music. I am worried one of her babbles is sounding more and more like "Peppa Pig" though!

CreatureRetorts · 29/06/2013 09:35

Actually OP says up to 1.5 hours at a time. That's what I think is ridiculous. And people have commented to her in RL.

As for everything has to be educational - its not either/or. You can have no TV without trying to teach your kids at every turn. That's silly.

And anyway I'm not anti-TV - just think it's excessive having a baby watch tv for 1.5 hours at a time.

ABitLesMis · 29/06/2013 11:47

Creature - She actually says in an additional post that the 1-1.5 hours is between 5am-10am and not all at once. This is NOT excessive.

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