To have children's tv on all day?

[ispentitwithyou]

I am more or less a Sahm (i work Sundays) to a one year old. We have our own little routine during the week and I like to think we do a lot of fun activities,games and learning during the day through a combination of structured and unstructured play and also just letting her sit and play by herself whilst I tidy up mumsnet however we seem to have fallen into the habit of having children's tv on in the background all day.......

Example: we will be playing with her dolls house and taking no notice of the tv (but the volume is on) a song will come on and we will probably stop and singalong to it, then carry on playing....

Bad for her concentration?

Distracting?

Interfering with some vital part of development?

Not to drip feed,her speech is advanced for her age(so people tell me) and we get out for a walk everyday weather permitting

Thanks

Radio for background noise. Also, if the TV is limited, when it does go on, they tend to sit and watch it, brilliant for if you need to make a call or do something for half an hour. If it's on all day, it loses it's novelty unless it's something they really want to watch.

It also becomes something you can use as a reward/punishment - TV goes on after dinner before bath time only if you've been good etc.

(If you have sky, you do have radio channels though your TV if you don't have a radio in your living room)

I always had the Telly on all day.

Mine could take it or leave it, if they weren't watching it I turned it over to day time telly.

Thanks for the comments and opinions guys,really interesting to hear about the dynamic in other peoples homes.

Really,really surprised actually at the amount of people who seem to have the tv on a lot too! Thought there would be a lot more critiscism. Pleased actually that others have given examples of TV having a positive effect even.

Definitely going to limit it more though,agree that it will be more useful to use as a distraction method if it is more of a novelty.

Can anyone recommend a good radio station for in the daytime? Nothing too high brow,basically mumsnet on the radio is what I'm ideally looking for

at mumsnet radio. Adverts for gin, cake and moon cups. MNHQ are you listening?

My radio never makes it past Absolute 80s/90s/occasionally 70s if I'm feeling wild

And never, never underestimate the power of novelty and of 30 mins of Dora the effing Explorer when you just want to have a looooong shower in the morning.

Here it's Xfm, Classic FM or Radio 4.

I have radio 2 on during the day while I'm cooking and cleaning. I love the Jeremy Vine show at 12. My 3 year old sings the jingles.

MN radio would be great!

i hate the tv on all day. i think mine did watch it but it went off. sometimes put a tape on with kids songs.

Have you read any studies about TV and kids. I think they recommend no TV for under 2's and very limited tv for preschoolers for good reason.

Thing is at 1 year old she won't be that interested in TV

But then she'll hit 2 and want to be glued to it all day, and if it's always been on all day it will be harder to withdraw it then...

So I'd say cut down just for that reason.

And as others say - if you limit it it has more power when you really do need them to sit still for a bit.

Good points Mini pie.

I think no tv is a bit silly tbh, are you at home all day with children Betsy003? Genuine question.

My daughter sleeps twelve hours a night and is then awake bar two three quarter hour naps from six until seven thirty. We have a very varied and stimulating day whether it be in the house or out for the day,I believe tv can beneficially make up part of that day with no detrimental effects. I am definetely going to reduce it though. My husband works shifts so I am the caregiver and solely responsible almost 24hours a day. As others have said tv can be the difference between having a shower or not!

My daughter turned one last week and is extremely bright (can say around 20 words with confidence and accurately so not seeming to hinder her to much at the moment) will continue to have it on (children's TV) for still least an hour a day to an hour and a half a day

I've always been in the habit of having TV on as background noise when I'm pottering about at home. When I became a single mum, the channel changed to CBeebies. DD is 7 months old now and I have to say, I've started to notice not only that she looks right at the TV, even when it's off, when I take her into the living room but also that it can sometimes be quite difficult to maintain her attention. Even while she's laughing hysterically at something I've done, she glances back at the TV.

I'd been telling myself that it wasn't that bad as most days I do try to get us out of the house, even if it's just to the shops. I was doing a course today though (DD was in the creche so that was our activity) and the 'problem' with TV was explained to us. Children cannot physically interact with a screen (touch screen doesn't count as a social interaction) so spending too much time in front of one can hinder/slow their ability to learn social cues, interact with others, take turns, pick up on non verbal gestures, etc. They can watch others doing these things on a TV and have them explained, but not physically practice them.

I'm not saying what was said on the course was absolutely proven beyond all doubt, but it certainly clicked for me as like I say, even while laughing hysterically at a social interaction, my DD glances back at the TV...her attention isn't 100% on the physical activity but rather the box of lovely colours and sounds attached to the wall.

I'll certainly be rethinking how I keep her entertained while I'm doing the housework now and switching to radio while we're playing. Possibly limiting TV to a bit in the morning + the bedtime hour as I've built that into her sleep routine.

What happened to Mozart being what they need?

I read that children under 2 shouldn't watch TV as the images move too fast for their brains to process properly. The level of stimulation is too high so they then find it hard to concentrate when the stimulation levels are not high.
I have no idea where I read it and it was sometime ago but it really struck a chord with me. We generally just have the radio on here. Mainly radio 2, it's not quiet enough for me to concentrate on radio 4!

Pamish,why do the two things have to be mutually exclusive?

Interesting points jolleigh and horsepie because dd doesn't go to nursery I thought seeing people interacting on screen could be good as part of social development so the social cues points are very interesting

I've quickly Whizzed through some studies which say that excess tv can effect fitness and concentration levels. Also vocabulary and mathematical ability can be lower. One study also found that children with the most problematic behaviour watch the most telly but are still far from calm.

Turn it off OP.

Seriously, there will come a time when you need the electronic baby sitter to work its magic and it will only do that if it's a novelty.

For what it's worth I have been talking to dd since she was a newborn and she is the most sociable of al her peers and seems v intelligent.

Don't you go out up play groups and cafés etc for interaction? I'm sure you interact with her too.

It's a poor habit to have though isn't it. Suddenly she will hit 2 and be utterly addicted. Are you planning to be a screen dependent parent? Because the next step on is immersion on iPads, iPhones, computer games which will probably come at a cost to other more healthy activities. I actually do think screens have their place but it needs to be limited.

You wouldn't be asking if you thought it was ok.

Your choice though.