Bubs watching TV

[Dotti8]

Hi

I am a bit concerned about how obsessed my 3.5 month old DD is with the tv. I realise it is just sound and lights flashing which is attracting her but should I be worried at this stage about content of the tv programme? Also what is it doing to her eye sight/development??

Unfortunately DH and I are tv watchers. The tv is on most of the time. It is something I have been trying to reduce whilst on mat leave but it is a hard habit to break.

I don't want to give the wrong impression. DD has plenty of outdoor time (in her rocker), walks in baby bjorn and pram and other outings etc. But at 3.5 months I admit keeping her entertained during awake time is getting difficult (she's just starting to learn to reach for things, tries to roll with limited success and has discovered her fists taste good but that's about it). So when I just need to sit down for 30 minutes, I will leave her on her play mat in the living room and notice her eyes are often wandering to the tv. If I notice her watching for too long I move her around so she can't see (doesn't stop the head craning to try and find the source of the noise though!) or eventually turn it off. However, there have been occasions where I've just been relieved that she is preoccupied so I can run and put a load of washing on or do some cleaning etc.

Is some tv ok? Is she young enough not to worry about what kind of programme she is watching?

I am hoping this might just be a phase but if I leave it unchecked I don't want it to grow into a habit for her as well!

Any advice/feedback appreciated!

[CrazyCat]

Anything I have ever read or heard say children should not be watching any tv for the first 2 years of their life!
Apparently the colours, movements, noise etc is over-stimulating and is a cause of A.D.D or A.D.H.D and whatever else.
I know people that sit their kids from so young infront of a dvd for HOURS.
One child inparticular is 5 or 6 now... spent years in front of the tv. Parents are young and kinda lazy and use tv as a baby sitter. Now he has very little imagination. He can't sit an colour or draw... once i saw him watch Ice Age 4 times in a row!

I'm not a parent yet. =( So i'm in no position to judge.
Just sharing what i've heard.

[onthefly]

Hey Dotti
I think it's one of those things where there's no real way to tell just how much is ok for any particular child.
But, the Americal academy of peadiatrics (i think) released a study not too long ago that concluded that there was no benefit at all for children under the age of 2 in watching tv. If anything, all it did was teach them to watch tv.

The first 2 years are very important in early brain development and the stimulus that they are exposed to will shape the way their brain develops. The most important stimulus for babies is one-on-one interaction with people (and particularly mum).

Kids learn from people, not tv shows. They learn by watching, interacting and doing. They learn by using their imaginations - that's a big problem for kids raised on tv and computer games.

so, this is something I worry about too. I'm no expert, and nor am i perfect - My DS does watch tv sometimes. We've pretty much stopped watching tv ourselves when he's around, though, and save it for after he's gone to bed (i'm sure it can't rot our brains). They just get mesmerized by it, don't they?

[onthefly]

Just a couple of abstracts I found

Children's tv viewing and behavioural and social outcomes

BACKGROUND. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children 2 years of age limit daily media exposure to 1 to 2 hours and not have a television set in children's bedrooms. However, there are limited prospective studies to address how timing of media exposure influences children's health.

OBJECTIVE. Our goal was to examine relations among children's early, concurrent, and sustained television exposure and behavioral and social skills outcomes at 5.5 years.

METHODS. We analyzed data collected prospectively from the Healthy Steps for Young Children national evaluation. Television exposure was defined as >2 hours of daily use (at 30–33 months and 5.5 years) and television in child's bedroom (at 5.5 years). At 5.5 years, outcomes were assessed by using the Child Behavior Checklist and social skills using the Social Skills Rating System. Linear regression was used to estimate the effect of television exposure on behavioral and social skills outcomes.

RESULTS. Sixteen percent of parents reported that their child watched >2 hours of television daily at 30 to 33 months only, 15% reported >2 hours of television daily at 5.5 years only, and 20% reported >2 hours of television daily at both times. Forty-one percent of the children had televisions in their bedrooms at 5.5 years. In adjusted analyses, sustained television viewing was associated with behavioral outcomes. Concurrent television exposure was associated with fewer social skills. For children with heavy television viewing only in early childhood, there was no consistent relation with behavioral or social skills outcomes. Having a television in the bedroom was associated with sleep problems and less emotional reactivity at 5.5 years but was not associated with social skills.

CONCLUSIONS. Sustained exposure is a risk factor for behavioral problems, whereas early exposure that is subsequently reduced presents no additional risk. For social skills, concurrent exposure was more important than sustained or early exposure. Considering the timing of media exposure is vital for understanding the consequences of early experiences and informing prevention strategies.

Children's tv viewing and attention problems

CONTEXT. There is controversy over whether childhood television viewing causes attention problems. The findings from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have been mixed. To our knowledge, no longitudinal studies have assessed the impact of children's television viewing on attention problems in adolescence. The objective of this study was to assess this association.

DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS, AND SETTING. Study members were a general population birth cohort of 1037 participants (502 female) born in Dunedin, New Zealand, between April 1972 and March 1973. Parental estimates of children's television-viewing time were obtained at ages 5, 7, 9, and 11 years. Self-, parent-, and teacher-reported attention problems in adolescence were obtained at ages 13 and 15 years.

RESULTS. The mean of hours of television viewing during childhood was associated with symptoms of attention problems in adolescence. These associations remained significant after controlling for gender, attention problems in early childhood, cognitive ability at 5 years of age, and childhood socioeconomic status. This association was also independent of adolescent television viewing.

