Does your child watch TV?

brokensoul

Just wondering what general attitudes are to babies/toddlers and TV or screens.

My two are nearly 10 months old and they haven't seen any cartoons or ipad/phone games yet. I have read some research that suggests that they shouldn't be exposed to screens until they are 2 and am just wondering how feasible/fair that is?

fits

My plan is not to give them any screen time before two. that's the plan anyway 😄 I read a lot of the RIE stuff about encouraging independent play.

jlm29

brokensoul wrote: »

Just wondering what general attitudes are to babies/toddlers and TV or screens.

My two are nearly 10 months old and they haven't seen any cartoons or ipad/phone games yet. I have read some research that suggests that they shouldn't be exposed to screens until they are 2 and am just wondering how feasible/fair that is?

It's perfectly fair, they won't know any different if they don't see it, but it isn't always feasible, for me anyhow. My 17mo would see it a bit in the minders when the older kids are watching it. They usually do homework, then go outside and play, but seem to come in and watch a bit of tv for a short while before they're collected.
He also loves Thomas the tank, and I must confess, I sometimes put it on for him so I can have a shower, or empty the dishwasher without him "helping", or else On very clingy days where he wants to be in my arms constantly, and I need to cook a dinner.
I don't have an issue with TVs/screen time in moderation, but I do know that there's plenty evidence to suggest they shouldn't have any

shesty

Yes they do see tv, but I don't generally put it on to distract them.

My older child never saw it unless we watched it, until she was ten months and into the minders, and she would see it then, in the background.But she never sat still to watch it much, that was just her.Since no. 2 came, tv time has increased, because sometimes (as jlm says!!) It's the only way to get ten mins to get something done!We stick firmly to cbeebies and rtejr (no ads, more slow, toddler-based stuff) and actually we just don't have the other channels.I find my older is quite sensitive and a bit anxious to what she sees on it since she was small, so I actually have to keep a tight enough eye on what she watches because she gets quite disturbed by very simple things (characters losing their mammy or daddy, or 'scarey' looking things or people).She can tell me now to turn it off, but she couldn't when she small....she would cry a bit and scoot away from the tv if she saw something she didn't like.

We simply don't use phones, tablets etc to amuse/distract.They just don't feature that way in our house.The very odd time I've done it, I found the ensuing total meltdown when it was taken away or over, was not worth the 15 mins of peace.

As someone else said, I follow the RIE parenting a bit too, so I very much encourage entertaining themselves.My one year old is brilliant at scooting round the floor playing by herself for ages, but my older is not so good.But the Tv doesn't help her with that so I try to avoid it.

jester77

2 is old enough, they don't miss what they don't have. My 3 year old son watches a little bit of TV and my 1 year only gives it a passing glance when it is on, doesn't interest her at all.

My 3 year old plays some games on the tablet, there is one physics puzzler (Monument valley) and it just amazes me that he plays it and can finishes the levels. He just loves that game, the girl with the white hat is what he calls it.

farmchoice

i think there is an element of hysteria over the whole screen time /television thing.
like everything else ''everything in moderation''.

i probably grew up watching as much tv as my kids and i dont think it did me much harm.

some people have very strict rules x number of minutes a day etc.

i have found with my 3 and the eldest is 7 now that interest wax's and wanes he would go through periods of wanting to watch a lot to watching very little and spending all his time playing. when he was little ho loved all the cartoons but then around 6 lost all interest in them and spends all his time now playing football.

make as little of an issue of it as you can and it wont become some sort of forbidden fruit.

Ciarrai76

I have to say I do let my 10 month old watch tv, but it's usually only baby tv. He loves it, but it's not for hours on end. Sometimes only when I need to do a few things & to keep him distracted as he wants my attention a lot. He has sat & watched football with his daddy a few times! Lol

pwurple

Seems a little unachievable, unless you become hermit-like. How exactly do you avoid a baby seeing any screen for two years?

Do they never visit friends of family with a screen in their house?

missyb01

My 2yr3mo old is not interested in TV at all. She loves to watch videos on YouTube that she can sing and dance along to but only lasts 15 minutes & then she moves on to something else.
My friend has a 2 yr old and 3 yr old. She does pyjama day once a week. They stay in their pyjamas and watch movies all day. It amazes me because my lg would not sit still that long

Moonbeam

I have 4,all of them saw computers/tv/ipad/phone before they were 2.
In our case it was unavoidable due to my needs not theirs.
I often switched on the tv for the all night feeds,brought my 1st to daytime cinema for me not her.
Played nursery rhymes on the Tv when I was cooking or for an older child when I was trying to feed a younger one.
I have had kids in the sling when I was sitting at my laptop finishing work or doing on-call work.
I have stuck on the tv in my bedroom and tucked 4 of them in to my bed so I could have a shower.
What I didn't do is leave my small babies sitting in front of a screen instead of interacting with them .
My kids watch tv,play games on my laptop/tablet/phone, I also play boardgames with them, I play outside with them and all4 of them can behave in a restaurant with out a screen.
It is all about balance.

