How much TV exposure for infants?

[Anonymous]

DD is 8 mos and we NEVER turn the TV on when she is around. I came to know of the AAP recommendation only when she was 4 mos old, and before that, I used to keep it on quite a bit - in retrospect, I realize, when the TV was on, she was just mesmerized by it, and would not take her eyes off of it..

[Anonymous]

"Exposure"? There is nothing wrong with TV, our kids actually learned much more from tv and ipads than books.

[Anonymous]

I am the previous PP and my reason is, I think I have ADD (self-diagnosed), and was myself addicted to the TV, Internet etc. and worry that if my daughter does have the same tendencies as me, then better to curtail this addiction/over-stimulation right now, rather than later..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is 8 mos and we NEVER turn the TV on when she is around. I came to know of the AAP recommendation only when she was 4 mos old, and before that, I used to keep it on quite a bit - in retrospect, I realize, when the TV was on, she was just mesmerized by it, and would not take her eyes off of it..

AAP is also the same organization that refuses to change their circumcision stance even though evidence is to the contary, so I don't really take their advice as 100% current. Meaning they are stuck in a mindset of 10 years late. Today's kid tv isn't mindless violence and killing cartoons of the 70s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is 8 mos and we NEVER turn the TV on when she is around. I came to know of the AAP recommendation only when she was 4 mos old, and before that, I used to keep it on quite a bit - in retrospect, I realize, when the TV was on, she was just mesmerized by it, and would not take her eyes off of it..

AAP is also the same organization that refuses to change their circumcision stance even though evidence is to the contary, so I don't really take their advice as 100% current. Meaning they are stuck in a mindset of 10 years late. Today's kid tv isn't mindless violence and killing cartoons of the 70s.

Its the addiction/mesmerisation that I am worried about, 'cos we can control the content, atleast up to a certain age. I have the hyper-focus tendencies attributed to ADD and can get caught up in distractions for hours at a time - the TV and internet are especially appealing for such people.

Anyways, enough of my rambling about ADD. Its just something I would be very vigilant about, regarding kids and electronic media. If they seem to be too caught up in it, to the exclusion of other activities, then its time to intervene. I think this would be more applicable to older kids.

[Anonymous]

DS is 9 months and has never watched TV. When he started noticing the TV we made a rule that it wouldn't be on when he was awake. To be honest I am really glad we made the rule. DH and I seem to talk to each other a lot more and I don't miss TV at all. Right now DS has plenty of other stuff to occupy him, like when I cook dinner he just crawls around and plays with his toys.

I don't think watching TV would destroy his brain or anything, but I just don't really see the point of placing him in front of the TV yet. But perhaps when I have another or he is a toddler I will understand?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is 8 mos and we NEVER turn the TV on when she is around. I came to know of the AAP recommendation only when she was 4 mos old, and before that, I used to keep it on quite a bit - in retrospect, I realize, when the TV was on, she was just mesmerized by it, and would not take her eyes off of it..

AAP is also the same organization that refuses to change their circumcision stance even though evidence is to the contary, so I don't really take their advice as 100% current. Meaning they are stuck in a mindset of 10 years late. Today's kid tv isn't mindless violence and killing cartoons of the 70s.

Ignoring the circ comment since I think you are just trying to start an argument the AAP's study recommended against any tv not just killing cartoons. It actually even noted that when parents watched the news the kids were distracted by it. I am pretty sure it has more to do with attention spans and not violence . . . otherwise wouldn't their recommendation be against violence?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious to hear everyone's no-tv reasons.

Two reasons.
One: It's just our lifestyle. TV is not a big form of entertainment in our home. There's one, it's not in a central place in the room, and although it's been on a lot lately due to the Olympics we can easily go three weeks or more without turning it on at all. When we want background noise we turn on the radio or Pandora or something.

Two: I believe that the way kids tv shows are filmed these days encourages short attention spans. Look at 30 seconds of Mr. Rogers and then 30 seconds of a current tv show. Consider how low and calming Mr. Rogers' voice was, and how high-pitched and squealy the voices are now. Count how many screen jumps there are on Mr. Rogers and then how many screen jumps there are on the current show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Exposure"? There is nothing wrong with TV, our kids actually learned much more from tv and ipads than books.

Young kids have little to no benefit from TV. Vocabulary growth is directly related to books, not TV or electronics.

We essentially followed the no TV under 2 recommendation. I don't see the point of putting an infant in front of the television and could only see how it would be detrimental, not beneficial.

[Anonymous]

My first didn't watch any tv until she was about 3.5 or a little later. This was mostly due to the fact that when we come home from work, we are very busy with dinner, playing, bath, and bed. Now she gets to watch 1/2 hour of Barney or Sesame Street while I iron my clothes for the next day. My second still isn't watching much tv at almost 2.5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious to hear everyone's no-tv reasons.

I'm curious why people are putting infants in front of a TV?

[Anonymous]

i stopped reading at page three. i'm surprised by how many parents say that they need the background noise of tv. that's how we were, also, before our DS was born. he's now 18-months. the tv was on most of the time for the first 2-3 months after he was born. nursing, even at night, required lots of Bravo. but around 3 months, he started to notice the flashing lights of the tv, and we started to leave it off. turn on the radio, music, sing, anything else that makes noise. we talk to him a lot.

at 18-months, he's never "watched" television. he knows what it is because he's caught glimpses of it, but he's never asked for it and probably doesn't really get it, and that's fine with us for now. there are evenings when i wish i could plop him in front of elmo and make dinner, but we decided not to do that, and we're trying to stick to it.

[Anonymous]

DC is nearly 2 and doesn't watch any TV. I occasionally let her watch little family videos on our iPhone but only maybe a couple of times a month. I don't plan to introduce it anytime soon, as we are doing fine with activities (and don't plan to have another).

OP's friends are not alone, though. I know at least one parent who had her son in front of the TV constantly and was so proud when one of his first words was to demand more TV. Pretty much any time he fussed she gave him food or put in a DVD. At that extreme, I did judge, but the other people I know who use TV for 30-60 minutes a day to get a break? No judgment. Our DD is really laid-back and I know not every kid will sit and draw (or whatever) while you work in the kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious to hear everyone's no-tv reasons.

Two reasons.
One: It's just our lifestyle. TV is not a big form of entertainment in our home. There's one, it's not in a central place in the room, and although it's been on a lot lately due to the Olympics we can easily go three weeks or more without turning it on at all. When we want background noise we turn on the radio or Pandora or something.

Two: I believe that the way kids tv shows are filmed these days encourages short attention spans. Look at 30 seconds of Mr. Rogers and then 30 seconds of a current tv show. Consider how low and calming Mr. Rogers' voice was, and how high-pitched and squealy the voices are now. Count how many screen jumps there are on Mr. Rogers and then how many screen jumps there are on the current show.

+1

Three: I don't have the desire or the money to buy all the branded crap kids beg for once they start watching things like Dora.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is 8 mos and we NEVER turn the TV on when she is around. I came to know of the AAP recommendation only when she was 4 mos old, and before that, I used to keep it on quite a bit - in retrospect, I realize, when the TV was on, she was just mesmerized by it, and would not take her eyes off of it..

AAP is also the same organization that refuses to change their circumcision stance even though evidence is to the contary, so I don't really take their advice as 100% current. Meaning they are stuck in a mindset of 10 years late. Today's kid tv isn't mindless violence and killing cartoons of the 70s.

No, it's whining and snotty behavior toward other kids. Not the same, but not necessarily an improvement in terms of what we see kids imitating.