Tv Watching 10 Month Old

Hi J.--

I really recommend the book Born To Buy by Juliet B. Schor. It is about marketing to children and was a real eye-opener to me. Regardless of what you decide to do about the TV watching (it looks like you've gotten plenty of advice and opinions so I won't add mine here) I think you would find it helpful in making decisions about how and what he watches, I know it has helped me decide what my daughter will watch when she is older.

Good luck,

C. :-)

Hi, J.. My nephew, who is now 9, was like that. He would watch a whole Disney movie by the time he was a year old. He still likes t.v. (his favorite show is Lost) but he is also very active and very bright. He is a whiz at computer and video games. The family, his mom, grandparents, and me and my husband, were all involved in his upbringing, and still are. He is none the worse for having the ability to focus that intently on something today and would be just as happy outside riding his bike or playing as he is watching t.v.

Hi J.,

My 15 month old watches a little TV in the morning while we get ready to go to work/day care. Since he has started watching Seasame Street his vocab has sky rocketed. And yes I had been working with him on it and play and read to him everyday without fail. A little TV isn't going to hurt as long as you are getting in other activities too. No worries - I am amazed that a 10 month old has that kind of attention span.

M.

I watch a good amount of TV myself, as an adult! It is how I relax on the weekends and I LOVE to go to the movies! My 6 year old has been going to movies with me (kid movies) since he was about 1 1/2. He was great, not one of those kids who yells or cries loudly during a movie! I don't think there is anything wrong with kids watching TV to wind down as long as lines are drawn. For instance, I draw a very big line at putting a TV in my car! Kids can be very entertained by looking out the window at scenery, if their parents engage them to do so! It is also a good time to talk to your kids. I too, refuse to put a TV in his room, but he does have a small one in his playroom and I have not bent (yet) on getting him a video game thing. They are such a waste, as soon as you can afford to get one, they come out with a new, better one-I hate that!

My daughter was like that too. I have pictures of this little bitty baby girl, 9 or 10 months old sitting and watching Teletubbies. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Sure, you want to engage him in other things besides television, but as long as he's not sitting in front of it 24/7 I don't think there's anything wrong with letting him watch.

My little boy did the same thing, he was just enthralled with tv. I just limited what he watched to educational videos (like baby einenstine) and limited the amount of time to 20 min twice a day. That gave me a break long enough to pick up or get dressed. My son is almost 4 and were doing the same thing only now with counting and alphabet videos. Otherwise hes right on course with his peers and individual milestones.

Good luck and congrats on the baby boy!

K.

first of all there is actually no scientific proof that TV hurts a child's vision...
secondly, I find that TV (as long as you are picky with what he's watching) can be a VERY good thing! "Go! Diego Go!" (Nick Jr.) has taught my daughter so much about animals... you have no idea how fun it is to go to the zoo, point out the pretty red parrot, and have your 2 year old correct you and say "no mommy, that's a scarlet macaw!" or "mom, look at the pygmy marmoset!!"... She's also picked up a good deal of Spanish from watching Dora the Explorer (also on Nick Jr.) shows like Dora, Sesame Street, and Backyardigans really help her develop her imagination and social skills while "Little Einsteins (Playhouse Disney) has taught her a lot about classical music, instuments, and composers. Once again, there's a certain amount of pride you feel when your baby hears a piece of a symphony and can say "that's Bach!". these are all skills that I would have never thought to teach my toddler and she has so much fun learning them. the key to preventing TV time from being harmful is to actually sit and watch it with him... that way you know what he's talking about when he starts talking about characters or speaking Spanish on you! Help him to participate in the shows (many shows geared towards toddlers encourage participation from the child) Now, of course you still need to encourage reading, and playtime away from the TV but as long as you make him stick to educational shows geared towards preschoolers you will soon find that it really does more good than harm. Good luck!!

hi J.,
my son who is now 3, use to do the same when he was about 3 months old. and i just want you to know its okay. my son is increadably smart. my son has alwayed asked me questions and i havent had to try to teach him. he was addicted to watching elmo, and now he knows more than most kids his age. and his teacher says he is the top student. its a great start on educating him.

To each their own, I say.

My kids LOVE television, and my 4 1/2 year old has cable TV in her room. They are both very intelligent kids, and with a little supervision and direction in their viewing, they've picked up a lot of stuff that they might not have without television (like sign language, dance, and Spanish). It can't be helped when it's cold outside, so if your son loves TV so much, make that a Mommy/Baby activity-keep the volume a little lower than normal, and talk to him about what he's watching. He may appear zoned out, but he's listening to EVERYTHING around him, including YOU. You'll be surprised by what he learns, if you do it right.

J.,

My son was the same way and I say as long as they are not watching something above their age level it is fine. As I read the response of othere mother's I noticed a few that said their kids are really into computers now and they loved TV as a baby. My son is the same way. When he was about 3 month we had a bad storm and I was watching the Radar on TV he was mezmerized by it. That was the start of his TV obsession. If I changed the channel he got mad we spent an hour that day just watching the radar. Television has come a long way since we were kids. Just about everything on Nick has some educational value. Dont let that one anti-TV mom get to you. YOu are doing a great job and your will be fine.

My son started watching football at about 3 or 4 months. He is 5 now. He is fine. He is just like every other boy his age is.