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Original poster

Screentime for 12 weeks old

156 replies

Butterscotchbaby · 13/01/2023 18:16

At the moment he watches a hey bear sensory video on you tube each day - he loves it, follows the screen im guessing more the light rather than the actual images - my question is am i doing him harm? Will it cause lasting damage? He also sits in his bouncer chair and plays with the dangling toys but also the tv in on in the room and he will look at that too!

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Nimbostratus100 · 14/01/2023 11:13

Yes it is developmentally damaging, as is having the radio/tv on in the same room as a baby. It interferes with their language development, it stops them scanning for human voices, voices that they can respond to, and that will respond to them

liveforsummer · 14/01/2023 11:18

I'm all for binging kids a screen in certain circumstances but at 12 weeks - absolutely no way! Let them watch you, stick them in front of the washing machine, pop them in a sling, a bouncy chair with a toy bar, a play mat with an arch? All far more fascinating for a baby anyway

Inmoremode · 14/01/2023 11:21

OnlyTheWeedsGrow · 14/01/2023 11:01

No, it is not recommended - and for good reasons.
My DC had no screens until 18 months old, but had plenty of eg. music, audio books, etc from iPad positioned so it was not visible to them. Wind up toys/mobiles/etc were great too, as the movement was all they focus on early on.

I’m afraid you’ve messed up as previous poster said even radio or tv on in the background disrupts babies development. You’ve done a terrible job of parenting.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

0-3 months old 3-6 months old Babies & sleep Families
OnlyTheWeedsGrow · 14/01/2023 11:26

Inmoremode · 14/01/2023 11:21

I’m afraid you’ve messed up as previous poster said even radio or tv on in the background disrupts babies development. You’ve done a terrible job of parenting.

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Nope - I’m pretty confident with what I’ve done. Based it on the neuroscience degree I hold where I studied this exact topic, amongst others. 😊

Lijay · 14/01/2023 11:38

Regularsizedrudy · 14/01/2023 10:54

Oh do fuck off. Maybe your baby is happy staring at curtains but mine would scream the house down. I’m so sick of people trying to shame mothers for doing what they need to do. A baby watching an age appropriate video for 15 mins will be absolutely fine. Motherhood is hard enough without us all shitting on each other.

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This 👏👏👏 thank you @Regularsizedrudy

theRig · 14/01/2023 12:01

The CRAP on this thread ?

BORE off ! I'm glad I don't know anyone like this

Op please don't listen and ask for the thread to be deleted - absolute awful advice you have on here

My daughter is 11 and is fine and can recognise human voices FFS

Rowen32 · 14/01/2023 13:29

Inmoremode · 14/01/2023 10:45

How do you know op isn’t doing all this? She is talking about 15 mins out of an entire 24 hours. How is it lazy to take 15 mins out of 24 hours to do some housework.

my baby also gets 8 mins screen time a day so I can sterilise the bottles as I like to focus on making sure they are properly cleaned - aside from those 8 minutes she does independent play in her play pen, plays with me in her playpen, goes for countryside and village walks, is carried round the house, watches me do housework, is sang to multiple times, goes for a walk round the garden, goes on a baby swing in the garden, watches her dog, naps, has a bottle, gets some food now we’ve started weaning and plays with spoons and high chair toys etc afterwards, does tummy time, practises the activities recommended by the baby sparks app and goes to baby sensory, baby yoga, messy adventures and to visit her grandparents farm to see cows and calves and other animals and visits her cousins every week. There’s nothing remotely lazy about using a tiny amount of screen time. So get a grip @Rowen32 women like you are responsible for making mothers feel inadequate if they take even a tiny bit of time for themselves to have a cup of tea or do some housework.

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Don't tell me to get a grip. If you can do those things there's no need to resort to screen time for 8 minutes or 15 minutes or whatever it is you choose. I'm perfectly entitled to my opinion. The dangers of screen time are well evidenced. Nap time which OP said is three hours is more than enough time for a cup of tea. Don't ask if you don't want to hear others' opinions, I'll go with my best judgement (and research etc🙄).

liveforsummer · 14/01/2023 13:33

The thing is screen time IS ridiculous for a 12 week old - OP must have thought it might the herself or wouldn't have posted.

Rowen32 · 14/01/2023 13:38

And in no way did I say OP is inadequate and I do not believe that at all (obviously that's triggered something in you). I know how hard it is and you have to be creative to entertain them - take screen time out as an option and there's loads a 12 week will enjoy, screen time doesn't have to be an option to resort to, not at that age.

Inmoremode · 14/01/2023 13:38

@Rowen32 would love to see the research into the detrimental effects of 8 -15 minutes of screen time per 24 hours? Oh that’s right it doesn’t exist! Let’s be honest that research is looking at neglectful parents who throw their kids in front of a tv all day.

Inmoremode · 14/01/2023 13:41

Rowen32 · 14/01/2023 13:38

And in no way did I say OP is inadequate and I do not believe that at all (obviously that's triggered something in you). I know how hard it is and you have to be creative to entertain them - take screen time out as an option and there's loads a 12 week will enjoy, screen time doesn't have to be an option to resort to, not at that age.

