AIBU to have the TV on all day long

[grissini]

I literally turn it on when we get up and then I have it on all day long. I'm at home with my 10 month old and I use it for company. The radio or podcasts just don't have the same comfort for me, despite being more interesting

Am I alone?

Erm...no. Lol 😂

I do it too. I can't bear silence.

I would never have the tv on with visitors. That would feel rather claustrophobic I think. My sister and I would watch tv together in the morning when staying over each other's etc - but we'd normally be hungover and reluctant to speak anyway!

8 months is a LOT of telly...just saying

I do have podcasts and audiobooks on when I'm alone so similar but we don't actually have a TV. It's takes a while to be able to listen to audiobooks. To start with you get distracted and miss chunks. I'd definitely recommend it though.

OP - have you considered, for one second, that I'm actually agreeing with you? Think about it for a moment...

I think it is very bad for your child's speech and language development and concentration. If, as you say, you are talking and singing to your child all day long I akm not sure why you need the TV for company??

I’ve been off work due to pregnancy complications and now maternity leave for the last 6 months and I basically have Grey’s Anatomy on all day every day. I have literally played all 300+ episodes at least 4 times each in that time. People ask if I’m bored of it, but honestly, I’m barely watching it, I just don’t want to sit in silence! YANBU!!

I find it really hard to go round to houses when the Tv never goes off. Kids need to learn how to deal with quiet and not constant stimulation and colours and pictures passively being spooned into their brain. It is a really unhealthy way for us to process and detaches us from reality which is not great for adults never mind kids

I'm at home all day with an 8month old. We haven't owned a TV for almost a decade and even when we did we used to only to watch specific programmes. I hated the way the TV dominated the room, both physically and its noise - like others have said, it robbed me of the headspace to think straight. I grew up in a house when the TV was rarely on, so this is the norm for me.

I do love listening to audiobooks, my own music (as opposed to the radio) and like to watch Netflix on my laptop with DH before bed.

When our children were little, the TV was always on. Kids would play with toys and just watch certain things. We went out most days to a playgroup, shops or park and had friends round so it's not like they just stared at the tv all day. They would sit and watch certain programmes and maybe glance at it whilst playing the rest of the time. It doesn't appear to do have done them any harm, so I wouldn't worry if it helps you.

My dc have more screen time than I'd like, but I really couldn't imagine having the TV on all the time (we don't have one - the dc watch DVDs/Youtube on the family laptop - but the principle holds). I'm a big Radio 4 fan and recommend that for background noise, but I think being able to be in quiet is also important for dc (and adults, in fact). It seems to be increasing that people can't be without 'background noise' even in public - we go to a lovely rural outdoor pool in summer and they often have the bloody radio blaring out over loudspeakers there (!) - not to mention all the people who think it's acceptable to play music on their phones without headphones wherever they are. I'm guessing this need for background noise at home is part of the same phenomenon - an inability to deal with quiet. But quiet is restful to the brain.

I'd be very interested to read studies on the link between screen time and childhood cancer? I suspect the link is not as direct as the PP upthread is making out. (And tbh I am sceptical of a lot of these 'talks' in schools as they often revolve around selling some service or other).

My mum had the TV on pretty much all the time when I was growing up, like you she needed the background noise. She also took me out a lot, I interacted with other kids and she spent a lot of time playing with me and talking to me. I was never glued on it, it was just background noise and I turned out pretty OK and loved reading as a child instead of watching TV.

In my house now we never really watch TV unless it's a film so having the TV on all the time when I was a kid didn't have a long-term impact on me.

Moral of the story: do whatever feels right to you as long as the kids get plenty of interaction with you.

I used to do this OP and I regret it, as it slowly turned to dc watching kids programs all the time. I am not saying it causes cancer but clearly its not ideal. If you are the sort of anxious person who feels the need for constant company then you may also find it hard to start restricting access to TV once the dc have got used to it. So much easier not to start something you don't want to carry on longterm. You need to train yourself to only have TV on when you are watching and other times listen to music or podcasts or the radio. Work on having some time when you just do things with dc without any background noise this is good for their speech development.

I think my TV is only on Friday and Saturday evenings. It's very rare that I watch it on a weekday. Waste of time having it really.

I hate this. I can tollerate the non stop drone in the background (especially these days now that a lot of tv programs a made in an incomprehensible generic northern accent). But if it makes you happy then do what you want so long as it is quite and your windows are closed/far from neighbours property so that you are not subjecting anyone else to it.

A generic northern accent? And making sure the neighbours can't hear?

Sorry I can't take this post seriously

I do the same.

On when we get up, off at bed time (It goes off if we go out). It's not that we're sitting watching it the whole time, it's mainly background noise.

My parents did the same, so likely a habit I've picked up. My sister does the same in her house.

Forgot to add, it does not make you a shit mum.

Its just wallpaper. If you're not glued to the screen all day and its just wittering in the background why would it be a problem?

Why is it a problem? Because the brain needs peace and quiet. Especially a rapidly developing brain. (They use constant noise as a form of torture...). To develop concentration, to be able to think and to be bored, most importantly. It’s not a wallpaper- the TV is an active form of noise that is also a passive medium.

www.wired.com/2011/10/infant-tv-guidelines/

That has the link to the original AAP recommendations which also has links to the studies they refer to.

Play music. Hundreds of studies have found that exposure to screens below the age of 2 has significant health implications. Why would you ignore all that research when there's a perfectly good alternative?

I used to do this, now I MN instead.