My daughter 2 and 3months watches TV?

Question

My M~I~L keeps telling me TV is bad for her and not to let her watch it. She does watch for about three hours a day. All pre~school shows, and sponge bob occassionally(sp). I think it is even helping her learn new words and stuff. But if it's not just my M~I~L trying to raise my kids again, I would like to change her habbits to what is BEST for her. Any Ideas/ Suggestions??

NO RUDE COMMENTS!

Just to add a little, she is very active, the TV is on but she's not always "watching" it. Most of the time just listening, unless the show ask for interaction, Like "Dora" then she listens and still is playing at the same time. SpongeBob is the ONLY show she watches that isn't educational and she just watches that with her big brother (9). Also there is ONE daughter who is 2years and 3months old. Not a 2 year old and a 3months old.

Thanks to all the people who have answered the question without being rude!

Answer 1

I don't think it's a bad thing honestly. I have Treehouse (educational shows) on the tv most the day, and my 3 year old will watch it for a bit, go play, come back and watch it, etc...

I know it's helped him develop his language skills as well.

At this age, I don't see anything wrong with it, especially it being winter and too cold where we live to go outside anywhere. it's when they get to the age that they can go out and play, join sports, spend time with friends, etc that tv watching will become much more limited. But at this age, it's just entertainment for now. As long as it's not consuming her WHOLE day, and she is still getting mom-daughter time, I wouldn't worry.

Answer 2

What is best is to turn off the television and give her some books. And IF you think sponge bob is GOOD for chlidren then you're NOT paying attention to what your child is watching. Sponge Bob is NOT a show for toddlers or even young school aged children, oh she will learn a few things from that show but not things a toddler SHOULD learn. My daughter was limited to ONE hour a day of television and no more. There isn't three hours of quality television out there on ANY channel. I'm on your Mother In Laws side. There is a reason television is called the "boob tube" and it has nothing to do with a woman's anatomy, another nickname for television is "idiot box" any ideas as to how television got those nicknames?

Answer 3

TV is okay occasionally, but I think three hours a day at that age is a bit much. You should be the one teaching her new words and have her interact with other kids her age. And at 3 months, TV is not the best stimulation for an infant.

Also, you are teaching the kids a somewhat sedentary lifestyle which could have negative effects later in life. The 2 year old should be more active.

That being said, you need to let you MIL know that while you appreciate her good intentions that you need to find your own way to raise your kids -- just like she found hers.

Answer 4

I say three hours is way much, I don't think she needs to be watching it for more than an hour. There are lots of thing that you could do with your daughter that would help her learn than to just let her watch TV. The problem is that you are getting her into a habit at such a young age. She needs to learn how to entertain herself rather than by a TV. Get her learning games like the Leap pad games, those are awesome for teaching kids. Good luck, take care. I hope this helps.

Answer 5

I let my daughter watch TV. She has learned many words and has gotten many ideas from watching the shows. I only let her watch PBS and Nick Jr. and Spongebob. She likes Spongebob for some reason and saying his name. BTW my little one is 26 months old. Well when your M~I~L is there keep the TV off and when she isn't just leave it on. My little one is active and she watches it for a few minutes then goes and finds something else to do. Reading books with those characters could be a good way to incorporate their fave character into something positive.

Answer 6

I let my kids watch maybe one dvd a day. They need to let their imaginations grow. I did let them watch alot one summer because my husband was in Iraq and I needed it to help me with keeping the kids out of the kitchen, but they get really cranky and act up if I let them watch more than a couple hours. I would just keep an eye on what she watches and make sure she gets lots of imagination time. When my daughter was that age she loved to just stare at the pictures in books and kept quieter and asked me questions about it. They can learn things from tv, but they can also learn from you and books, and games. Those are more involved than tv. The media is also saying that watching too much tv can cause obesity. I'm sure your M-I-L is just trying to make sure your daughter is healthy and letting her imagination grow and Mothers never quit being Mothers either. As your daughter gets older you'll see more and more of why your M-I-L is that way. Just thank her for her concern and that you'll see what you can do. I know it's also nice to let kids watch tv for a break too, just tune into your child and watch how it is affecting her as objective as possible.

Answer 7

I feel that if your daughter is going to watch television, then watch educational programs that are going to aid in her development. My daughter is a preemie and loves Baby Einstein and Sesame Street. There's a Baby Einstein video out there called "Baby Wordsworth" that has gotten my daughter interested in learning words and picture books. Now, when we watch the video she will say the word after the woman on the television screen does. The music in Baby Einstein (ages 0 - 3 years) is great too....classical and really gets my daughter's attention. Try it!

Answer 8

3 hours is probably too much. I think some shows are really good though. I have a small granddaughter and I was really surprised how good some of them are. How about the Baby Einstein videos, try those if you haven't yet. I don't think tv is all bad ,just in different quantity. Good luck to you.

Answer 9

It has been shown that kids that watch tv learn new words quicker and their vocabulary sky rockets (for a little while) but they usually suffer poor reading skills and their vocabulary tends to platue. So T.V is good in some aspects but poor in others, three hours might be a little too much for the young one.

Answer 10

gee i wish my daughter would sit down long enough to watch t.v. i say lucky you and just let her watch it.She's learning stuff off it so whats the problem? i think some people let there children watch t.v longer than that they just dont want to look like the "bad parent" so they say the dont because thats what everyone says.If my child would watch t.v for that long i'd let her i really cant see the harm its not like there is a wide variety of things to keep young children ammused and it gives you,the parent a break or time time to do house work.