So as I imagine most of you will know, the experts reccommend no tv beofre 3. I was wondering if anyone out there has actually managed this or is trying to.

We went over to the IL's the other day and MIL told FIL to put the cartoons on while DS was there. I told them he is not allowed to watch TV, and I was quite surprised by their reaction. MIL even said 'I'm glad you're not MY mother' and FIL came out with 'You're never too little for TV'.
So obviously no support there.

I thought it might be hard - it would be so easy to put DS in front of the TV so that I can get things done sometimes. But I didn't think I would have people so against what I am trying to do.

So like I said, has anyone actually done this?

We try not to watch too much tv in our house but sometimes we do just veg in saying that though i have 2 kids 3 and 15months and neither are overly interested in TV my 3 year old will only really sit to watch bindi and i don't let her everyday and she isn't really interested in cartoons. and my 15month old doesn't have time to sit and watch telly.

Do u watch it at all or only when bub is in bed??? cause we watch it but the kids don't pay much attention

the tv is on all day here but DS has no intrest in it watching it ATM i will let him watch it sometimes if he wants though

i have abc 2 on for my daughter in the background. it is always her programs, never "dr phil" or annything like that. just because it is on all day, in the background, dosen't mean she actually sits around all day. we do painting/arts amd crafts, pretend play or she will help me with the housework such as folding up the washing (or trying to smile)
i try to sit down with me daughter everyday and do something educational such as puzzles, word bingo game, e.t.c
also we watch seseme street together, and learn about the number of the day and letter of the day. i try and make watching the t.v a learning expereince. i will sit down with my pile of washing to fold, while my daughter is watching her abc2, and i will interact with her and ask her what is going on in the show. why is that person sad? is it sunny where they are? what are they doing? that way, the t.v is not just a babysitter.
i do not see any harm in this, every person is different, every parent raises their child differently, so i don't think there is a wrong or right answer to the question. however, i will add, if my child wasnt talking or had a developmental delay, i would limit the time the t.v is, because i do beleive children need that one on one interaction.
i just try and balance all that out over a daily routine. like i said, we do sit down and do one aon one time, plus she goes to three year kindy, swimming, mother's group and a play gym all in one week, so i do not feel guilty about having the t.v on for her.

hope that helps smile

I let dd1 watch her shows which is mainly cooking shows blink
But she likes educational shows like Dora (can't stand it personally lol) and lil einsteins and jake and the never land pirates they all help with counting and shapes etc and I swear Dora has helped dd she knows words in Spanish that make me go huh!! They say to learn another language is more easy for a child and do so at a young age as they absorb it more like lil sponges smile
My twins are only 17 months old and there not interested in tv at all they might stop for 5 minutes max to watch but they go off and do there own thing mainly.
I agree with pp I ask questions about what's going on in the show or what do you think fits etc I'd never plop her down and put something like the midday movie on laugh

I never let DD watch TV when she was very little. I began putting educational shows (sesame street, playschool etc) I think when she turned 2ish

Shes 2 & 1/2 and only watches 1 hour of TV a day, i dont like TV being used as a baby sitting tool. DD has a great imagination and is always off playing with her toys instead of sitting in front of the TV

Regardless of what people think, they should respect YOUR decisions!

until DS was 1 I would only put the tv on at 4pm - not for him, for me. he wouldn't watch it he'd still play with his toys or run around.
now I will occasionally put Sesame St on if I think he needs a bit of a rest but that's maybe only 2 times a week and then we often end up reading books and stuff. He doesn't sit still often.
Its often a bit of a break for me as DH is away a lot for work and DS can be very full on.

We have the TV on for breakfast time, cos it keeps DS's attention while he eats his cereal then toast and I can get dressed and ready for our day ahead. So only 1hr max. Now that he had dropped his day sleep i put a dvd on if he is tired just for some quiet time.
I have tv on before tea for programs I watch but we turn the tv off at tea time and all sit at the table together.

I respect everyones decisions to raise their kids differently, but I draw the line at making everyone else conform. We have family friends whos child has never watched tv and they will go for dinner at either of DF's parents and turn their tv off as soon as they walk in the door. I think that in just straight up rude! These people have worked hard all day and usually just want to watch the news in their own house!

