Rediculous: Husband Worried About Me Watching "Dexter"

ha ha. buy a book of fairy tales (the ORIGINAL versions...) for him to compare...they aren't much worse!

Rofl... oh, at least he IS trying. But yes, it's ridiculous. At several MONTHS old, the answer changes, but with a newborn... it's no biggie as long as the volume isn't blasting.

It's a nasty, nasty, show. I don't think you need to be watching that. I'm no prude and I do watch things my husband questions. But I couldn't make it through the first episode of Dexter.

As for them taking it all in, I think they take in more than you know. My grandson has been hooked on Between the Lions and Sesame Street since day one. He cries when they are over. He's only 10 months old and we have all the re-runs saved on DVR. He is very much able to show us which episodes are his favorite by how enthused he is when watching them. There are certain parts of the episodes that he gets super excited while watching.

Yes it's as ridiculous as it sounds.

Better not watch 'True Blood' then ...the baby might turn into a vampire. ;)

Oh brother. Of course it will not harm the baby.

Watch away and purchase a child development book for your husband.

Ha Ha- I love it! When my second was tiny we'd watch the Sopranos and my husband would think it was so funny seeing Tony and his guys take someone out and I'm sitting on the couch nursing my baby wide eyed and cringing! BTW she's now a perfectly well adjusted 7 year old who doesn't even watch PG movies yet. Tell that to nervous Daddy!

i love dexter. love love love. can't wait for new season. but don't watch it when you should be concentrating on the baby. baby may not get 'hooked' on the stuff shown but you sure will, hence forget what you're supposed to be doing.
but yes, dexter is one of the best shows right now

It's really not ridiculous to keep kids away from the fast editing and flickering light of TV, no matter what the program. There are studies that tie those effects to brain and behavior dysfunctions, over-stimulation, sleep disturbances, and poor academic performance. You can google terms like "television and child development" to read some of this research for yourself. But taking in Dexter on your own time (hah!) shouldn't be a problem.

omg I love Dexter! It's my favorite show on TV right now, especially since Lost is over. My boyfriend is just as into it as I am. I finally just got myself caught up, he's still got all of season 4 left. We watch it at nap and bed time. You're right a baby won't be watching the TV and won't be interested at all. But you're watching while the baby is sleeping so it's even more ok. That's what we do! I'm assuming the 11 yr old is at school at this time as well. Don't worry about it. Sounds like your hubby is just being protective and just needs some reassurance that your baby will be ok.
Enjoy catching up. Season 4 was the best season in my opinion. I can't wait for 5!!

LOL. Wow well I got caught up on Nip/Tuck when I was on mat leave. So I guess I am in the same boat with you! BTW...love dexter!

Yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds. Sounds like he's having mega anxiety - have you asked him what's really going on?

I had to laugh when I came across your question - I just got my husband hooked on Dexter after watching the first 4 seasons by myself on Netflix. He told me we should name our next baby Dexter. Now that's just asking for trouble!

I agree that a newborn can't focus on a television screen, but to make your husband feel better, make sure the baby is faced away from the TV and used the closed captions. I agree with the person who said this might be a sign of something else that he's really worried about. Try to see it as a good thing that he is taking an interest, and that he's concerned about this baby's development. My husband can be very over-protective but I keep reminding myself that it's much better than the opposite!

I don't know what Dexter is but from the context of your message I can assume it's not a child friendly program. Do you know at what age a child begins taking in sights & sounds & storing them in their memory for use when they know how to use them? They have baby Einstein dvd's and lullaby CD's not to mention millions of other infant related material that I doubt they create them because babies don't "watch" T.V. or "understand" and/or "take it all in" as you stated. Just food for thought. I can understand what you are saying about watching while the baby is sleeping - but, who really knows what goes into those little minds while they ARE sleeping, and why NOT feed that little mind with healthy things rather than things that might not be so healthy, or put that little mind down for a nap in another room while you fill your mind with the unhealthy stuff? I would LOVE it if my husband would think about our little minds more before he blurted out something they shouldn't hear, or watched something they shouldn't see or hear when they are in the room. They are older than the infant stage....but it all starts some where! Why not submit to your husband, tell him he might be right & find something else to do or watch while you are raising children......wouldn't it be grand to finish a Parent's magazine start to finish.....or possibly a book on raising children.......or a nurturing program on t.v......That's my opinion! Thanks for asking & Good luck!!

