My 3 month old loves T.V. Does this really cause ADHD? Tell me your story.?

Question

My 3 month old always looks at the t.v. Even when i'm feeding her, she will try and watch the t.v. Not all the time, but when she is really alert. She kicks her feet and giggles if I put her in her bouncer. I have a baby einstein video for her and she likes it, but not as much as regular t.v. I looked on the net for info regarding this and saw that some children did have adhd because of t.v. watching at a young age. Did anyone let their child watch t.v when they were small and now they are 6 or 7 years old? Does your child have adhd from this? I probably will let her watch t.v occassionally just becuz I love to see her smile and giggle so much. I just wanted to hear your stories.

I read books to her and she loves to listen and look at the pictures. I'm not suggesting I plop her in front of the t.v, but I did google the topic and found some studies were done on the subject. I'm only curious about your experience.

Answer 1

Children should not watch tv before the age of 2.

The pictures on the tv move too fast for their little minds to comprehend. Which means when they watch tv, their minds try to "keep up" with what's happening on the television and it causes their brains to work faster than they should. This is what causes ADD/ADHD.

Please, turn off the tv when you are feeding her. Don't let her watch tv..there are much better ways to stimulate a little mind than to turn on the television.

Answer 2

Babies ages birth -2 have areas in their brain that need to develop or they never will. They are called windows of opportunity and development. All the time a baby in this age group is watching TV, that child is not getting the brain stimulation it needs. I have researched this and whether you agree with it or not, if you really want to know, start searching the net. Here is an example, if a child birth to 6 mo. does not get sufficient visual stimulation, that child's vision will never be normal vision, never 20/20. The child has only the first 6 mo to get that into the brain. There are tons of areas like this. This is not a popular answer but a true one. I am a retired elem teacher so have studies kids for a long time.

Answer 3

Let me tell you..stop it now. Limit it to 1-2 hours a day. That's it. Baby Einstein and all that is cool. It's stimulation and she's learning. I used to put my son in front of the TV when he was little to get him quiet so I could get things done around the house. Mistake. While he has ADHD, I don't think that caused it. But when he gets into that TV he can't hear anything else. He has to have the TV on or he can't go to sleep. Some habits you just can do without

Answer 4

My 6 month old is the same way, loves tv! He doesn't watch a whole lot of it at all but it makes him happy. He will just laugh and giggle and play in his bouncer. My brother and I both watch lots of tv as kids and neither one of us has ADHD so who knows. There seems to be studies for everything these days not sure how many of them are believable

Answer 5

Dont believe the hype. I do not think that there has been any solid evidence to really determine what causes ADHD or ADD so you souldnt worry. My 3 year old was a tv watcher when she was an infant. As she got older and into other things...because I turned the tv off for at least half the day...she began to like books. Get your kid out of the house or turn off the tv for hours. Play some music, read a book. My day goes great when the boob tube is not on for at least half the day. Other wise it is all downhill.

Answer 6

My daughter is 6 months old and she loves tv. baby einstein are her farvorite. When she is really tired and wont go to sleep i will lay her down facing the tv and it clams her down and in minutes she is out. i dont thinkit is bad for younger kids. i mean they really cant do much. they have a swing, bounce seat, nothing that really moves them around , because they arent mobile by there selves yet. now older kids that can walk should not be infront o the tv all the time, and neither should babies. i am not suggesting you just stick you child in a bouncy seat and walk off, but i dont beilive tv hurts them. it stilmates there mind with movement and sounds. and i for one think ADHD is over rated.

Answer 7

NO WAY will it cause adhd. He just loves the pictues changing and the light that the tv brings. Mine all loved watching tv and NONE of my kids have adhd. I do however, don't take any disrespect off them and I watch so many people blame adhd for their child behavior when really it's mommy and daddy allowing negative behavior and not giving the child enough of the right kind of attention.
I think it's over diagnosed.

Answer 8

I read that TV causes ADHD because programs are often interrupted every 10-15 minutes for commercials, which are very short segments of advertisement. My brothers grew up watching TV, and both have ADHD. Did that cause it? I don't know. I'd not let your daughter watch commercials.

Answer 9

My niece watched TV starting from 2 months. She loved Bambi and still loves TV. She does NOT have ADHD, nor has her doctor suggested that she might suffer from it. I don't know how true it is and what studies were conducted to link ADHD to television, but I haven't heard of it before. If you're really concerned, consult her pediatrician.

Later: I just stumbled upon this article after reading your question.
http://www.whitedot.org/issue/iss_story.asp?slug=ADHD%20Toddlers

Notice that it doesn't guarantee your toddler will have ADHD, but it does incrase the risk.

Answer 10

Sorry - but ADHD is NOT caused from watching TV as a young child. Not sure where you heard that piece of info. but no! ADHD is something that your child will either have or not have- that is just silly!