To let baby watch TV?

[JammyRedRooo]

My 3 month old DD is wonderful but still very much a velcro baby. My DH works out of the house so I find it very hard to get a minute to get anything done during the day. I recently discovered Hey Bear sensory videos on YouTube and DD will actually sit and watch in her bouncy chair (previously she would cry if I put her in it).

It means I can get a drink, have a wee and a wash but mainly just have a few minutes where she isnt attached to me.

However I mentioned this to a friend who has a slightly older baby and she said she wouldn't be letting hers watch TV until he is much older. It made me feel like a shit mum tbh. I only do it for max 15 minutes a day.

Please tell me this is ok??

Nothing wrong with lazy parenting. Why make life harder than it needs to be?

Mine had the tv on way more than 15 minutes a day at that age. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that tv below the age of two is harmful to development.

@whatswithtodaytoday

Nothing wrong with lazy parenting. Why make life harder than it needs to be?

This 100%

@whatswithtodaytoday

Nothing wrong with lazy parenting. Why make life harder than it needs to be?

To virtue signal and make other women feel bad. Obvs.

I've noticed my dad friends don't. They laugh about 'hacks' to make parenting easier.

I'm actually LOLing at the 15mins 😂. Clearly those getting their knickers in a twist haven't had the experience of really needing a few mins to yourself!! Ffs it's the tv. Not a cannabis farm. The kids ain't going to get high from watching the idiot box for a while.

Seriously OP, you need to make sure you're fed and watered each day. And showered. I know there are some on here who would clutch their pearls in a race to the bottom and shout how they've not had a shower for 3 days and a cup of tea for a week. No one is handing out prizes for that shit.

Put the baby in the bouncer and switch that tv to whatever it will watch. Mine liked the news and the snooker 😂. It was ages before I could get them to be interested in CBeebies. Then go and boil the kettle. Make the tea and shove some toast in too. Your baby will go nowhere. I promise

I never knew TV was one of those things to frown upon! We love Hey Bear and those videos are designed to improve tracking.

I always have the telly on in our kitchen but the kids never sit glued to it.. unless that channel 4 silver man ident comes on, then they drop everything.

Your friend might have a shock when her DC finally meet the telly and it's all they want. Whereas yours will have moved on to ball games and climbing frames.

Thanks everyone! I feel better about it now.

It's odd - before having DD I had obviously anticipated the sleepless nights, endless nappy changes etc but it didn't really occur to me that I wouldn't just be able to pop her in a moses basket during the day for a nap. It was quite a shock that she only seemed happy when on me! I thought I was doing something 'wrong' for ages. I've now read all about the fourth trimester and have realised how totally normal it is for tiny babies to want to be held all the time, and I'm ok with it, but do just need a breather sometimes!!

@JammyRedRooo my Granny was pretty traditional in her views and was strict with us when small, including not encouraging any TV watching until we were older and around in the evening. Even then, TV was planned. Cricket was different-that could be on during the day! So, Very loving, but strict. So I was astonished to take my toddler to visit her to find her suggesting some CBeebies for him at the end of the afternoon, commenting that had she had it in her day that bit before bedtime would have been a lot easier!

I'm saying this as I think sometimes what is given as "research led advice" is actually about enforcing a societal norm, or sometimes, plain snobbery. There isn't "a" right way to look after a baby, they are cared for differently in different cultures and one way doesn't mean another is wrong.

But then my kids watch TV and YouTube but go to school with quite a lot of kids who live in TV free houses. People often assume we'd be TV free-although I don't know why! Perhaps because I love reading and the radio. But that's just my choice. My husband loves TV. It's all about balance.

DS is 2 and learned to count from Sesame Street when we were in lockdown . Absolutely nothing wrong with a bit of TV to give you time to rest and catch up. Anything (within reason, so you know, not heroin) that helps you be a better, less stressed parent is a good thing.

Avoid Cocomelon though, for your own sanity.

If it’s what to you need to do for your own mental health then do it! It’s not for hours on end and it’s more important for you to feel refreshed and able to tackle the rest of the day. The early months are hard, as long as baby is safe then do what you need to get through it I say. Sending you a hug 🤗

I always used to leave my DD watching something colourful on TV so I could get a shower when she was a baby.

@WTF475878237NC

Personally I haven't because the WHO advise against it for babies and toddlers. I do agree it is lazy parenting. TV was only on in front of baby if baby was breastfeeding and not able to see it. But the most important thing is you do what you think is best, it's your baby!

Omg this comment is hilarious. You have to get your superiority flash in there.

You judge it by calling it lazy. Justify when you’re breastfeeding because it can’t be seen, cuz y’know babies don’t have ears! You should be playing Mozart or reading poetry don’t you know. LAZY!

Then you follow up with the sickly and patronising ‘but you do what you think is best’.

After raising 6 and now another 2 one thing I have learned is that other people’s opinions are worth fuck all to you.

None of my kids were raised exactly the same, they all had different needs and methods for settling them.

OP has found something that works for her. OP you don’t need validation. X

I will use it for very short bursts, usually 10-15 mins at a time. You can't stop babies from watching TV unless you don't have it on at all, and I don't think that would be realistic. They are intrigued by the lights and colours. My husband works long hours so it's just me at home with our twins, and I need some background noise for my sanity. We listen to the radio a lot too. From what I've read, TV is ok as long as you are still interacting with your baby. I have five month old twins who would like nothing more than to be attached to me all day. I just don't have enough arms for that, and sometimes I will put cbeebies on so that I can put some washing on, make lunch, etc. You could also take the bouncer with you around the house, I find it helps if they can see you. We have Peg Pérego highchairs that are on wheels, so I put my twins in them if I'm in the kitchen, or hanging washing up, that sort of thing. I think they like being high up and seeing what I'm doing. The seats fully recline so we've used them from a few months old. The seat height is also adjustable so once they're ready for weaning, I can sit in the sofa and feed them at my height if needed. As the chairs are on wheels, I can move them around the house with me. They are fab.