TV really bad for kids?

[Noahsmama09]

I know I'm opening a HUGE can of worms by bringing this up, but I am wondering how bad is TV for kids? Now I'm not suggesting plopping your kids infront of the TV all day. But there is the odd time my son will watch a show (15 min in length). Is this harmful to him?
When he was a baby I would put "baby einstein" on once in a while. He loved it.
I have read up on this stuff, and I'm wondering if I've damaged my DS! He is very social, interacts well with others, constantly go-go. I have read that TV watching though can cause speech delay, obesity, etc.
Should I ban tv completely??
I am just genuinly concerned that I've done disservice to my DS...

[Deb_in_oz]

how old is your ds?

assuming he is not a little baby 15 min is nothing in my opnion.

i do not think tv is evil for kids (i love it myself actually) and as long as your kids are leading a balanced life they will not be harmed by decent programming.  i avoid ads wherever possible (98% of the time for us) even at 7yo and everything is age appropriate (if in doubt i pre-screen)

 i would relax, enjoy the show with him and see if he even uses dvd/tv show as a jumping off point for creative play as he gets older.

[Noahsmama09]

Thanks for your response!
My DS is almost 15 months old. He's quite active and LOVES to play. I agree about the balance for kids. And screening what they see on TV. Thanks again:)

[linfran]

Agree with pp, I think TV is fine but like many things in moderation.  We're in the UK and tend to stick to Cbeebies so I don't have to constantly censor what is on.

[Katet]

My DS1 really didn't start watching it until he was about 16mo (I know when he refused a nap on Christmas day he watched Spot videos) DS2 was watching it pretty much from the day dot.
They are 5 & 7yo now, they don't watch that much on average, but when DS1 was 2yo & I had a new baby Some days I think it could have been 4hours/day - Spot, Thomas, Wiggles & Playschool mostly DVDs or Videos.  DS1 is a well above average student who has a group of good friends & is TBH an all around decent child... DS2 is much the same, above average intellegence etc & TBH they don't want to watch TV much they'd much rather be kicking a football around, where as cousins who have had TV limited, as 5+ you children ask to watch it much more.

I think being more selective about what they watch & talking about what they watch... they will watch the same thing over & over... is the important thing.

[*Ali*]

I think the problem comes when LO's are watching TV at the expense of interaction with others. As long as they get a chance to interact plenty as well as the TV watching it won't be a problem. Ideally you could sit and watch with him and talk to him about what is going on. "Watch with Mother" if that means anything to you in Canada.
15mins per day should be fine as long as it is age appropriate as you say.

[~*Nicole*~]

There is some information out there that the constant changing of scenes on TV shows, which does not mirror the pace of real life, alters the way that the brain develops in infants and toddlers. The claim is that this leads the child's brain to expect that life should be as fast paced and "switch" as quickly as LOs short attention spans are. The theory is that this may be a contributing factor to ADD/ADHD. I don't know how much research has been done in this area, but I do know there is a concern with TV viewing up to about the age of two. My pediatrician actually told me to NOT allow DD to watch videos such as Baby Einstein as he had read/heard something about it causing detriment rather than any benefit, but I have not personally read any such information. DD rarely watched TV as a baby, but does watch now.

[Mashi]

I've read all of the same things as Nicole is mentioning above - that ANY television at all for under 2s is a huge no no, and for all of the reasons above.

That said, my DS has been watching TV since about 15/16 months, regularly. It's a part of our day.  We watch shows like Teletubbies, Handy Manny, Brum (silly English pantomime show with a car), Dora/Diego, Mickey Mouse and of course dearly loved Thomas!  I do not let him watch things like Looney Toons/Bugs Bunny type shows with the aplat, bam, whack type animation/stories.

As Deb has said we use it for imaginative play, for instance he plays Handy Manny and we have to pretend something is broken and he fixes it (before he could say Daddy my DS said "Man" when Manny came on ) and although he has few words, his vocabulary includes "broken" and "fix" (and still can't say daddy!!!) He could at 17 months narrate an entire episode of Brum with sign language.

My DS is definitely language delayed, but I don't attribute it to TV as the first words he has learned are from the TV and continues to learn more and more -- though I understand that the language delay that comes from it is that they don't learn interactive, social language.