CONCLUSIONS. Childhood television viewing was associated with attention problems in adolescence, independent of early attention problems and other confounders. These results support the hypothesis that childhood television viewing may contribute to the development of attention problems and suggest that the effects may be long-lasting.

[Dotti8]

Thx CrazyCat and Marcellus

Reading your responses has helped me realise my true concern. Not so much that DD forms that tv watching habit (fairly confident I would never allow that to happen) but moreso the impact of flashing lights on a plasma screen (in a room with not the greatest natural light) on her developing eyes and brain.

CrazyCat your comment about over-stimulation was something I hadn't really thought of and probably should have. Those flashing lights are probably a lot to take in at less than 4 months! I haven't heard/read anything about links between tv and ADD or ADHD so can't comment.

Thanks Marcellus your comments and the quoted material was helpful. My DD also loves our face to face time. I wonder how she isn't sick of the sight of me smiling and kissing and cooing at her yet! But its a good reminder that parents faces are the healthy alternative to images on a screen!

Having said all that, for older children, I wouldn't begrudge parents who allow their children (under 5's) to watch tv. Subject to the length of time and the content. My gorgeous nephew has just turned 5 and when I babysit him he brings a dvd to watch. Sure we do other things but he has always had tv time. His imagination and development doesn't seem to have suffered. His favourite dvds are all documentary style programmes: The Blue Planet series is his favourite but his latest thing is dinosaurs. He brought over a 40 min dvd on the Jurassic period the other day but spent the duration of the dvd explaining the different dinosaurs and how they became extinct to me! He says he is going to be a paleantologist when he grows up!

Thanks again guys. I think I will do a little internet research on the effect of the flashing lights and images on babies (less than 6 months maybe) eyes and brain development.

Cheers

[KatieRabbit]

Hi Dotti
You won't have to research far to find the effects of flashing light and colour on baby's eyes and it's not good news. Here is an interesting article I read during the week about baby DVDs but it mentions why babies stare at TVs:
Baby DVDs - Health Report - 17 March 2008

You really don't need to 'entertain' your baby at all. Ever, really, even when older. They love lying on the floor, looking around or in the bouncinette watching you do your work, listening to you singing to them, chatting and checking on them. Everything to baby is a really big deal- their toes, hands, their breath, the light coming through the window, their body moving, the sound of the vacuum etc Baby has to assimilate all these new experiences into the body and process what is happening. Can you imagine how amazing all these things are to a baby? And imagine the noise, light and colour from the tv on baby!
Anyway, I have never 'entertained' my toddler or baby but they get plenty of love and attention and they learn plenty. When baby is awake, feed and change her, bath her, sing to her as you do these things, lots of kisses and cuddles and then let her explore her world by herself until her next sleep time. Move her around a couple of times during each awake time. Even with a 2 yr old she follows me around as I do my jobs and try and keep my home tidy and comfortable and then she goes off and imitates me doing my work! It is gorgeous to watch her bake cookies and sweep the floor with her toys! So to make a long story short it is not for you to entertain your bubs but to provide all those essentials- love, warmth, security etc as baby fits into your life and home routine!

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

You've got a very "easy" toddler, KatieRabbit. Not all children "don't need entertaining". I have a very demanding child and he does need me to play with him and entertain him. He asks me to read to him, play this with him, sing to him, be with him, hold him... and he also asks to help me cook and clean. He never explored the world himself, not without me with him.

I've done TV days before, when I've been ill. TV can be a godsend! But we have days when it's not on at all. DS can get a bit mesmerised and I'd rather he interact than stand and stare. I would say that the children I've seen who have grown up with constant TV do have problems... but that's probably because their parents plonk them in front of the TV and do little interaction with them. This is just what I have seen - I do know this doesn't have to be the case, it just is in the few cases I know of IRL. I know DS has a lot more fun and is a lot more fun when we don't bother with TV. Plus I get sick of him nagging for The Incredibles or Thomas the tank engine.

[lilprecious75]

I don't know if it will help any but I thought I would share what DH and I have done with our child(ren)!

From the moment James was born (nearly four years ago) I ceased watching all daytime television (save a bit of sport now and then).

When he turned two we decided to allow him to watch TV but we wanted to limit it so we decided he had to "earn" his TV time. Each day, if he has no time outs then he earns two stickers that he puts on the calendar at bedtime.

On Saturday night, if he has collected at least 10 stickers then he can watch a video after church on Sunday.

It works well.

Obviously there are exceptions to the rule - when I was sick one day I let him watch a DVD repeatedly as it meant he would sit quietly on the lounge. Also when he is sick he gets to watch DVD's and we do allow him to watch a bit of sport when something special is on so he has been cheering the tennis right along with me the past two weeks!

Not sure if this helps at all - but thought I would add my thoughts...

[Nettie]

He brought over a 40 min dvd on the Jurassic period the other day but spent the duration of the dvd explaining the different dinosaurs and how they became extinct to me! He says he is going to be a paleantologist when he grows up!

Awwww... that's sooo cute!

I think it matters how THEY treat the TV. I know kids who sit completely still and stare at the screen for hours at a time (or at least half hours). My DS doesn't sit still very long - even when 'watching' TV. He might watch 3 minutes of it - then run and get toys and play a bit before watching another 2minutes... So I don't see that as unhealthy as there's no 'zoning out' or anything. And he would rather play with us than watch any TV - so I'm ok with that! Oh - and he was watching TV from that age - but we did limit it and certainly had other stimulations so he got variety. Balance is the key I reckon!

[skeetaboat]

Just wanted to subscribe as I'm interested in this discussion.. will come back later to post properly