Anne_cordelia

pwurple wrote: »

Seems a little unachievable, unless you become hermit-like. How exactly do you avoid a baby seeing any screen for two years?

Do they never visit friends of family with a screen in their house?

My two are 3yrs and 1yrs old. They don't watch tv or use tablets/phones. We do visit family and friends who have screens but most turn them off when they have visitors. Same as before we had kids. Who sits and watches tv with visitors?! Also it's not like we go places and panic if the tv is on. We just don't use screens at home.

I also think that people use 'well it never did me any harm' to justify it with their own children.

shesty

missyb01 wrote: »

My 2yr3mo old is not interested in TV at all. She loves to watch videos on YouTube that she can sing and dance along to but only lasts 15 minutes & then she moves on to something else.
My friend has a 2 yr old and 3 yr old. She does pyjama day once a week. They stay in their pyjamas and watch movies all day. It amazes me because my lg would not sit still that long

My almost three year old was the same.Glad to hear someone else's like that.Zero interest in tv.The day I realised she had sat for ten minutes and watched something I was (bad parenting!) Very happy!!I don't have the tv on often, and she still won't sit for long.I don't let her at it for long either because she goes a bit loopy .

brokensoul

pwurple wrote: »

Seems a little unachievable, unless you become hermit-like. How exactly do you avoid a baby seeing any screen for two years?

Do they never visit friends of family with a screen in their house?

Ah of course they have seen a screen, what I am talking about is them actually watching tv shows of their own.

My mum always puts on the news when she is minding them and my little girl smiles away at the presenters as she thinks they are talking to her!

Ciarrai76

brokensoul wrote: »

Ah of course they have seen a screen, what I am talking about is them actually watching tv shows of their own.

My mum always puts on the news when she is minding them and my little girl smiles away at the presenters as she thinks they are talking to her!

I have usually got 'This morning' on while I make breakfast etc. I have done since I had him. There's an ad for PPI on the utv channel & every time it comes on he stops & looks at it & smiles at the man as if he's talking to him! I think he did the same as you mentioned when the news was on too!
Lately he's started dancing to music so I put in some of the music channels & he loves it! But it's mainly baby tv, which has loads of songs & nursery rhymes! Helps me remember them from when I was a kid as I'd forgotten so many!

It's up to us as parents to do what we feel is the right thing. Do what works for you & your kids.

pwurple

brokensoul wrote: »

Ah of course they have seen a screen, what I am talking about is them actually watching tv shows of their own.

My mum always puts on the news when she is minding them and my little girl smiles away at the presenters as she thinks they are talking to her!

Ah right, gotcha. In that case it's very easy.

My two have regular Skype chats with their cousins, because we are scattered across a few countries.

My eldest used to play on the tablet when I was making dinner, because it kept her out of trouble while I was messing about with ovens or boiling water, hob etc, and she was in cranky hungry hangry mode. Doesn't need it now that her baby sister is big enough to play with.

But yeah, we visit people with kids and they often have peppa porkchop or something on... I'm not going to demand TV off in someone elses house.

Babooshka

Moonbeam wrote: »

I have 4,all of them saw computers/tv/ipad/phone before they were 2.
In our case it was unavoidable due to my needs not theirs.
I often switched on the tv for the all night feeds,brought my 1st to daytime cinema for me not her.
Played nursery rhymes on the Tv when I was cooking or for an older child when I was trying to feed a younger one.
I have had kids in the sling when I was sitting at my laptop finishing work or doing on-call work.
I have stuck on the tv in my bedroom and tucked 4 of them in to my bed so I could have a shower.
What I didn't do is leave my small babies sitting in front of a screen instead of interacting with them/quote]

Thank you. So much common sense in this. How many extremely balanced, intelligent and sensitive people do we have on this planet who have all been exposed to television from infancy? Too many to mention. It's so true about it not being their sole source of stimulation all day but ten minutes while Mam takes a showe isn't going to ruin their development.