TV does not come at a sacrifice for other things for him, either. There are rainy days when yes he spends a lot of time in front of the TV though he is playing with other things at the same time, usually with me or DH, but generally we are out of the house playing outside for 6-8 hours of his waking day....when he comes inside from running around the park for 2 hours or being at playgroup I find that 20-30 minutes alone to sit quietly and watch TV really helps him relax and recharge.

I also realise that there would be a LOT of people - professionals included - who totally disagree with my approach to TV and the amount my son watches, but at the end of the day I am comfortable with it, and as far as I am concerned that is all that matters! 

[~Sarah~]

I too have been worrying about this lately.  We do not have an accessible tv for DS to watch, but-we have one downstairs were his sister sleeps.  My kids are only 12mo apart and in the beginning, I could put her down for a nap and leave DS alone to play quietly.  As time has moved on, he was beginning to have SA while I put DD down for a nap.  It also happened to coincide with DS getting interested in tv.  So you can see where this is going-he now gets to watch Tomas while I put DD down.

We also let him watch Sesame Street with us in bed in the morning with his cup of milk.  The whole family sits and watches and we talk about what is going on.  DH and I eat a bowl of cereal and it is kind of our way of starting the day.  We also let DS watch the Sprout Goodnight show just before bath.  He knows that Thomas is on and Kipper.  This kind of signals what time it is.  We watch our program, we sit on potty, we brush our teeth, we take a bath and we go to bed.  Every night the same thing.

In total, I think he probably watches up to 1.5hr a day which is more than I thought I would let my kids watch at this age.  But, he is VERY active and also is quite the talker...he has at least 20 words that we counted up the other day, I am not sure what is normal around this age, but I think he is about on par.

Sometimes he throws a fit bc he wants to watch Thomas (he has made up his own sign to let me know what he wants  ), but I usually just have to tell him Thomas is sleeping or that we will watch before BT.

So hopefully I am not rotting my child brain!  I figure, at some point all of his little friends will know about tv and I do not want him to be socially out of the loop either.  But I also only let him watch the Sprout channel, they have no violent cartoons, there is a lot of signing ad there are no toy commercials or commercials for sugar cereal or fast food.

HTH

[We Three]

I have read those studies Nicole mentioned...I recall reading alot about how lo's brains suffer from seeing 2-dimensional images in movement?  I avoided tv for the most part until 2 yrs old.  The occasional Elmo portion of Sesame Street was all.  Because tbh, the studies did make sense to me, and having her stare at it just didn't feel right to me in my gut...JMO. She's kind of get a look on her face that she didn't have at any other times.     That said, she does watch now...mostly so I can get ready in the morn.  I have a HUGE issue with network tv, and we never have that on while she is awake...I never know when there will be a commercial for a horror movie or one of those "....coming up on CSI..." and beofre I know it someone is getting shot in the head.    I just leave it off at night, or she watches Dora, and on rare occasion dh and I will have on HGTV...the commercials there are safe!

[Mama2boys]

DS watched baby einstein form about 6-8 months maybe 10-20 mins a day at at 18 months started wtaching 1 show am and 1 show pm. Almost the same now and maybe about 30 min in the afternoon on some days.

We do not watch anything that is non educational IMHO, so we watch shows like Cat in the Hat, Caillou, Word World etc and DS has actually learnt a lot from that kind fo stuff. he can use a computer and play simple learning games all by himself etc. and everyone he meets always compliments us on his vocabulary and command on English and clarity of thought etc,

So no I dont think TV messes you up, but depends on what and how. So a kid who no one speaks to, plays alone is pretty much in the same place as a kid who sits in front of a TV IYKWIM. We normally sit with him while he wtaches TV, now less but always did when he was younger and talk about what he saw on the show. Like Mashi said play games based on what he saw, bring books on the subject etc.

Tv is a tool if used right

[Mum-of-Two]

When DH is not home, we only do PBS or Disney -- typically he only ever adds sports or history channel into the mix and I typically only ever add cooking or home improvement -- but I am very sensitive about those horror film commercials and the like too.  Its bad enough when Scooby Doo calls ghosts into question, you know?  Its really not an issue right now because he works 2nd shift and I'm not home until dinner time so he and I don't ever watch TV when the kids are awake anymore.

So, to be honest, our TV is on a lot.  There are only 2 times a day that anyone actually sits to watch it though -- mostly morning cartoons and once in awhile I'll allow a half hour cartoon after dinner/before bed.  The little one pays attention so much more then DD did at his age, she didn't pay attention to it for a long long time.