In your case though, I would hope that his grandparents respected your choice, whilst you are around anyway! (I know my mum just plays along with my choices for DS). Or that would ask for information why you have made that choice.

Do u watch it at all or only when bub is in bed??? cause we watch it but the kids don't pay much attention

We watch the news in the morning and other than that it's only on when DS goes to bed unless there is something on that I really want to see. Occasionally something will catch DS' eye but he won't watch for long before he's off doing his thing again.

I respect everyones decisions to raise their kids differently, but I draw the line at making everyone else conform. We have family friends whos child has never watched tv and they will go for dinner at either of DF's parents and turn their tv off as soon as they walk in the door. I think that in just straight up rude! These people have worked hard all day and usually just want to watch the news in their own house!

In your case though, I would hope that his grandparents respected your choice, whilst you are around anyway! (I know my mum just plays along with my choices for DS). Or that would ask for information why you have made that choice.

Wow! That is pretty rude! MIL and FIL have the TV on all day, but I would never turn it off just because DS is there.
FIL did end up turning it back to whatever was on before. It didn't matter anyway as DS was too busy chasing the cat lol.

I did tell them my reason - apparantly it can hinder their learning to read if they watch TV too early or too often. Since we have some family members with learning difficulties I don't want to take any chances (and yes, I do know that watching TV doesn't give you a learning dissability, but it could be adding insult to injury if you know what I mean.)
After telling this to MIL she told me that she had never heard that. Which apparantly made it untrue

I have also heard it can be bad for their optic development as its a flat 2d object so their eyes don't move as much (or something like that)

They should support your decision regardless! I try to limit the amount of TV my 2 year old DS watches but DP does not support my decision and pretty much lets him watch TV whenever he wants. It does my head in!!

After telling this to MIL she told me that she had never heard that. Which apparantly made it untrue <img src='http://www.huggies.com.au/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='<_<' />

my MIL is like that

In regards to the original question, I have the TV on during the day mainly just for background noise, however DD used to go to daycare full time, now she only goes twice a week but there is a tv at the daycare... I have only seen it on a handfull of times. (mainly when it is raining quite hard)

I grew up on Television.
Learnt more there and reading Romance novels than in school.
Did'nt actually effect me in any negative way.
I do not stop my children from watching T.V if they want to.
Cartoons these days are pretty educational. I've lost count the times my boy has come up to me with a new skill because he saw it on his cartoons.

I don't actually KNOW anyone that wouldn't/doesn't let their child/ren watch t.v.
So it's quite interesting reading of parents that DON'T allow their children T.V. Amazing how everyone parents different.

So as I imagine most of you will know, the experts reccommend no tv beofre 3. I was wondering if anyone out there has actually managed this or is trying to.

We went over to the IL's the other day and MIL told FIL to put the cartoons on while DS was there. I told them he is not allowed to watch TV, and I was quite surprised by their reaction. MIL even said 'I'm glad you're not MY mother' and FIL came out with 'You're never too little for TV'.
So obviously no support there.

I thought it might be hard - it would be so easy to put DS in front of the TV so that I can get things done sometimes. But I didn't think I would have people so against what I am trying to do.

So like I said, has anyone actually done this?

It depends who you believe, the American Academy of Paediatrics recommends no TV for under 2s and I've heard that its not good for babies under 12 months due to the flashing images.

I cannot fathom how watching TV could affect a childs ability to learn to read though, interested to hear why. My eldest learnt the alphabet from Sesame Street smile

There is very little research to support claims that watching TV is bad for young children, I think in moderation its fine for 12 months plus - I found at that age they have a short attention span anyway and are not interested but at around 2 they seem to get into it more.

I dont think it is so detrimental that you should not expose your toddler at all (ie when visiting family and friends) but I would watch the content of the program and I dont let my kids watch anything other than childrens shows (ABC for kids is great) and childrens movies.

I have heard that TV is bad for children under 2 but I would not ban DD from watching it. I do try to limit how much she watches though.

I try not to have the TV on at meal times, firstly because I think it's antisocial, and secondly because DD gets so distracted by the TV that a meal can drag on for a whole hour.

