how bad is tv for little ones?

[juice]

i have been wondering this for quite a while so thought i would ask for some opinions.

my dd is just over a year, so she is not able to go outside and play which she will do when she is older. once she is walking and steady on her feet, we will be out in the garden throwing balls etc. so then she wont have much tv time.

but what about now? is tv really bad for her at the moment? we are talking cbeebies here, not adult programmes. i find some of it really educational. we aint talking all day for the tv being on. but it is really helpful to keep her entertained whilst i may be doing some house work.

what does everyone else think ?

It is your child - everyone on here will have differing views on how much a child should watch, at the end of the day you need to go with your gut and what you think is best.

I think cbeebies is fine. Obviously not all day, but in bursts.
The research showing that tv is v bad for you is usually done with children watching adult tv, not carefully and specially made tv for children, watching in reasonable moderation.

All the official research would say that tv like cbeebies is fine and certainly educational if the child is watching with the parent and they are interacting as they watch. This is the ideal, of course and not always possible. I don't see anything wrong with a bit of cbeebies type stuff while you get on with something else but not for any great length of time at the age you are talking about, but that's just me.

I feel a bit uncomfortable with great chunks of tv for kids, as tv is mostly passive and I object to commercial tv because of the crappy food and toys advertised. If tv is used within a context of other activities then I think it can be fine.

I think there are worse things she could be doing. I read a book called "Set Free Childhood", about the negative effects of TV on children, which did influence me and we personally have decided to leave tv watching until as late as possible. However I don't think it's the end of the world to have a bit of CBeebies every day. Now ds is older I tend to use story tapes and plonk him in the high chair when I need 10 mins peace.

In my humble opinion - a bit of cbeebies is actually a god send, a tool that prevents mothers going insane . My main objection to tv for kids is violence or the adverts, neither of which are on cbeebies!

I think CBeebies and Nick Junior are great for children, everything in moderation. My dd watches it whilst I get on with housework and I have no qualms whatsoever about her watching it. When my mum saw it she said she would have loved to have something like this 35 years ago to keep my little brother amused who was up to mischief!