AIBU to let 6 month old watch tv

[whoopsiedaisies]

AIBU letting my 6mo watch kids tv whilst I tidy up and make a cuppa? Feel guilty, not sure if I should, but means I get ten mins to myself to get sorted a bit!

An aquarium is in 3d, which will help in baby developing a sense of depth perception. Tv is 2d, lots of colours and images one after another with no seemingly obvious link, which could be damaging cognitively (but I doubt 5 or 10mins a day is really much of a problem!)

I stick Mine I front of the kids v with 3D glasses on

Today I put my two month old on the mat watching Hey Duggee while I took his sister upstairs for her nap and sorted my lunch. I daresay he’ll survive Honestly, it’s fine. If they watch it all day, yes that’s an issue. The odd bit now and again is fine!

No TV for under 3s in my house. It’s of no positive benefit before that time, and it can have an impact of development because time spent watching TV is time not spent, crawling backwards under the sofa, or licking the buggy wheels or watching the cat or any of the myriad of things babies do which contribute to their cognitive development.

And I have a no day time TV rule for myself, so the TV isn’t on during the day for them to observe by osmosis. It’s the one thing I think is actually really important. I accept lots (most?) don’t agree with me, but hey ho, we all make our own choices as parents!

I would have baby on their mat or sat in their chair watching you tbh. They will watch plenty when they're older!

If you actually read the research (even just the one posted above) it doesn’t show any clear negative cognitive impact of TV. It only shows a negative impact when TV replaces play or parental interaction i.e if you sit your child in front of the TV for 5 hours a day they will be impacted. If you do it for short amounts of time and usually interact with them lots, they won’t. Nothing else has ever been found.

I totally agree with @ElspethTascioni although we only managed no TV til DS1 was 2 yo. Finding it hard for ds2 to have no TV now though as ds1 will watch it for about 2 hours a day

It's the only way I get to actually do anything sometimes! Quite often my dd (9m) ignores the tv anyway so it doesn't bother me that much.

fruitcorner there’s never been any evidence to show TV delays speech except if you only let them watch TV and do little else with them.

Bad parenting often means a lot of TV amongst other negative influences and this is what impacts children. Some TV does not equal bad parenting

Much easier to have no TV at all fuckoffunicorn than to make sure you’re not having it on too much. I would imagine the households where literally only 5-10 mins are watched a day are vanishingly rare.

Not every thing you do has to be for the explicit benefit of your child. Personally I found mat leave isolating enough without a self imposed TV ban. It may be of no benefit to children under 3 but it benefited me.

Anyway, the research shows that it's detrimental if it replaces other interactions . Balance is key. It certainly hasn't effected my 3 year old who never shuts up!!

DS is 7 and watched TV a fair amount, I suppose, when he was very small. Mr Tumble and so on, and we had ITNG before bed every fucking night. When ex moved out I didn't renew the TV licence; now we just have a TV to game, no channels. Been that way for 3 years. He's never expressed an opinion about that, never asked to watch anything on there; doesn't exhibit any visible signs of damage due to watching some when he was small. The pearl clutchers making squeaks about wee kiddies watching a bit of telly is as ridiculous as the parents who let theirs do nothing but, imo.

If dd grows up to be a doctor I'll put it down to the amount of greys anatomy I have watched on maternity leave ;)

**affected

DS was in the presence of plenty of Tv when he was tiny, I used to watch it while feeding him and he was up with us in the evenings while it was on but as he got to about 4 or 5 months, got more interactive and went to bed a bit earlier it gradually faded away. I don’t have it on in the background in the daytime although DH sometimes does at a weekend and I’m gradually winning the battle not to put in on in the evening before DS goes to bed. He’s been at Nursery since 10 months so doesn’t get any there so he genuinely doesn’t see it. I’d prefer to keep it that way until he’s 2ish then maybe introduce some appropriate stuff occasionally. I think if I was at home full time with him he’d see a lot more!

I find it baffling that some dont accept it’s a legitimate choice to bring up infants and toddlers without use of TV - there are plenty of other activities you can do...

My current (crawling) 9 month old could not be less interested in tv. I have tried. How I have tried.

My oldest daughter however was a huge tv fan as a baby. One of her very first words was “Peppa” at 11 months old that was embarrassing.

I worried about it. I thought it must be damaging, she’d be a couch potato etc.

She is now three and is barely interested in the tv. We have Milkshake on in the background when we are getting ready in the morning and that’s it. She might occasionally ask to see a Disney film which I can then put on guilt free (those are good days!)

If dd grows up to be a doctor I'll put it down to the amount of greys anatomy I have watched on maternity leave ;)

Mine was House, I'll bear that in mind in the future should my DS do the same!

ElspethTascioni stop being so sanctimonious! Having some TV on occasionally doesn’t mean you’re not doing plenty of other activities too. Do you panic when you’re having a poo that it’s time wasted as you’re not stimulating their little minds!

Every morning baby goes on playmat and GMB on the tv for me whilst I have a brew. DH watches the simpsons on an evening and baby turns to the screen then. Other than that no tv.

They're just as happy watching the washing go round...

My 19 month old has been watching Milkshake Music Box (presenters performing nursery rhymes) since probably around 6 to 7 months old. He has learned all the actions and we sing the songs together at other times when the TV is off. He’s definitely picked up words from it. His speech is also helped by Yakka Dee on CBBC. I don’t stick him in front of the TV, we watch it together and I point things out to him. So I don’t agree at all that it is of no educational benefit before age 3.

Of course it's possible and I totally respect people's choice to not specifically let their children watch large amounts of TV ...but in small doses, and as long as they get lots of other interactions there really is no problem.
I find the self imposed ban while children are present a little strange - the op wasn't asking if it would benefit the child. It was to give her a 10 min break which is understandable and will not harm her child in anyway . She doesn't need the guilt being piled on

If your child is happy and settled let him enjoy his programme x

When you are doing laundry, put the baby in front of washing machine window on the floor in whatever type of seat is appropriate for age - bouncy chair etc

Do you panic when you’re having a poo that it’s time wasted as you’re not stimulating their little minds

Surely that's the perfect time to lead by example for potty training? 😉

Thanks for sharing that article, AfricanPlume - common sense indeed.