Babies vs media

[Flaya]

I just read a post on Instagram that babies under 18 months should not have any contact with media whatsoever, including TV, mobile phones etc. And even after that they should only be around the screens for maximum an hour. Of course I do understand why and I am trying to minimise amount of time the TV is on but it did make me feel like a really bad parent because I do often look into my phone and watch TV regularly around my six month old and people in comments were saying that they would never ? What do those people do on their maternity leave 😳 obviously we are reading lots of books and playing together but there’s also times when we don’t and this is how I fill out my free time. What do you mums do? Am I the only one watching tv while my baby is playing next to me?

Mine was a summer child, I spent a lot of time walking miles, going to parks, sitting outside reading or with toys, baking (her playing with bowls, flour etc) but I've got to say recently my mental health isn't great and I've been slipping into TV in the evening when it's dark. I got a radio for background noise prior to this. It's hard though, sometime so just want the mindlessness of tv

I always had the telly on in the background when on mat leave. I liked having the sound of the news/watched Pointless every day etc. Dc1 never showed any interest.

Dc2 saw a bit more kid tv as by that point dc2 was 3+ so tv was more child focused.

Firstly congratulations on your little one. Don't beat yourself up simply add the information to your growing encyclopedia and try a couple of actions to reduce screens a bit. My two loved music I used to pop on some music and have a bop- which either produced shocked silence or a fit of giggles. I read aloud to them a lot it doesn't have to be baby friendly , popped them in front of lava lamp, played peek a boo, sang badly etc. Gave a running commentary while cooking, hoovering etc. You having down time is important, happy mum happy baby.

I don’t have the tv on when I’m with my baby because I’ve read it can negatively impact on their speech development - partly because if the parent is watching tv they aren’t speaking to their baby, and partly because babies struggle to differentiate background noise from a parent talking to them so they miss out on that learning opportunity.

I also find my son stares at the tv and zones out instead of playing / interacting with me, so I prefer not to have it on.

I think as with anything, as long as you’re not doing it all the time it’s ok. If you think it’s a bit much then you can save tv for your baby’s nap times, and just make sure you have a couple of long stretches every day with no background tv or music etc where you’re talking to your baby lots.

@Toplowlight

I don’t have the tv on when I’m with my baby because I’ve read it can negatively impact on their speech development - partly because if the parent is watching tv they aren’t speaking to their baby, and partly because babies struggle to differentiate background noise from a parent talking to them so they miss out on that learning opportunity.

I also find my son stares at the tv and zones out instead of playing / interacting with me, so I prefer not to have it on.

I think as with anything, as long as you’re not doing it all the time it’s ok. If you think it’s a bit much then you can save tv for your baby’s nap times, and just make sure you have a couple of long stretches every day with no background tv or music etc where you’re talking to your baby lots.

Yeah I do the same, tv never on when baby around as I read the same thing about Tv and baby’s speech development. I only put tv on when baby naps.

Honestly @Flaya it’s fine to have the tv on a bit. Probably not wise to park the baby in a bouncer in front of it for 8 hours a day but it’s also ok to admit that often we just need to sit and zone out for a bit too. Sometimes I read replies on mumsnet and roll my eyes hard. A limited amount of tv, combined with love and due attention throughout, will be fine.

I watched tv a lot when I was feeding my babies. They were early to talk and as teenagers have enormous vocabularies

I watch TV and scroll all the time with my baby! Don't beat yourself up. As long as you aren't putting your baby in a bouncer in front of a screen all day I'm sure it won't have a negative effect. All this mum guilting these days is awful, enjoy your TV and your phone a happy mum is a happy baby.

I didn't have TV on when my DC were young. I've never watched TV during the day, I wouldn't have started because I had a baby. Smart phones weren't really thing so that wasn't an issue

I did what we all did, went to groups, met up with friends, did stuff around the house, went for walks etc. Obviously covid will have affected some of those so maybe those options aren't available currently.

We seriously restricted screens around DD1 as a baby, to the point where when it was on she would stare at it for ages in sheer fascination. However, during lockdown 1 (started when she was 15 months) I had to teach remotely while also looking after her, as grandparent childcare was a no go and that was who normally looked after her. While she was initially obsessed, the attraction soon waned and in fact she’s now the least bothered by tech of all her friends - much prefers playing with others and being outside. Her speech is outstanding - full, complex sentences well before she was two.

Obviously this is complete anecdata, but it makes me feel a lot better about DD2 seeing so much Paw Patrol in her first four months of life.