Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6

Original poster

Babies and TV

134 replies

taliac · 05/08/2007 20:21

How much is okay? Any? Some as long as its age appropriate / educational? I've researched but can only find scare stories or PR for baby dvds online - does anyone know what the facts are (assuming there are some?)

Any opinions / info appreciated.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

speedymama · 07/08/2007 13:58

Garbage is in the Oxford dictionary (re foul or rubbishy literature).

speedymama · 07/08/2007 13:59

Maybe the kids watch the TV after finishing their homework or before doing their homework.

Are you for real?

DaisyMOO · 07/08/2007 14:00

But these studies are presumably based on groups of people, not individuals, so the findings will show an average result across a population. There will always be people who say 'well, that's rubbish because I didn't turn out like that' in the same way that you will always be able to find someone who smoked 60 a day for 40 years and lived to be 90. It doesn't mean the research is rubbish!

witchandchips · 07/08/2007 14:01

see
another stick to beat us with from the guardian who should know better

SpacePuppy · 07/08/2007 14:01

my ds showed zero interest in tv until about 3 weeks ago. he is 20 months. He watches a few things, but he never does so for hours, he also doesn't mind if I switch it off, all he says is "oh no" and then he toddles off and go play outside.

krang · 07/08/2007 14:14

My DS is 18 months and has a Pingu DVD. Every now and then we sit and watch a couple of episodes. He sits on my knee, we have a lovely cuddle, I tell him what Pingu is doing. Then he gets bored, gets up and turns the TV off. Anyone who thinks that is doing him any harm can get stuffed.

(Incidentally my DH watched loads of TV, including films, when he was little and is now a film critic...it ain't all bad!)

speedymama · 07/08/2007 14:22

Krang "Anyone who thinks that is doing him any harm can get stuffed."

Amen!

Habbibu · 07/08/2007 14:28

Krang - you're not married to Mark Kermode, are you?

krang · 07/08/2007 14:46

Nah, he's far less famous. Not famous at all, in fact. He can't wait until DS is big enough to watch films, though. We have the complete works of Miyazaki ready to roll...

Flibbertyjibbet · 07/08/2007 14:50

In my dim and distant youth I had a boyfriend whose parents were very anti-tv. I dumped him cos he kept turning up at grandstand time on a sat and wouldn't go home till after match of the day...
If he called round other times and the tv was on he would be staring at it whilst slagging off how rubbish it was - cos that was his family's official line.
He was at a grammar but failed all his A levels, so what was he doing whilst not watching tv? Certainly not homework.

magnolia1 · 07/08/2007 15:30

"oo i'm a bit anti-tv - studies reckon that children who watch more tv do worse at school, I think some say more than 2 hours is bad and definitely tv in bedrooms is bad."

I have 5 kids, 3 are at full time school. The eldest is in the top of every single class. the twins are also in the highest in there subject groups and my just turned 4 year old can speak spanish and french as well as being able to write quite fluently. All of them talked at an early age and spoke clearly.

T.V is really not having a bad impact at all on them and htye do watch probably 2-3 hours a day sometimes and have a tv in their room for disney videos (the older ones not the 4 year old)

rebelmum1 · 07/08/2007 15:44

Children who watch too much television impair their ability to learn and may even reduce their chances of getting into college

Journal Article Citation:
Chernin, AR., et al. The Relationship Between Children's Television Viewing and Academic Performance. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 2005

magnolia1 · 07/08/2007 15:45

Oh dear rebelmum, throwing a name at me won't change the fact that I have 4 very bright children despite the fact that they watch tv.

magnolia1 · 07/08/2007 15:46

Sorry an article not a name.

rebelmum1 · 07/08/2007 15:47

Clearly they don't watch too much tv and have other stimulation. I don't think the research is that shocking. Like with everything its about moderation. Reading/exercising/playing is obviously better for you than watching tv.

MrsBadger · 07/08/2007 15:50

no-one's disputing the brightness of your children, magnolia
but they are only a sample of 5
even the lowliest statitician would balk at drawing conclusions from that
(and being home on matleave means I can't get at the full text of the article cited to see how many children they sampled. But I can bet my bottom dollar it was more than 5!)

magnolia1 · 07/08/2007 15:51

No you are right I don't think they watch too much tv at all

rebelmum1 · 07/08/2007 15:52

My personal opinion is that TV is a waste of time.

witchandchips · 07/08/2007 15:52

Any academic studies comparing outcomes of those who watch lots of tv as a opposed to those who don't will find it hard to control for the following. First children often make a choice whether to watch tv or not. An active child may prefer to play in the garden or with her friends, an academic child will prefer to read a book. Thus children who watch lots of tv may be the sorts of children who are less likely to score well on these outocomes (socialisation, language development etc. ) anyway. Second the scare stories about tv are so common, thus concerned parents are less likely to allow their children to watch too much of it. It is really hard to gage how much of the differences in academic sucess is thus due to the effect of tv itself and how much is due to the fact that those children who were less likely to do well are more likely to watch more tv.

rebelmum1 · 07/08/2007 15:56

Some people don't encourage stimulation outside of tv - some will be just sat there watching tv with their kids for hours (the royals).

rebelmum1 · 07/08/2007 15:57

but it's fairly straightforward that time watching tv against time doing homework - the kid spending more time on homework is going to fair better than the other.

macneil · 07/08/2007 16:01

Mine has been watching Night Garden from 5 months, she's now 8 months. It makes her very happy indeed - she slaps her hands and laughs loudly at the introductory songs and the bandstand finale. Logically, I can't see how it's worse for her than plastic light up musical toys or squidgy toys. I don't refuse to believe it is, I just can't see how
it could be. I'm not really very frightened of her being turned into an angry fool by it, I think there are rather more powerful influences and factors at play in the development of a child's intelligence - genes, the amount we talk to her and read to her, her innate personality (I do believe in those) and whether she's of an academic bent. I don't there's a very sound link between academic overachieving and happiness or financial success, so I'm not really hell bent on making sure she's Oxbridge bound either. (To be honest, I'd really rather she went to art school, although am not actively trying to discourage otherwise-inevitable-academic-brilliance with Iggle Piggle.) I think we probably oughtn't to hold television wholly responsible for their behaviour, either, we have quite a lot of influence over that. It just makes her happy, and sometimes it calms her when she's too angry to look at books and play.

witchandchips · 07/08/2007 16:16

rebelmum, yes you're right but i was simply making the point that perhaps turning the tv won't make children do their homework

having said all of this does anybody know of any research based on sure start. One early aim of these interventions was simply to get families to turn their tvs off.

rebelmum1 · 07/08/2007 16:17

Arguably, one not watching tv might be out stealing cars, in which case tv is a good thing

rebelmum1 · 07/08/2007 16:19

I think research needs to be done on babies watching Jeremy Kyle

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6