Now recommended no TV at all for under 3's

[Furball]

Just seen on BBC news it is now recommended no TV at all for under 3's but can't find any info about it on their website.

dont believe autism bit but dont let mine watch before 3

There is more and more evidence that TV is bad for very small children - this is nothing new. Say what you like about the research being rubbish, I would rather believe the scientists than circumstantial evidence about my friends children being fine despite watching x hours of tv a day. Besides, I know a girl who is a total airhead and she spends all of her free time in front of the tv.

Can't access the link, but have to say, I struggle to see that tv is GOOD for under 3s ... (which isn't to say that a bit of tv isn't good for their mothers ).
DS (PFB) didn't watch tv until he was 2 1/2 - I saw no need for it. He now has 30mins/day, whilst dd is asleep - I don't intend to introduce her to it til the same age, if I can avoid it. And I see no reason why I shoudn't be able to manage that. OK, they might learn things you wouldn't teach them ... but are they really important/useful things??

(although I do wonder if this works like the 'sweets thing - ie you want what you don't get - ds was at a party the other day - tv was on. All the other kids ignored it, he sat transfixed...)

(Although I completely agree with jimjams et al re autism causation, which sounds to say the least...)

The BBC is so farking negative towards parents. You feed them bad food, you let them watch TV, you drive them round in cars. Bad, bad, bad parents, you!

There's a link to the researcher's home page on the BBC online news story. It's a shop window for his business. Seems to make a lot of money working for industry. Doesn't mean his academic work is pants, obv., but since he doesn't provide any links to his published research, it does make me go .

Ironic that the BBC is reporting it, really.

DS1 thinks I work in the CBeebies building though (I don't, I work next door)

Manage to hold off switching on til after tea then put in DVD. Now read Times article and find this is the WORST time according to this man. Would like to see him look after my dc aged 3, 2 and 9 weeks for a day without an hour of peace!!!

the melatonin disruption thing makes sense and i will now think about turning the TV off when it gets dark. Rather worrying altogether really - ds addicted to cbeebies. gives me another reason to wean him off. [gulp.]

Too much TV can mean they don't run around enough, don't get enough exercise and fresh air and particularly importantly don't develop properly physically with spatial awareness. I think the being outside is good, playing in parks etc

But then you get the pragmatic issues - when we had 3 at school and baby twins the TV was just essential to keep them occupied at various times. My daughter had the occasional friend who lived in a TV free home. I don't watch TV myself either but all that achieves is I am cut off from popular culture and there is a lot of it I would like to have time to watch.

So delighted that this has been made public to parents, so they can make an informed decision, this is a subject that i have really looked into (although, tbh, regardless of all the studies common sense prevailed first and told me OF COURSE tv is bad for children, especially babies) and I feel really strongly about it, I think the report is fabulous but think that it should have contained a lot more of the negatives that can impact children because of television.

Between the age of 0 and 3, we develop neural pathways to the brain.. after the age of 3 this stops so those 1st 3 years are crucial for the best brain development possible. When a child is "mesmerised" watching tv, these pathways are not being created.. surely thats scarey?

obesity, linked to autism, effects a childs attention span, proven to have a negitive impact on school performance... I can't understand that DOCTORS AND SCIENTISTS have proven this info yet, you'll get the people saying... "I watched 7+ hrs a day and it never did me a bit of harm.." bears the question.."how do you think you would have been if you didnt watch any"..

Dont get me wrong, a child of 7 or 8 watching an hour a day - fine but I cannot understand why or how (and ive seen this!!) a mother would put their small baby in front of a tv for hours a day!!!!!! (I know of a child who watched 4hrs+ at 4months old and quite frankly this made me sick and imo, a mild form of neglect)

You'll have those who say (and this has been said in many studes referring to same too) "oh little johnny is learning german from such a programme" or "mary has learned to count to 10 from this" rubbish. even "educational childrens programmes" have been proven to be rubbish, should a child not learn alot of these things from their parent or gaurdian?

Alot of parents use the tv as a form of a babysitter.."I will ask this, would you leave your child in the care of a person who could not see, hear, speak, walk and whom has been proven to negitively impact your childs growth and development? of course you would'nt, when effectively this is what a parent is doing when plonking baby in front of tv for hours in order to get things done...

(seriously: google "children under two watching tv")

.......just my opinion...

I just can't get worked up about this!
Mine don't watch much during the week but only because they're at school/nursery/after school club and it's not allowed therer.

"everything in moderation"

what does this mean? I see it said so often on this sort of thread as a defence for doing something which evidence shows is not good for children.

"children going up chimneys"

"nuclear waste dumped in the street"

Oh, well, I don't know, everything in moderation

Likewise www

Today, my kids have been out shopping with me. had a coffee out with me. Gone out on their bikes, played in the garden and built a den in ds's room. ATM they are vegged out in front of the TV. In 20 minutes we will all sit and have tea together.

On a school day they see 30 minutes in the morning and about the same when they get home. They don't get home until 6.00 most nights as they have lots of activities after school.

Moderation in all things

Mb, check out my link below

at xpost.

TV is hardly the same as shoving kids up chimneys tho is it?

F&Z, tv isn't chimneys or nuclear waste though!

I am guessing that there are a whole host of things that are not good for any children (or adults for that matter) from TV, to computers, to radios, to traffic noise, to the constant buzz of the refrigerator, background noise in shopping centres, the noises of telephones ringing several times a day, to microwave ovens, to regular ovens, to reading books with small print...

F&Z, my sentiments exactly!! good point

Thank christ dd watched some TV then. If I hadn't I'd be posting all sorts of boring 'brag posts' about her amazing abilities and cod would have hounded me from the board

Love to see if the data match for all the other variables.

I am really not too worried about a bit of tv viewing - I watched tv as my mother prepared dinner every evening from when I was quite little, and I still did lots of crayoning, painting, creative activities, sports, (and as I grew up, reading) with my mother (and when he was home, my father) throughout the day. Of course, children should learn first and foremost from their parents. Of course! And tv should not be a babysitter, I agree. But really people can be so PURITANICAL about everything and preach at parents like we have joined a religion.

f and z well said
i am bloody certain people HUGELY UNDERESTIMATE how much time their dc's spend goggle boxing
if they were honest with themselves and added it up i expect many would be ghorrified
Its not even about 'running about and fresh air' as Xeni says - its about using your head
not having stimulus chucked at you so you dont need to think at all
I love a bit of tv but i think todays kids watch far far too much

Oh, I don't underestimate it. My children watch far too much TV. But hey, they've survived.

All things in moderation. Just because you let you kids watch some TV does not mean that you don't let them get outdoors or let them be creative. My SIL is horrified that my DD gets an hour a day. She thinks I'm making her stupid. Thats just ridiculous.

There we go again "all things in moderation"

WHY???

(no of course letting your kids watch tv isn't like nuclear doodah, but, I mean, you know what I am saying, right?)

It means that you can't live a steralised life. Sometimes even things that are bad for you can be good in small doses. Thats all people are saying.