Overstimulation

[new_mom_lisa]

Just wondering if I am overstimulating my DS if he is watching TV with me during his awake time (A) ??

Lisa

[arial]

How old is your LO?  How much time is your A time?

[kc456]

In the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child I read that "overstimulation" refers to keeping your baby up too long, not how hard you play with them. Although in older babies, too much TV can cause night terrors.

[arial]

huum, but how is LO?

[new_mom_lisa]

He is 2 months old. 

[arial]

Well, the length of A is very important.  On a baby of that age, I know that they cannot stay awake too long.  I cant remember for sure but I know that it is less than one hour.  I will check in the babywhisperer book and I will let you know.  But, are you sure you want your LO to watch TV with you?  I sure do not let mine watch any, even when he tries.  I remember hearing recently that it is not advisable to let LO watch TV until they are at least 2 years old.  They say TV takes away from the real interaction that should occur between mom and LO. Plus I am concern that starting TV watching so young would cause eye problems in the future.  That is just something to consider.  Plus

[new_mom_lisa]

I have the baby whisper book but could not find the lenghts of A time for different ages.  Are there more than one baby whisper books out there?  I have the one called Secrets of the Baby Whisper.   I find it doesn't have very much detailed info such as this.   Please let me know.

Thanks!!

[Erin M]

Hi Lisa--

Anyway, there are 3 Baby whisperer books:
Secrets of the Baby Whisperer
Secrets of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers (one you don't need quite yet)
The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems

The third one has lots of specific information, more detailed than the first.  If you're trying to find more details, it's not a bad place to look.

As far as awake time, how long is he awake for?  What does your daily schedule look like right now? 

At that age, babies are attracted to TV more because of the light than anything else.  I found when my DD was that age, she would get overstimulated because I would try to do too many different things with her during her A time.  Then I would end up with a baby that couldn't go to sleep because she was too overstimulated.  She did much better when I kept things low-key, like having her look out the window or watch what I was doing.   What makes you think that he is overstimulated? 

You also might want to check out this link as it has sample EASY schedules for babies that are a similar age to yours.  I always found that by looking at what other people were doing, it helped me figure out what to change.

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=10384.0

[mommyOFtwins]

My twin girls will be 5mos tomorrow and i too, have them watch tv with me during their "A' time.  Also, after 11am, the TV is usually on where they play. 

I have to agree that perhaps TV doesn't over stimulate them but it's how long you keep them up. I mainly use the TV for baby einstein, and plus we only have one TV in our place and it happens to be in the same room. 

I find however, that while they are in their bouncers, or on the floor w/toys, they don't stop what their doing and watch TV. They may glance at the TV for a bit b/c i think they are attracted to the movements (it's like a mobile to them) but that's all they do.

[kc456]

As far as the activity time, you have to read their tiredness cues - less motion, rubbing eyes, averting their gaze, etc.

In my case, for a 3 months old the max awake time (including feeding) was 1.5 hours. Now he's extending the A time a bit more to 1 hr 45 min - he's now 3.5 months.

For a 2 month old, I'd say about 1 hour to 1 hr 15 min of activity time.

[Lucas & Mum]

was thinking about this as i let my Lo watch some TV with me during the day.  We 1st noticed his fascination with TV in summer when world cup was on - think it was the lights, colours & movement that attracted him - he would really watch it for ages but would then become overstimulated & overtired.  Our general rule of thumb is he can watch baby progs in morning but he tends to just play in front of TV ionstead, only looking up when he recognises a theme tune or catchphrase (loves peppa pig & tweenies!!).  He is also a huge Simpson's fan and actually turns to lay in front of TV when this comes on - giggles at Marge - not sure why!!!
Not had any probs with overstimluation as yet but we give him the chance to listen to music, play with toys, visit mother & baby groups etc so has looks of different experiences and therefore not reliant on TV for entertainment.  HTH 

[SallyDom]

My little boy also loved the world cup, he likes rugby and tennis and as well so think it must be the green background with the movement on it. Our tv is on a lot but it is very rare Dominic will watch it for more than a couple of seconds.
As mommyOFtwins said the movement on a tv is like a mobile moving and I wouldn't ever think of a mobile as having the potential to damage Dom's eye's. As long as a baby isn't stuck in front of a tv for hours on end I don't think it's a problem
Sally
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