Baby has watched tv for 4 hours?

[humanpotato]

I'm just wondering how bad this is for my baby? So, he's 7 months and tonight I went out for a few hours to go to a psychic night my baby's grandad baby sat for me from 6pm till 10pm ... when I came home he said he's been no bother he's been wide awake watching toddler tv from 6 till 20 to 10 absolutely glued... then he fell asleep... I said well yeah he definitely won't go to sleep if he's sat in-front of the tv... he will watch it for as long as you let him... I didn't say anything other than that just cause I'm grateful that he babysat and he wouldn't have thought anything of it...

Anyway, I know this must be really bad for my baby and his brain but how bad is tv for him at his age? I do let him watch a bit of it but that's different from 4 whole hours... so now I feel really bad about it... 😔

I never thought of putting condensed milk on sandwiches! Now it’s on my list of things to try.

Has anyone got a link to a medical journal for the research showing the harm that screens do to babies? I can’t find any actual evidence online, and we have a baby on the way, so would like to have a read if poss

I know a few people have commented saying to let it go. I'd just like to point out I have, and I didn't say anything to him other than "aw he won't sleep if he's watching tv" but I wasn't nasty about it, I was just pointing it out.

I'm just wondering more so why is it actually bad for babies to watch so much tv? I know it's not ideal that he watched it for all those hours and it's probably not the end of the world. But why is it so bad for baby? ☹️

I stuck my eldest in front of a TV, when she was a baby.

megacat · Today 07:35
How does watching tv damage a babies brain?“

this. Isn’t tv aimed at babies developed specifically to stimulate their brains?

how old is grandad?

I am grateful he baby sat, and I didn't "react" towards him I've just posted on mums net just with some concern and wondering what is the effect of too much tv for a baby? I know it isn't the end of the world... but people always make out that too much tv is really bad for babies so I'm just wondering what effect it has.

My 6 year old grandson watches hours and hours of tv and is the brightest boy in his class. His vocabulary is exceptional, he has so much knowledge that his teachers are amazed what he knows for his age. When he says something and you ask how he knows it, he says he saw it on tv.

It isn't bad, it won't have any effect.

TV is only discouraged because if your children are sat all day every day watching TV, they are not running around, they are not interacting with you, they are not learning about the world, they are not being social or creative.

TV doesn't cause harm, it's not having those other things which causes harm.

Watching with interest as I also don't know why it's not recommended - the WHO guidance doesn't really explain!

I totally agree with PP's point that obviously later in life it's not great to just leave a child in front of a TV day after day, but my baby LOVES the tv when it's on (she's only 5 months) and I would like to better understand the guidance in case I'm being too relaxed about it.

Genuine question for those who follow no screens until 2 - do you just never have the tv on when the baby is in the room? I see so much about breastfeeding and saying make sure you have plenty of box sets to watch etc but if I had the tv on while feeding she would be craning her neck to watch!

Maybe you need to give instructions? How old is Grandad? I wouldn’t bother with a Psychic night though!

Exactly how you should react to someone looking after your kid.

@BertieBotts thank you that's very helpful! That's what I thought hence why I'm relaxed about it as I know she gets plenty of stimulation elsewhere, but some people adhere to it so strictly (which is also fine) that I was worried I was missing something from a health perspective.

As a one off it’s not, and occasionally or even regularly for short periods it won’t do any harm at all.

It can be harmful when kids are in front of the TV to the extent hat they missing out social interaction, not learning to self-soothe or entertain themselves, or they are sedentary and putting on weight etc.

Honestly it's definitely not the end of the world op and I would say more people do it than they actually let on. I for one let my eldest watch a lot tv because some times you can't be a super hero all day, mummies need down time too.

You sound like a lovely mama though 🥰

People who say they don't let their kids watch tv must have the patience of a saint or have things planned to do all the time

My boy is 14 months and the tv is on in my house all day 😂 I must be a terrible parent

I would add he isn't constantly watching it he plays with all his toys and we do play together and obviously we do leave the house 😂

Complete non issue, your baby will be none the worse for it.

@925XX what, pray tell, is a condensed milk butty? How the hell do you make a butty out of condensed milk???

I think we might be related!
What do your parents look like?

@Fupoffyagrasshole I absolutely love your relaxed attitude 😎

OP baby will be fine, there will be no long lasting effects on his brain from an evening of TV.

I love this good for you

@humanpotato As others have said it’s because it distracts the baby from interactions that are beneficial to its social and cognitive development.

I can see with mine that the minute someone turns the TV on around him he stops playing with his toys or interacting with the people around him to gaze at the TV. And yes there are some programmes designed for children’s learning and development but generally speaking watching TV is an extremely passive activity and it’s better for them to be doing something active.

Occasional limited viewing isn’t going to hurt, eg during babysitting, but we’re trying very hard not to have TV around him simply because I think it will be easier to limit his TV consumption if it’s just something he doesn’t do. If I can keep this up until he’s 2 I’ll be very happy!

It will have no long term effects, he might even learn something. DDs nana did similar at 16 months & DD learnt to count from it & shocked us by counting our stairs a day later.

Not great 24/7 ofc, but kids tv can be educational, so not exactly child abuse

Your baby will be fine but your dad or FIL shouldn't be allowed to babysit again, as he has no idea how to care for babies . He should have done baby's routine and out baby to bed not expect him or her to magically fall asleep (whilst also watching TV!!) sounds like he has always been a passive lazy parent himself

4 hours is a lot of TV and overstimulation for a baby

TV after 9pm is past the watershed so baby may have seen some disturbing images

A one off is 'water under the bridge' but he mustn't do this again. TV goes off when babysitting unless it's The Night Garden... or the children are already asleep upstairs

Watching tv doesn’t cause an insidious infection that will “damage” or “rot” a child’s brain.

Watching TV in place of talking to, playing with and interacting with your baby will delay their development and getting them reliant on TV will impede your ability to get them motivated to do other things.

Please don’t worry about a few hours here and there. Babies with older siblings watch a lot of TV and there’s hardly an epidemic of underdeveloped brain rotted second born children!

This TV guidance is another stick we could use to beat ourselves with but the occasional watch is never going to do any harm.

he might even learn something. DDs nana did similar at 16 months

He might learn a whole raft of forensic techniques with dead bodies from CSI
Or how to pithily shout "Die you MotherFucker" whilst shooting someone in the face and jumping off a building ...

There's childrens TV which can be educational (as long as not used every day all day) and there's inappropriate & disturbing TV for children and babies hence UK on terrestrial channels has a watershed of 9pm. With streaming services it's become more fluid now but am not loving DD's grandma's approach!