Have I let my baby watch too much cocomelon

[Roseyrhubard]

Had a right few days with my 7 month old recently. We’ve put it down to teething as all the signs are there. However he has been throwing some serious tantrums and the days have been long. He is very whingey at the minute. He’s always been a little like this, at 4 months he used to cry at people a lot but he grew out of it so I’m hoping this will soon go too.

ive always let him watch tv from probably about 8-12 weeks old. Started with the dancing fruits and then cocomelon. Now I often put it on when I want to get stuff done around the house. (He does go in his jumperoo a lot too). I know you aren’t supposed to let them have a lot of screen time but it keeps him quiet and I still have a house to get on top of. Just read something that popped up online that links cocomelon to tantrums and now I’m massively over thinking it? Shall I take it away completely? Not sure how I would get anything done though. I often pop him in the high chair with toys have it on in background etc. I just feel like there’s so much pressure on being this perfect mum, i would love to sit and play with him all the time but I still have 1000 other things to do.

Well you'll now get loads of people telling you that you shouldn't let baby watch any TV, there was a thread a few weeks ago about it.

My dil did mention the link to tantrums and cocomelon a while ago, I know she stopped putting it on for dgd for a while

You're overthinking it. It's fine. He's not sat in front of the telly all day is he, so don't worry & give yourself a break.

My daughter loved it so much we now have the album in the car too 😵‍💫 thankfully she's outgrowing it!

yes take it away, no need to use screens with babies .

My DD is 3.5yrs old. If she has too much screen time her behaviour is much worse. On days when she has no screen time or very little, she is noticeably more pleasant to be around.

I’m not anti-screens at all, but I would keep an eye, especially as your baby gets older, and be aware that any screen time (Cocomelon or otherwise) could have a negative impact on their behaviour and general well-being.

I would start by not automatically putting it on in the background.

Try not to put pressure on yourself to be the perfect Mum - there is no such thing!

You do need to get the minimum done at home. But there are better ways to entertain your child. Some screen time would be ok. But at 7 months I really wouldn’t be making a habit of it.

Your baby will be fine. And you get a break too. Win. Win.

He's not having a tantrum at 7 months old, honestly don't worry about the screen time. Limit the jumperoo however as it's awful for their hips/spine!

Some screen time is absolutely fine, but cocomelon is so frantic and designed to deliver those short hits of dopamine, which is why it’s linked to tantrums. There are much nicer slower paced shows - the baby club, Jojo and GranGran, Ms Rachel etc. could you try them and see if the tantrums improve?

Both my two have watched TV as babies and sometimes what I'd consider to be quite a lot tbh. However this was mostly whilst being cuddled by me when they were unsettled/tired/unwell and it was the only thing they wanted to do as they felt too crap to do anytbing else I guess.

So, I'm absolutely not judging screen time use. The only thing I will say is that I genuinely didn't 'keep on top' of the house whilst caring for a baby. I might do some bits whilst they napped. Otherwise I never did more than a super quick meal cooked or hanging washing up or whatever. Everything else we would do in evenings once DH was back home or on the weekends. The house was often a bombsite, still is now and my youngest is now 16 months! But that's a choice I made, I would rather focus the vast majority of my time caring for them actually being present with them. So they never have watched telly alone whilst I'm doing jobs as babies.

Agreed

Your baba will be fine. X

Your post talks a lot about putting him in the high chair, in the jumperoo, in front of the TV...
I'm not judging, I promise, but wanted you encourage you to think about how much you do this compared to how much you play with him/go out with him, etc.
I expect it's just the way you worded your post, but the housework honestly isn't as important as your baby. And they really need human interaction to develop.
Like I said, I'm sure it's just the way the post was written, it is just that it jumped out at me as I read it. Do you need to relax the pressure you are putting on yourself to do housework? Are you getting enough support?

It feels like he is at the moment I feel like for a baby he has a very bad temper and flips from kicking off to being happy so fast. Maybe tantrum isn’t the right word but it seemed appropriate after the day I’ve had. Jumperoo- He probably isn’t in it for longer than 10 mins per time a couple times a day but he just loves it and again I can run around the kitchen quick whilst he’s in it and clean up. I find it so hard to occupy him at the moment when I want to get things done.

