Category: Technology
Posted by Megan Burleson on Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 12:26 PMIs TV a good or bad thing for babies?
My 5-month-old loves to watch television. I'm not sure how I feel about this.
At first, it started with one of those Baby Einstein DVDs when he was 3 months old. I saw it at Babys R Us and picked it up thinking there was no way he would have the attention span to watch something 25 minutes long. That night I sat him in his bouncy chair in front of the TV and watched it with him.
To my amazement, he sat through the whole thing, bouncing his chair to the music, giggling at the puppets and looking up at the TV without a blink. At first I thought: "Hey! I can put this on and clean up around here! Yay for found time!" Then I started to get the pangs of guilt. Starting him on television at such a young age; what have I done?
After telling my husband about this, he got excited. I woke up one morning, thinking how nice it was that my husband let me sleep in and walked into the family room where my 3-month-old son was watching "Spiderman" with his daddy. You should have seen the huge smile on my husband's face as he proclaimed: "He LOVES Spiderman!"
An excuse to watch cartoons?! Excellent!
Phhff. Boys.
After talking about it for some time, we have agreed educational programming would be better at this age. I never thought I would be having that conversation so early, but "Sesame Street" is now taking up space on the TiVo, and we Netflix Pocoyo for him - we have found out he has a thing for British accents!
I have made it a point not to use the TV as a babysitter and we don't keep it on all day. He watches 20 minutes of a program, tops! It irks me a bit that he will stop breastfeeding to look at the television for a moment, then latch back on. I make sure it is off during feeding time.
Do you have a television policy in your home?
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why TV is not good for babies
I cannot think of one good reason for a child to watch TV, besides it keeps them quiet for awhile. It will not help them to develop any skill that they could not learn in a different way. Even though they may like it, it is your job as their parent to teach them what is right. The research is clear that child learn best with social interaction, so even "educational TV" cannot teach a child as effectively or efficiently as a parent can. Research has also demonstrated repeatedly that TV before age 3 effects attention abilities later in life. TV viewing is a habit that even teens and adults have difficulty breaking. So many people complain about not having enough time, but will spend an hour (or two or three) each day watching television. It is a habit I do want my children to get into. Think how much extra time they will have as adults! Children learn best from playing and running around in the fresh air. Our family allows TV only sporadically maybe once a week, and use it as a reward for behaving appropriately. And it is only educational, which are available VERY cheaper used (usually about $1.00) or totally free from the library. We NEVER expose our children to adult programs. If I want to watch it, I watch it when they are sleeping.
T.V. for Babies??
My son loved t.v. as a baby. He ended up graduating from Harvard Magna Cum Laude so don't worry about it.
T.V. for Babies??
My son loved t.v. as a baby. He ended up graduating from Harvard Magna Cum Laude so don't worry about it.
T.V. for Babies??
My son loved t.v. as a baby. He ended up graduating from Harvard Magna Cum Laude so don't worry about it.
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