I don't have it on during the day just for background noise - it's only on if it's being watched. And of course, we try to do lots of other activities and not resort to TV too much. But I don't see anything wrong with putting a DVD on if we've been stuck inside for days because of the rain, for example. DD likes things like Hi-5 and Barney that she can dance and sing along with, so she never just sits still watching, she's always up joining in. Or sometimes DD will watch In The Night Garden at nap time, because it makes her fall asleep.

We have the news on a couple of times a day because I like to watch it, and it's interesting to hear DD's reaction to it. For example, when the Rena thing happened, she must have been only 25 months and yet she made intelligent comments that proved that she knew what was being discussed. Yesterday, she saw footage of the Pike River explosion (she wouldn't have seen/understood it at the time it happened as she'd only have been 12 months then) and again her comments proved that she understood what happened and she showed genuine concern for the people who had been in there. So, I don't apologise for wanting to educate DD about what is happening in the world.

The other thing is, especially as a single parent, I sometimes need to resort to the TV (well DVDs actually) as a babysitter. I wouldn't usually get to shower before work if I didn't. We wouldn't ever eat a cooked, balanced meal if there wasn't a DVD to occupy DD. The house would never get vacuumed. So, you can criticise television all you want, but I've made my choice and I think it's more important that we eat properly and we live in a reasonably clean home even though this means that DD will spend 30-60 minutes in front of the television.

I cannot fathom how watching TV could affect a childs ability to learn to read though, interested to hear why. My eldest learnt the alphabet from Sesame Street smile

It affects optical development. As you know, when you read your eyes need to focus on the page and they need to read the words from left to right. But when watching television, your eyes just jump all over the screen randomly. The same is true of activities like PlayStation and Wii. It's fine for an older child or an adult who can already read, but it makes it difficult for a young child to learn to read and it's said that a lot of primary school teachers can pick out the kids who have spent too much time watching television, for this reason.

My DH is very much into 'TV as a babysitter' although DS couldn't give a hoot about anything on TV unless there is music and singing laugh our little man is just too active at the moment to sit and watch...I catch him watching for about 30 seconds and then the remote control or mummys phone catches his eye...

My TV is on quite often but actually rarely watched...I think it was on all day today and I don't even remember a single darn thing that was on.

Oh yes I do...DS was playing with the side buttons and changed the channel to ABC2 and giggle and hoot art time or whatever it was called was on tongue

I didn't know the experts recommend no TV under 3. That's interesting! I avoided letting my DD watch TV until she was about 1 and now she is allowed to watch TV a bit but we don't go overboard. The TV is definitely not on all day and I confine her watching to up to an hour or so a day. Some days she doesn't watch any TV. She doesn't demand to have it on, which I'm grateful for! She seems to get bored with it and will watch for half an hour and then go off into another room and play with her toys.

I think everything in moderation. I don't think TV is evil but I do think too much TV is bad. I also think that the kids shows they make these days are very educational and really great to watch for imagination and learning. I learn heaps too! I think ABC Kids is fantastic.

Oh yeah, and I was told by a librarian that TV for under 6 months is no good as it's bad for their eyesight. Their eyes are too underdeveloped to focus on the fast-moving images, which can damage their eyes if they watch.

I dont think it is so detrimental that you should not expose your toddler at all (ie when visiting family and friends) but I would watch the content of the program and I dont let my kids watch anything other than childrens shows (ABC for kids is great) and childrens movies.

I agree. I have no problem with DS seeing a bit here and there. I only mentioned it to MIL because she wanted to turn it to cartoons for DS' sake and I wanted her to know there was no point. Besides, he was too busy chasing their cat tongue

The other thing is, especially as a single parent, I sometimes need to resort to the TV (well DVDs actually) as a babysitter. I wouldn't usually get to shower before work if I didn't. We wouldn't ever eat a cooked, balanced meal if there wasn't a DVD to occupy DD. The house would never get vacuumed. So, you can criticise television all you want, but I've made my choice and I think it's more important that we eat properly and we live in a reasonably clean home even though this means that DD will spend 30-60 minutes in front of the television.

I understand. I did not intentionally criticise TV. I agree with you that it is important for your daughter that she eat well and live in a clean environment and if TV is how you can manage that then I see no problem. I don't see a problem with people letting their young children watch a little TV.