I can't stand cocomelon it would give me a tantrum so personally I'd put on something else.
Take the pressure off you don't need perfection or a beautiful tidy house baby will be running around before you know it.

7 month olds don’t have tantrums.

I don't think you necessarily need to take screens away completely but maybe find a different thing to put on? I've read a few things about how Cocomelon is a hyper-stimulant for babies. With my DD9months, we watch Bluey or Disney films!

Yes, you will get a feel for which are the stressful, fast ones which ultimately will stress stress them out.

I'd actually say Cocomelon is somewhere in the middle.

Paw Patrol is the worst - that theme tune omg

Nice ones are: Jojo and Gran Gran, the clangers, Abney and Teal.

But a bit of Cocomelon occasionally is fine too. I tend to use tv when they are tired out and need to decompress a bit. Never when they are full of energy as behaviour does deteriorate then.

i probably should have mentioned that sometimes I go out all day visiting family so some days he does watch very little. I feel like this relates to the days I decide to stay in. Or when I come home and I want to do a few things before my partner gets in. I don’t sit him in front of it all day at all. We do play and we often go out. It’s just finding a balance I guess…

Firstly, babies don’t have tantrums.

Secondly, it depends on your definition of “fine”.

If you are going to let your baby watch tv, and I really do think from 8-12 weeks and under a year is far too young and very damaging, they shouldn’t be watching Cocomelon.

Due to the way Cocomelon presents itself (the FPS rate is awful), it is literally rewiring your baby’s brain so they need to be entertained faster and faster, causing upset when what they want isn’t immediate.

Cocomelon is a hyper stimulant and acts as a drug to your babies brain. So if you think that’s fine, then yeah, your baby will be “fine”.

The important thing to remember here is that you have a baby - you’re not meant to spend your time “getting things done”.

But since I think you’re going to carry on with tv anyway, you need to change the show to something like Ms Rachel.

I'd use screens as little as possible at this age. It's not great for them. It's not terrible and there some days you just need to do whatever works, but ideally that would be a minority of days, not a majority.

A baby of that age should be encouraged to explore and entertain themselves. It's so important for children to have this skill and if the TV is the go-to option everytime you're not entertaining them they just won't develop it. You'll have 2, 3, 4 year old who can't play independently/entertain themselves so the screen time is needed more and more.

Is he sitting up? If so, you could look into treasure baskets' they're usually good to keep them busy for 10 mins. Sensory bags/toys are also good for 10 mins. If he's crawling make a safe zone for him and put some interesting things around to encourage him to move about.

I got things done when my two napped or put him in a bouncer with a toy. Does he need entertainment constantly and wouldn't play with toys at all on his own when you hoover or hang up the washing? Dishwasher washing up I'd do when asleep due to kitchen tiles.

Both my children were not interested in TV before they were 18 months so never really thought about it.

You know what, I think this is why it’s difficult as he is sitting up but still a tad wobbly so of course I don’t just leave him sat there we sit together and then I have to put him somewhere if I need to leave the room. once he’s more stable I think he will be able to play much better, and then crawling even better I think he gets frustrated.

P.s. I went to a class or out every day. Staying inside all day with a baby would mean my day would never end if that makes sense

How much are they watching it through the day?

I'm not anti screen time at all but I think coco melon is absolutely awful. The voices are horrendous, they go right through me and the constant changing from one thing to another is not good for their brains.

I agree you need to be able to get jobs done but I think you'd be better to take the baby round the house with you. So when I need to put the washing away I put my son in his cot with some toys and I sing to him etc and will keep him entertained for long enough for me get upstairs in order.

Are you worried about that specific program or about the amount of time your baby is spending in front of the Tv?

You have an easy solution rathe possible link between his behaviour and this program. Just switch to something else!
It’s easy, won’t change what you are currently doing that much and will give some some peace of mind. Look at your dc behaviour and see if there is any changes.

What I noticed is that you think he is more ‘unsettled’ when you want things done.
It always is. Simply because when you want/need to do something, you can’t give them your whole attention and respond straight away. But also because you will notice he grumbled MORE when you want to do something then when you are relaxed and simply focusing on him!
And it will be at ‘that time of the day’ when babies are unsettled, grumble etc.. because they are more tired, it’s the end of the day etc….