That's why I don't let my kids watch. I hate the glazed over eyes.

Most kids are more engrossed in TV than other activities because it's so extremely stimulating. Being engrossed in TV is also not qualitatively the same as being engrossed in other activities because it's not the same sort of "attention." But that said, it's not going to kill him or anything.

If he continues to totally zone out and not have nearly the same attention span for anything else, however-- and I mean past 4 or 5 years old-- it could be a sign of ADHD. Just saying-- it was for me, and is a typical zone of hyper focus. Don't worry for now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 year old DS gets to watch a half hour to an hour of TV on the weekends. He turns into a zombie when watching, ignores me completely. I was jumping and waving my hands in front of the TV this weekend during his show and he shifted over so he could see the screen better, no other reaction to my antics. Normal or are we creating a TV addict?

Normal - ignore the TV crazies saying you are going to turn your son into an addict with an hour of TV a week. My kids (boys) get engrossed in everything, including coloring books and Legos. When they are into something, they are INTO it.

I totally agree with this. My three year old definitely zones out in front of a TV show but she also doesn't listen when she's doing stuff with her play-doh or stickers.

Normal. It's also normal for children to enjoy television -- that doesn't mean they are addicted. Limiting TV to a set time each day is how we do it. I've noticed that my kids tend to stare or obsess about the TV more than other kids when we go to homes where cartoons are left on constantly. It makes sense, because it has lost it's novelty on these children. In other words, they don't become addicted, but rather they are less TV obsessed because they do actually get tired of it after awhile.

Anonymous wrote:2 year old DS gets to watch a half hour to an hour of TV on the weekends. He turns into a zombie when watching, ignores me completely. I was jumping and waving my hands in front of the TV this weekend during his show and he shifted over so he could see the screen better, no other reaction to my antics. Normal or are we creating a TV addict?

Normal - ignore the TV crazies saying you are going to turn your son into an addict with an hour of TV a week. My kids (boys) get engrossed in everything, including coloring books and Legos. When they are into something, they are INTO it.

Anonymous wrote:Normal and creating an addict, yes.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Children's brains are not created for multi-tasking, especially boys. They are made to be absorbed into one activity fully, because they only live in the moment. What you describe is absolutely normal.

In our house (with slightly older kids), we say "It's okay to enjoy your show, but I'd like to you to keep your ears open for my voice please. I'll try not to bother you, but I may need to talk to you and would like for you to be listening for me."

Omg this sounds so annoying.

+1

Normal. Which is why I limit screen time (including iPad and phone) for little kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Children's brains are not created for multi-tasking, especially boys. They are made to be absorbed into one activity fully, because they only live in the moment. What you describe is absolutely normal.

In our house (with slightly older kids), we say "It's okay to enjoy your show, but I'd like to you to keep your ears open for my voice please. I'll try not to bother you, but I may need to talk to you and would like for you to be listening for me."

Omg this sounds so annoying.

Huh? I think this is a good idea.

Anonymous wrote:Children's brains are not created for multi-tasking, especially boys. They are made to be absorbed into one activity fully, because they only live in the moment. What you describe is absolutely normal.

In our house (with slightly older kids), we say "It's okay to enjoy your show, but I'd like to you to keep your ears open for my voice please. I'll try not to bother you, but I may need to talk to you and would like for you to be listening for me."

Omg this sounds so annoying.

Children's brains are not created for multi-tasking, especially boys. They are made to be absorbed into one activity fully, because they only live in the moment. What you describe is absolutely normal.

In our house (with slightly older kids), we say "It's okay to enjoy your show, but I'd like to you to keep your ears open for my voice please. I'll try not to bother you, but I may need to talk to you and would like for you to be listening for me."

It's normal. Every child I have ever known is like this when in front of a TV. I called it being "in the zone".

Normal - at that age, we only did Leap Frog and other learning videos.

Normal and creating an addict, yes.

2 year old DS gets to watch a half hour to an hour of TV on the weekends. He turns into a zombie when watching, ignores me completely. I was jumping and waving my hands in front of the TV this weekend during his show and he shifted over so he could see the screen better, no other reaction to my antics. Normal or are we creating a TV addict?