But then, my daughter got into movies when she was about 3 years old (she's almost 5 now) -- mostly Disney although we have an Elmo potty time or Dora thrown in the DVD list too.  Those usually only come out when she's home sick or as a special occassion when Mommy's craft bin needs a refill.  We'll let her use the TV in our bedroom for a movie so she can lay down (since she's usually not feeling well).  I think she'll really carry her love of movies through her lifetime, which is neat, I've never really been into them.  The little one doesn't watch movies.

Since the TV has been fairly accessible to the kids, they don't ask for it.  Its not a struggle in our house, do we or don't we watch.  Both prefer to be outside or with some craft of some sort.  Provided that continues, that they prefer other activities over the TV, I don't stress it.  I firmly believe an occupied child (meaning activity) is a happy child so we just sort of live that way.

[Deb_in_oz]

i just want to add that when i was heavily pg with liv alex started watching dvds more often because i was so tired.  she was bet 16-19 mo and the during those early months with 2 etc.  my mom said "do what you have to and deal with it later".  well, by then alex really loved dvd's and at 7 now is a real watcher - can sit for hours if i let her.  having said that - she is the most literate in her class (she is the only yer 1 kid in her class reading year 2 books and beyond, she is advanced in art - so creative it amazes me, well behaved and respectful of her friends, teachers, strangers etc.  at 7 i would now call her a heavy watcher still almost no ads and i never watch tv duriing the day if they are here - when sytycd or biggest loser is on air they may watch 1/2 hr or so with me

my point in mentioning this is to reassure those with younger kids who stress about every minute they are in front of the screen - it really is ok.  as long as their day also includes active time, reading, games, rest time etc they are still fine.  when you drop the napping and are faced with 12 hrs of awake time i honestly don't know many kids who have the energy or interest in being "active" for the whole day.  relaxing / down time is important too and for some kids the only time they sit is when they watch (and for others like spirited liv, they will watch passively while they are still playing and coming and going).  if i don't fight them on how much i will allow, it will run its course and they will naturally turn to the next thing (usually art related)

[Jenn+Ethan+Emily]

This falls under the category as to how TV might influence creative play. Negative or positive? You decide!

I just wanted to mention something I found very interesting in a small study that a classmate and myself conducted for a course project. I do not in any way mean to offend or make anyone feel guilty; I just simply thought it was interesting.

We took a group of 5 four year olds who had TV incorporated into their daily life and then a group of 5 four year olds who had never watched TV before (other then maybe a passing glance so their parents say anyways) and we watched them play. We gave them a few suggestions and props to play with (example: a pirates hat, a treasure chest, and a structure that could be a boat) and then we let the play unfold.

The TV group busily started transforming to pirates and began conducting their play on the boat and finding treasures, etc. As we watched them, we began to notice that they were very busy telling each other where to stand and what to say and "no captain hook doesn't say that! He says X". It became very clear that they has seen Peter Pan and they were mimicking everything that took place in the movie. Can this really be considered creative play? We gave them several other props thus creating play ideas and the same thing took place with each.

The non-TV group also began transforming into pirates and they too started finding treasures and sailing the boat. The way these pirates interacted with each other was quite a bit different though. They didn't seem to have a script to follow. They just went along with what one another said and their play ran a lot smoother as they didn't have any expectations of what a pirate might need to say or do. Repeat with several other props and the same thing unfolded.

I just thought it was an interesting little bit to think about and it was definitely completely fascinating to see! Kids never cease to amaze me!

[Love, laughter, & PJs]

Wow, Jenn.  That's very interesting.

I, too, have read those studies about TV for kids under 2 being potentiall detrimental.  TV is on in our house occasionally when Austin is awake.  Sometimes DH and I watch Ellen when I'm home in the afternoons and DH will watch and narrate sports games.  We mute all commercials anyhow so I don't worry too much about that.  DH will put on Planet Earth or something like that when they're playing sometimes. But Austin has never sat to watch it.  Actually, one time we were flipping channels and there was a cartoon on and he started staring at it.  It made me think a lot about how the people that make those shows for kids know exactly what they'll watch! 

All that said, I'm sure that when #2 comes along that we will need to use the box to help us out.  We all do what we have to do and as long as they're getting lots of interactive, creative play time I'm sure it will all work out.