You called the op lazy - was that supposed to make her feel like a wonderful mum or make her feel bad about herself/ inadequate

KiwiMum2023 · 14/01/2023 13:42

WhatAmIDoingWrong123 · 13/01/2023 19:04

Do whatever you need to to get you through the day OP! @Butterscotchbaby

Ridiculous advice.

This is far too young to be plonked in front of a screen. Why can’t you give the baby a picture book?

Rowen32 · 14/01/2023 13:44

Oh flip off. I called the behaviour lazy, not the OP. And plenty of other people have called it ridiculous too which is the other word I used to describe it - why don't you attack them too? Bye bye now.

toddlermum83 · 14/01/2023 13:45

Lijay · 13/01/2023 21:19

Ah jeez it's 15 minutes of TV so OP can get something done. Not leaving a 12 week old in front of the TV for hours. I mean all babies accidentally watch some TV. Unless when you had newborns you sat in silence during the endless feeds and cuddles! I have images of these babies and mums sat in complete silence and babies being made to face curtains 🤣 (sorry!)

But you don't need to do it at that age. They are interested in the simplest of things! It's so sad to start so early when it's uneccesary.

buckingmad · 14/01/2023 13:48

I did. It was always a last resort but if I needed 3 mins to wash and sterilise a bottle then yes I did. Also used it on flights when she was 16 weeks old to keep her quiet.

I agree with others saying it can be a slippery slope though.

Nimbostratus100 · 14/01/2023 13:49

I am a teacher, I will recognise this child if they ever appear in my classroom, too much early screen time shows in poor concentration, poor communication and poor mental health

TimeToFlyNow · 14/01/2023 13:53

Nimbostratus100 · 14/01/2023 13:49

I am a teacher, I will recognise this child if they ever appear in my classroom, too much early screen time shows in poor concentration, poor communication and poor mental health

🤣🤣 15 mins a day of music and a dancing pineapple. Yeah of course you will

Inmoremode · 14/01/2023 13:55

Oh what a surprise - when you look at the actual studies you see that family income is the biggest predictor of screen time and the study doesn’t control for mothers intelligence/academic record which is one of the biggest predictors of child outcomes.

Family income was negatively related to screen time (χ2 = 25.8, df = 1, p
1 h of screen time per day, whereas 53.4% had ≤ 1 h of screen time per day; among children from higher income families, 35.7% had > 1 h of screen time per day and 64.2% had ≤ 1 h of screen time per day

bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-12701-3

Inmoremode · 14/01/2023 13:56

Nimbostratus100 · 14/01/2023 13:49

I am a teacher, I will recognise this child if they ever appear in my classroom, too much early screen time shows in poor concentration, poor communication and poor mental health

do you control for other factors such as income, living space and mothers education or do you just attribute all poor mental health to watching a hey bear video?

justwantobeamum · 14/01/2023 14:06

Yup no way for a 12 week old or any baby under 1 at least really. There’s no need. I hate seeing Instagram stories of peoples kids sat in a bouncy chair in front of the dancing veg!! Lazy parenting in my opinion. Pop baby in sling to hang your washing and wash up or bring them up and put them in a bouncer and let them watch you hang the washing you can flap the clothes in front of them talk to them or sing to them if they get grumpy.

Oncemoreoh · 14/01/2023 14:18

justwantobeamum · 14/01/2023 14:06

Yup no way for a 12 week old or any baby under 1 at least really. There’s no need. I hate seeing Instagram stories of peoples kids sat in a bouncy chair in front of the dancing veg!! Lazy parenting in my opinion. Pop baby in sling to hang your washing and wash up or bring them up and put them in a bouncer and let them watch you hang the washing you can flap the clothes in front of them talk to them or sing to them if they get grumpy.

slings “go against the advice to never put the baby to sleep on their tummy”, because a sling can press the baby’s stomach and face against the parent’s body.

The National SIDS register’s advice to always put a baby to sleep on its back, never on its side or stomach, has greatly reduced the incidence of SIDS.

slings also impact on hip development and can cause hip dysplasia. slings should not be used by babies under 6 months old.

a baby bouncer should also be used for no more than 20 mins.

liveforsummer · 14/01/2023 14:29

slings “go against the advice to never put the baby to sleep on their tummy”, because a sling can press the baby’s stomach and face against the parent’s body.

Oh come on now 🙈

Oncemoreoh · 14/01/2023 14:32

liveforsummer · 14/01/2023 14:29

slings “go against the advice to never put the baby to sleep on their tummy”, because a sling can press the baby’s stomach and face against the parent’s body.

Oh come on now 🙈

sorry we are only taking certain advice on this thread then?

In the past 20 years, 14 babies in the US have died while in baby slings of various types

Susanthehappytrottingelf · 14/01/2023 14:33

My kids get plenty of screentime but at that age they are literally amused by things like the trees in the wind and the concept of their own feet, why would you start screens?!

liveforsummer · 14/01/2023 15:50

In the past 20 years, 14 babies in the US have died while in baby slings of various types

How many of those met current Uk safety standards and /or were fitted properly?