Do you let your baby watch tv?

[lollpenn497]

I let my 5 month old watch coco melon when I’m doing housework for around 45-60 minutes does anyone else or should I not do this?

Ours always had it as background noise. They would watch for a bit, play with toys for a bit. Our older kids can pick their own programming, sometimes it's just entertaining and other times they choose educational stuff. Their tablets have timers on so they are compliant at bath/bed time and so they're not up at the crack of dawn because they will not work before 8.30am.
I really don't get why it's such a big "issue" these days.

I don't have any issue with it, but I've never really found a need for it before about 18 months. They are just as happy lying on the floor or in a bouncer watching you IME.

Watch DC3 prove me wrong :o

I wouldn't leave her unattended watching a screen at her current age.

🤣 why? Incase she turns it over to something inappropriate? Or will her eyes explode with you in the room.
All these pointless made up rules people give themselves to follow.

I think television and radio can impact language development so I try not to have it on loads. DH has it on all the time though!

I have to sometimes to shower and dry hair etc. I put Cbeebies on the iPad. When he's getting wound up at the end of the day and I'm trying to sort dinner and other kids I also put it on then.

@Toomanymuslins

I think television and radio can impact language development so I try not to have it on loads. DH has it on all the time though!

Can you explain this one too me? I don't see how being directly exposed to language (in face language specifically targeted at a young audience) can be detrimental to their language development? Is this just your own conjecture or can you post some links or info? Thanks

sylvia it was something I read years ago, before I even had my own children.

The gist of it was imagining we were in a room listening to two different conversations- it’s harder to focus on one. So a baby with a tv on and being chatted to by an adult will find it harder to focus on what the adult is saying and thus it can delay language/speech.

But I think you mean actually watching a show like CBeebies while I meant the tv being on all the time - apologies, we are posting at cross purposes!

Ds is almost 11 months. He’s never watched tv so far, but that’s more because dh and I just don’t tend to have the tv daytime, so it’s not really on. I only really put something on some evenings once he’s asleep ( if I’m not already asleep myself 2 mins later!)

I don’t have anything against it in particular, and actually it hadn’t occurred to me he might sit and watch anything at this age. Maybe I should try. What programs do they like? We only have access to Netflix, no English tv.

Yes we do. Dd is 2 next month and I think it’s helped her vocabulary enormously, especially considering how few people we’ve seen this last year. She watches nursery rhymes on YouTube mostly and can sing along to all the songs, can count to ten and sing the alphabet. None of my others could do that at her age. We have it on in the background while we play rather than just sit in front of the tv all day. The repetition is great for her I think. The ear worms for me, not so much

Yes have also read that having TV on constantly is bad for language development. I think this is because it means it's harder to hear any conversation happening in real life. But also possibly because it can become a replacement for talking at all because it sort of removes the prompt to speak. When I don't have the TV on, I find myself narrating what I'm doing to the baby or chatting to whoever is there. In fact I sometimes put music on to stop DS1 from talking constantly because it drives me mad!

@SylviaPlath1984 there’s a whole world of peer reviewed research out there if you want to read it, Google Scholar is a good place to start if you do.

It was shown to reduce language development because they just sit and watch rather than actually interact, when interacting with you they’re practicing language all the time, back and forth.

There were also American studies linking amount of hours watched per day and conditions like ADHD.

We use the tv to zone out as adults with fully developed brains, it doesn’t have the same affect on a tiny brain. That doesn’t mean your child’s brain will melt if they catch a glimpse of course 😂 or anything dramatic like that but there are clear link which I found useful to read up on.

Oops sorry @BertieBotts literally what you just said 🤭crossed post.

I don't think it's too long. What else is there to do with the Pandemic plus it's sort of the same as the baby classes online. My DD loves watching Mickey mouse club house, the minute she sees Mickey she has a huge smile and it's just the cutest that's she's got a favourite show! We normally do like an hour or something but we also go to her room to play, babble to each other, helping me do the washing (she's 5 months) and just listening to music or go out in the pram if it's not too bad outside. She also loves watching This Morning because it's different people to see instead of mum and dad all the time🤷🏼‍♀️ If there wasn't a Pandemic, I was planning on taking her swimming, go to friends house, coffee shops, in-laws and all sorts so there wouldn't be time for TV but you can do so much in lockdown.

The only time she likes watching me do housework is when I change the bed, but she's a serious baby and would only laugh at something once and then you gotta earn that laugh the next time😂

I absolutely let my little girl (5months) watch TV. My theory is so long as it's not interupting and taking the place of things that are important to devlopment e.g. tummy time, social interaction. If anytning I feel like I will limit her tv time more when she is older as she could actually be doing something else e.g. colouring, pretend play etc.

I think it's unrealistic, especially in lockdown to not occasionally let them watch tv. The houswork needs doing, what's the alternative let them scream? (Which I disagree with)

P.s my daughter sleeps through, growing great, feeds well, exceeding her milestone etc

@Strawberries4days my baby loves This Morning too, I think he thinks all the people are talking directly to him 😄 and he smiles & laughs when i hum the theme tune to him

There was a time when those dancing dots on YouTube were the only thing that stopped my baby crying. That was kind of the beginning of the end of my no screw time policy before it had really begun

I try to limit it, I don’t have the tv on all day and it a little bit drives me mad that DH has to put it on the second he walks in in the evening or have it on all weekend. Mostly just mindless drivel - I don’t mind it being on to watch something in particular but I can’t stand the random shite babbling away in the background whilst he stares at his phone anyway.

That said it’s been a long lockdown and my now 8 month old doesn’t nap much (and only ever on me) so sometimes by about 3pm I’m out of ideas and we might watch/
join in with an episode of Baby Club or sing along with some nursery rhymes on YouTube if I’ve still got the energy to be semi-involved, and if I’m really done in I’ve been known to stick an episode of tellytubbies on. Only ever that one episode but gets me over the slump.

I don’t really bother with housework though which definitely reduces our need for tv distractions but probably disqualified me from supermum status anyway

*screen time not screw time obviously

I shit you not. Cocomelon saves my life and no identity only advantage 😂 JJ must be on my tv at least half the day. Even if it’s just background while we read and play.

She’s only 15months at the moment but I think once she’s about 18months I’m going to start introducing two ‘quiet hours’ a day. So instead of playing with toys, we sit with the telly off, no Alexa on (or perhaps soft piano music as she does find that calming) and read, draw, and talk. I’m hoping it will lead to a wind down before bedtime, and improve her speech. We read and talk during the day but she’s so active and hyper she won’t sit down with me for more than 30 seconds to read a book if there’s toys out and reachable 😂

My dc were brought up on Teletubbies from a few months old onwards.

No untoward after-effects at all.