Watching TV when baby is awake

[Correlation]

My baby is 3 months old and I read recently that having the TV on in the background while they are awake stunts their language development. Up until a few weeks ago I had the TV on all the time as was scared of being alone (PND) and needed some escapism. However now she will look at the TV when it's on, even when lying on her playmat she will crane her neck to look at the bright pictures on TV, therefore I keep it switched off all day except for when she has naps. However, I now think I'm going mad with boredom and overthinking and miss watching boxsets to pass the time. Of course even with the TV on I still play with, talk to and obviously look after my baby but I'm worried about her development now so not sure what to do. What are your thoughts?

@Correlation - firstly, I’m sorry to hear you’ve suffered/are suffering PND and I hope you have a good support system/ help in place to get you through. I was very conscious of having the TV on authority my now 5 month old, especially when she turned around 8 weeks old and would try and turn to the TV. I actually found that the more of a ‘deal’ I make of it, the more interested she was. It’s a phase and something new. She’ll be bored of it soon enough and if you need the TV on for some stimulation/ to survive the day, I think that’s fine!

Having the TV on around** (not authority!)

Also, my 5 month old now couldn’t care less about the TV so just FYI!

Having the TV on stunts language development only when the TV is on adults in the room tend to stop talking or talk less - a 3 month old baby will only learn language from familiar voices, their brains are wired to primarily focus on their parent voices even if they are talking in the background and not talking to him. If the TV is on and the parents stop talking then the baby misses out - a baby at 3M old is unable to focus on language from the TV, for them it's just white noise.

I personally wouldn’t have the TV on around a small child. It serves no developmental purpose for them and, as you say, encourages adults to interact with them less.

Could you listen to Audio Books? I find them useful on Alexa, as you can pause them with your voice. Also lots of music and the radio.

I think the biggest thing with babies is how much quality interaction you're having with them. As above it's not really that the TV is distracting the baby it's that it's distracting you. A fundamental part of social communication is that it has to be taught. If you put a baby in a room on its own and they don't even look at another human being then they'll eventually walk but they won't talk and eventually they'll lose the capacity to learn to talk or socialise. They simply HAVE to make a strong connection with a caregiver and be taught social skills and language from this caregiver. There is no getting around this. That's why one to one quality 'in your face' time with your baby is so important. If you feel that having the TV on in the background helps you do this then go for it but always have the above in mind. The very fact you're concerned and insightful enough to question it probably means you'll do great either way x

Thank you all. I've not had the TV on the last few days while the baby is awake. Sometimes have the radio on though as she seems to like music. I've been reading to her which she enjoys and narrating everything I do. I'm driving myself a bit crazy but hopefully it'll be good for her! It's nice to see she enjoys hearing my voice..