Is there something inherently bad about babies watching tv?

[Bumperrlicious]

Was at a relative's today & 4 mo dd2 was entranced by the fish tank. Mum suggested we get fish, I say no way, but joked that we could stick Blue planet or one of those fake fish tank DVDs on. Mum says great idea, but I'm sure tv itself is bad for development though I couldn't say why.

Is that the case? If I stuck blue planet on for a bit while trying to make tea would I be damaging my baby as much as if it was family guy or something?

Obviously I'm not going to park her in front of it for hours at a time but she tries to watch it from wherever she is. So is tv inherently bad for them?

I doubt it very much.

God, our newbie (10 weeks) is entranced by the gogglebox. We don't have it on that much tbh, but whenever it is on she's to be found looking at it in a daze!

my DS watches family guy. and he loves south park!

watching tv alone isnt bad, its the lack of communication usually associated with it thats the problem :)

Some people think it's evil for babies to watch tv, irrc. There was a thread about this a while back which really kicked off!

Ah yes. This is the thread I was thinking of.

Interesting thread thanks. So assuming I am a perfect parent all day a few minutes in front of blue planet will be pretty harmless?

there was an article about research results published a while ago. i can't remember the exact details but i think it said no t.v under 2yrs, but the main problem is overstimulation and lack of interaction. most t.v programes are too fast paced for little ones, even ones made for young children, so there was a suggestion that they would make children hyperactive. it could also limit the child's own imaginative play and doesn't help them to learn how to communicate or interact with others properly if they get used too used to one sided entertainment.

it's like anything though - if used in moderation, what's the harm?! there are plenty of days when my 2yr old wants to chill out in front of the t.v for a bit but i wouldn't let him watch hours of t.v every day. some days he doesn't watch anything, other days i'll put his favourite program on as a treat.

Yes. I'm calling social Services.

(and nicking your idea of blue planet for when I want to mumsnet clean. Or at least I would, but I don't know what dd did with the remote control the last time she was watching Family Guy.)

mumsnet was meant to be struck out. that'll teach me for not paying full attention. Better put blue planet on now.

Seriously though, I'm sure if its just a few minutes a day there no harm. I don't tend to have the TV on in the evenings before DD is in bed now as I read it can interfere with sleeping patterns close to bedtime, but during the day occasionally it will be on at the childminders, like when they are cleaning up, getting ready to go home, they have it on for a while, and she has qualifications and stuff.

Blue planet is probably less harmful than other things - some parts of that study made sense to me, like the fast changing images thing. Loads of TV seems to change camera angles etc constantly now.

I still let DS watch far too much tv though.

You might find this useful:

www.literacytrust.org.uk/resources/practical_resources_info/313_parents_guide_to_television

personally I think that a bit of blue planet for a baby would be lovely....

I do put on 'in the night garden' for my 9month DS from time to time when I am absolutely desperate or if he is ratty and in pain with teething. I don't feel good doing it daily though.

sorry, here is the link:

www.literacytrust.org.uk/resources/practical_resources_info/313_parents_guide_to_television