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Television

40 replies

pablopatito · 15/07/2005 09:30

After spending the first 2 and a half months of our newborns life spending hours sitting over him with various toys going 'goo goo, what this? oh, look at this etc etc', I've now found that he's just as happy to watch the Simpsons instead.

This has obvious advantages like (a) I can watch the Simpsons (b) I can sit on the sofa (c) I can have a hot drink (d) I can eat with two handsetc etc.

Is this bad for him? I figure at this age they just need noise and lights and it doesn't really make any difference whether that's your own voice & real toys, or Homer Simpson and cartoons.

(I don't think he specifically like the Simpsons, he seemed fascinated by BBC's breakfast program this morning).

Should I feel guilty?

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HappyDaddy · 15/07/2005 14:27

Well, ok ladies I concede. I'm a bloke after all.

Flamesparrow · 15/07/2005 14:32

Can I be a bloke too HD?

My tv is on most of the time (or it was before I fell pregnant... gone off noise at the moment). It is more of a comforting background thing for me. Even if I am reading in the evening then the tv is normally on, with the sound down .

lunavix · 15/07/2005 15:59

Flame - totally agree.

I'm actually struggling a little with no tv, I don't want it at home because ds will watch it and I am usually doing stuff with the kids but I like it on in the background. It's on when I cook, am on MN, read, I like the comfort of other people talking! There's too much 'little people talk' in my hosue!

It's the reason we got freeview, I was hoping to compromise by having the music channels on (we were trying the radio instead) but no they just sit and watch that so it had to go too.

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BelleFleur · 04/04/2006 00:08

Hello. Am new to mumsnet. It's fab! Anyway, my 3,5 month old ds watches cbeebies with his 2,5 year old sister! He tries to watch tv even when I hold him! My dd still learns so much from cbeebies: new words every day! She started watching the fimbles at 8 months. But ds is still so small. What should I do? Not let him watch it at all? Is it really bad for babies?

maximillion · 04/04/2006 00:12

DD1 watched Simpsons from about 8 months to 2.5 years (not constantly, natch) and then said it was 'frightening' - might have been one of the Treehouse of Horror specials! Mind you she now thinks Finding nemo, Rubbadubbas (sharks) and Lazytown are all too scary too watch, as is Swiper the fox in Dora. Bonus as I can't stand any of these things either. She loves watching Corrie with me, which is nice as I watched it with my dad. Bit hard trying to explain what is happening to Mike Baldwin tho and not looking forward to his demise on Friday night.

handlemecarefully · 04/04/2006 00:13

NO! emphatically, you shouldn't feel guilty.

After having had 2 small children in fairly quick succession (and nearly having gone barmy in the process) I have recently realised that I am doing well if:

  • I haven't shouted or behaved irrationally towards the children
  • I've told them I love them / have had fun with them as some point during the day

Must confess I do worry if they watch too much tv, but much less than I use to. My 23 month old and 2.9 yr old sometimes watch up to 3 hours per day (not all at once) - which would give some mumsnetters a fit of apoplexy. But I'm happy (and so are they)

bourneville · 04/04/2006 00:18

haven't read thread, only skimmed, will read, trying to force myself off line (only have dial up) and will then read properly...

in answer to OP, i have read tv is bad for very little people, but tbh i would have gone absolutely nuts without daytime telly when dd was a baby. schedule: GMTV, Trisha, This Morning, the News, Neighbours, Doctors, that one with dick van dyke i always forget the name, murder she wrote, escape to the country, countdown, neighbours again Grin, simpsons, (for a while was it superman the early years or was that at 6:30?)........................gee i miss it!! i think i would've been concerned though if dd was staring at the telly all that time - she rarely did (a lot of the time was spent at the breast anyway!)

now dd is 2.7 i hardly have the telly on at all, and my comment about missing it isn't actually true, i really enjoy playing with dd but have to say am sick of her nursery rhyme cds!! I occasionally put one of dd's dvds on esp if we've been particularly busy/out & about, and i allow myself Neighbours & the Simpsons after tea (that is mummy's time and dd has learnt the hard way there is no interrupting mummy when neighbours is on!! It's not that neighbours itself is important, just that half hour that i allow myslf NOT to focus on dd at the end of the day when i'm tired...)

so i would say, pablopatito, if i were u i'd watch all you like while it doesn't affect your ds in terms of the time you spend with him and before he will want to take control of what you watch!

bourneville · 04/04/2006 00:38

ok i'm back! I have to agree with enid about telly on when kids aren't watching it. It really bugs me if i've put something on for dd and she wanders off to play instead (esp if completely out of the room!) I warn her I'm gonna turn it off if she walks away and sometimes she actually agrees she wants me to! I also make a point of not always using it as babysitter, and actually sitting and watching it with her and talking about what we're watching. I think kids surely pick up on the fact that tv is for when mummy doesn't want to play with me. (I think it was on mumsnet someone knew a 4 yr old boy who actually said that). My mum gave me a popcorn maker for xmas and every couple of weeks me & dd will make popcorn, turn lights off close curtains & watch a film she's never seen before. i am amazed that at 2.7 she can pretty much concentrate through a whole film! :)

can't stand cbeebies. haven't watched much but every time i attempt to put it on for a bit it just stresses me out so much! I cannot IMAGINE getting through a whole day with cbeebies on in the background like some people on MN seem to...

handlemecarefully · 04/04/2006 00:45

Mine definitely know that tv is for when mummy doesn't want to play with them - but they are happy to be complicit in that.

bourneville · 04/04/2006 01:02

true, handlemecarefully - and it's not as if i'm sitting in the other room reading a magazine at the time either! Usually might be making tea or something, and dd seems to have grasped the importance of that Grin

Callisto · 04/04/2006 11:23

There has been a lot of research into the effects of tv on babies and young children and none of the effects are good. There is a strong link between too much tv and adhd - babies brains cannot cope with the fast moving images and quick cutting between scenes and brain developement can be hampered. I don't know how much tv is 'ok' per day but I don't let my dd (1 year) watch any and I don't have a problem getting things done (and I work from home with no childcare of any kind). I am not planning on allowing any tv until she is at least two.

handlemecarefully · 04/04/2006 13:23

lol!

FairyMum · 04/04/2006 13:32

I always left mine in front of the tv for short period of times. Anything to get a break I say. Just not Thrisha!

handlemecarefully · 04/04/2006 17:37

Definitely not Trisha - lol!

fayee200xx · 26/12/2021 01:41

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