Obsessed with TV - doesn't like toys - is there something wrong with him?

[Truffy18]

My 6 months old son is worrying me. He cries more now than ever before and for a great majority of the day when there appears to be nothing else wrong (i.e. not hungry, tired etc). I give him lots of attention and he has numerous toys but the ONLY thing that will keep him happy for more than 3 minutes is Brainy Baby DVD (bit like Baby Einstein DVD's). He can watch this for an hour or more but will only play with a toy (with me helping him) for approximately 2-3 minutes before screaming. Am I worrying over nothing or is there something wrong with him? Should I let him watch the TV for an easy life or keep trying with toys?

Advice gratefully received - Thanks!

With young babies I have found that the Baby DVDs can be very good at calming them down. But I do not feel they should be used for prolonged periods, luckily most are quite short in length (if you don't have the dvd player setup to autorepeat).

Too many toys can be a problem. Babies can be over stimulated. I find it is better to have toys stored in boxes, so baby can't see them - but can crawl to the box (when able to crawl) to request a toy. Attention span of babies can be very short, they get quickly bored. So don't give up on playing with toys with him, but do watch for the signs of 'enough' so that he gets to play with something different after a few minutes.

When grumpy, take baby for a walk, in a sling or buggy. Car trips can also help soothe some children.

I wouldn't worry about things at this stage, and I would keep trying toys as well as interaction with you. Use TV for when it gets a bit much and you need a cup of tea!

try baby tv on sky channel 626. they have short series so after 5 minutes its over and he may focus his interest on something else.

has this been happening for a long time? because when my daughter is sick all she wants to do is watch the tv and it may last 1 or 2 days

It has been happening gradually but very much so over the last week. He does have a snuffly nose at the moment but other than that seems fine. We did go away at the weekend and his routine was all over the place. He now wakes up at 5am every morning instead of sleeping 7pm-7am (lucky I know!) so I don't know if he's tired? I'm just concerned that if he then sleeps too much in the day he won't sleep at night and then the vicious cycle continues.

I don't think six month olds need or want toys. They just want you, to watch the leaves move in the trees above their pram, to chew stuff, have faces pulled at them, to look at their mobile for a few minutes, go for walks, sleep, eat and be cuddled. I don't think it's great for such young babies to watch tv on their own for long periods. Tbh, if he's crying a lot and he's not hungry, he's almost certainly tired. Take him for a walk and go and have a coffee while you are out. Ah, the lovely days of only having one gorgeous but non-mobile baby!

I have heard early pre-play skills described as "sensory muckaround" that's probably why your ds likes BrainyBaby- it's visual sensory muckaround. He's too little to be playing. Have you tried a sling? It can help babies who cry a lot. I'd recommend the ergo if you want to be able to get on with stuff- I used to chuck ds3 in there and get on with everything else.