Babies easily pick up on emotions. And right now there's a bad vibe between you and your husband over this. I'd skip it.

my husband is over the top about weird things like that! I don't like the show Dexter, but I used to watch CSI, and I love Criminal minds. when my oldest was an infant, and if she was awake when I watched something, I would have her in the bouncy seat facing me, not the tv... or in my lap playing with her, but facing me... so she wouldn't see anything like that. once she got older though, I waited until she was asleep to watch anything questionable. Good luck!!! next time don't tell him what you'll be doing on maternity leave! haha!!!

I think the blue light from TVs are bad for a child's sleep pattern. We didn't have a tv in our home when my dd was born (still don't) and we stayed in a hotel when she was a couple of weeks old. We tried to watch TV then, but her eye movements changed and she absolutely could not sleep. She is seven now, and that has never changed. She cannot sleep with a TV on.

I'm not saying that children cannot sleep, obviously some get used to them. I'm saying that if my child is any example, then it really changes the environment for them.

Oh, I said blue light b/c our eyes have blue light sensors that help regulate our sleep patterns.

But as for the content of the show, I obviously haven't seen it but I don't think a newborn is going to understand. You're right about that.

lol, i love dexter too and my husband frowns when i watch it. dexter is those type of series where its feels good to watch bad. lol.

i think its double standard, all sports are violent in some way or another. does ur husband concider the impact this might have on wide awake or sleeping baby?

watch dexter on ur own time, lower the volume or close caption if baby is in same room. its realy simple!

All you moms got me curious about Dexter- need to see what this is all about. ;)
Just throwing this out there....maybe your husband is using 'forbidding watching Dexter' as an excuse because he's actually jealous of Dexter? Hear me out- you're totally devoted to taking care of baby all day long, then when you have down time, you catch up on Dexter instead of focusing on hubby? I don't know the situation, but just thought I'd throw that out there in case hubby is actually feeling ignored and needs attention from you.
At any rate- yes- too cute....Looks like you need to watch "The Bachelor" so your little one will learn how to get a lot of "play" when he gets older ***sarcastic****because you know that's a real age appropriate show about how to find to love and relationships!

As long as the 11 year old isn't seeing it -no -you're not crazy! Watch away and enjoy -it will go buy before you know it (and last season's Dexter was INCREDIBLE!!!).

Now that one made me smile! Newborns can see something like 6 inches in front of their face, I believe, so I think you're okay :) Like another poster said below, however, this changes in a few months and so should your TV viewing habits. Enjoy the gore! LOL

Yep, your husband is being totally ridiculous!!!!

My husband use to get upset when I talked about watching Sex and the City. I think his objections were more because he didn't care for the principals that the show espoused. So...I respect him and don't talk about watching it and if I feel so inclined to watch it (which I haven't for many years now - what a great show), I just keep it on the DL.

HAHA! That's funny! I mean, in a cute overprotective dad kinda way :) No, your baby's not going to be harmed by you watching Dexter. My baby is 10.5 months old and I still watch adult shows when she's awake.

it's crazy. If it wasnt for the tv, I wouldnt have been able to stay up with the baby at night. I am extremely thankful for random XFiles marathons. :-)

When my daughter was born, I rewatched Quantum Leap on my maternity leave. I think your husband should realize newborns wont take anything in.

Well, I'm not sure this has to do with the baby or him just not wanting you to watch a show about a serial killer.............either way, with a new baby, Dad's do tend to feel left out thus they get pretty cranky!

I would do something nice for him, like his favorite meal or something and then ask nicely why he thinks this is a bad thing..........And if CSI is ok, then I don't get it.........

Sounds to me like the new Daddy is happy, confused and feeling neglected along with some new responsibility...........give him a hug and talk to him.....and then make sure he sees all YOU do everyday to take care of his precious child.......and you, like he deserves to be pampered.

Take care, hang in there and good luck.

Silly Daddy.... Although you do need to strive to maintain direct eye contact with the baby for extended periods of time. It helps ensure the baby's bonding: http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/communicat...

That would be my only concern with doing marathon tv viewing... that it would interfere with newborn eye contact/bonding.

Ah, first-time dads! =) LOL

I think you're fine. I used my maternity leave both times to catch up on all my TiVo'ed Martha Stewart shows. (I know it's not the same as Dexter, but newborns don't know the difference.) While I was sitting there for what seemed like forever every day, breastfeeding, burping the baby, holding her while she napped, etc, I'd watch Martha. I think you're fine catching up on the shows you like to watch! Why not?