I have chosen to try and wait until three because of the possibility that it could hinder DS learning to read, and because we have learning difficulties running in the family I want to give him the best chance.

Kids are surrounded by technology, TV, iphones. They see us use it once and they automatically know how to use it. I think it's impossible to deny them totally until they are 3.

I have a 22 mth son, and I do make sure I limit his TV, app games etc.
In the mornings my husband likes to put on the music channel. To stop our son planting his bum down on his couch, we have hooked our entertainment system up so that we can play channels (music) but switch the TV screen OFF. That way we can all enjoy the music but our son can still go play. There is only 2 mornings a week that I let my son watch TV. One morning he watches ABC2 4 Kids as some of the kids shows are quite educational. The other morning (on a weekend) his is allowed to watch his Wiggles DVD.

Allowing your child to watch a show here or there can be an educational time that you both share together, where you can support and reinforce their learning. I do not believe that TV should be used as a babysitter denying your child of other physical (whether fine or gross motor)and education moments.

If done wisely, I think a bit of the correct TV program is just fine.

I think the no tv before 3 thing isn't just the content. its the actual physical effect that the constant stimulation has on the growing brain.
You might be interested in watching this really interesting TEDx talk on it. Its about 16 mins long, extremely easy to understand and quite entertaining! http://www.wimp.com/mediachildren/

For non clickers it basically talks about how brains grow and the effect the visual stimulation has on the brain at that age. It has nothing to do with the content of the tv, but the rapid images. Basically it suggests that the brain becomes wired to expect the same stimulation that they get from the tv leading to problems with attention - essentially because life is too slow for them. It really is worth watching though. They explain it all really well.

As for keeping your kid from watching tv. Course you can. Just don't put it on. wink
We only have a computer and we just watch shows via that. If the tv is on at someone elses house, thats fine. I just suggest activities that we can do, but usually the people just turn it off anyway as we are visiting them - not their telly.

So like I said, has anyone actually done this?

I don't own a tv but my kids watch Playschool on the laptop. Recently I also allowed them to start watching Peppa Pig, and we sometimes put Wiggles DVDs on. I also put youtube clips on occassionally, my daughter likes The Nutcracker ballet and I like to find my favourite songs from old musicals smile

I think the problem (along with the visual inability to process the high speed changeovers of imagery) is when tv shows are not understood by the kids eg american cartoons, long movies with accents or complicated storylines, or speaking in general when kids are too young to comprehend - I think it is really important to make sure the kids understand exactly what is being said and done, otherwise it just becomes zone-out time.

I don't think it is impossible at all! I have thought a lot about tv and am happy with my choices, I have gone days without tv before and the kids found plenty of other things to do. They don't really let themselves get bored.

Thanks OC for the TedTalks link smile

No limits on tv here, ABC 4 kids is on from the moment we wake. In saying that ds dose not sit and watch tv all day. He is a very active child and loves the outdoors. So we get up at 8 and he has breakfast while watching tv while I get dressed then I start cleaning the house and he will usually follow me around trying to help. From about 10am we are outside till midday then it's nap time. Then lunch when he wakes and he will watch a bit more tv while eating then we play games or draw or something together. But back to the topic lol cartoons are on out loungeroom tv from 8am til 7pm.

I think the no tv before 3 thing isn't just the content. its the actual physical effect that the constant stimulation has on the growing brain.
You might be interested in watching this really interesting TEDx talk on it. Its about 16 mins long, extremely easy to understand and quite entertaining! http://www.wimp.com/mediachildren/

For non clickers it basically talks about how brains grow and the effect the visual stimulation has on the brain at that age. It has nothing to do with the content of the tv, but the rapid images. Basically it suggests that the brain becomes wired to expect the same stimulation that they get from the tv leading to problems with attention - essentially because life is too slow for them. It really is worth watching though. They explain it all really well.

Thanks OC. That is exactly what I was talking about.

We don't have a TV. We have 4 children under 10. We have chosen this because we feel for our family that we would prefer to read, talk and play outdoors. We are not extreme : our kids watch the odd DVD on the laptop and play games on the iPad, however we have chosen control over what they watch and when. We love having meal times with no TV in the background and we have a large backyard with bikes, swings, a trampoline, balls, etc.