Should I let my 3 1/2 month old watch tv?

Question

My son has an overwhelming interest in tv. If the tv is on, he is watching it. Sometimes he will look away from it to play with the toys on his matt, but the tv is of more interest most of the time. I have found that if I want to get his full attention for a period of time, I have to turn the tv off.
This is a plus at times because I am a single mom and it keeps his interest when I need to do a few chores, but I was just wondering if there are any adverse effects from it?
Should I let him watch it when he wants? He gets alot of attention from myself and his mammaw and pappaw while I am at work, so he isnt without human stimulation, but I dont want to do anything that will harm him later on.
Is this normal at his age?
And, have there been any adverse effects noted to tv watching in kids such as autism?
Thanks to anyone with any good or bad info on this subject.

Just wanted to let the few who made it sound as if I was being neglectful in my mommy duties know that......I read and sing and play little games with my son all the time. And like I mentioned in my passage, I turn off the tv when I want his full attention. I do not nor have I ever used the tv to substitute stimulation from me. I simply asked if it had any adverse effects and you people went crazy making it sound like I am a bad mom. I am anything but a bad mom and I resent your accusations. Perhaps you need to read the article that was posted by one of our fellow answerers before you cast judgement on someone like u did. And...........thanks to the REAL parents who know how parenting can be and are thankful for a small break occasionally. I guess those who criticize us should come visit reality for awhile and see what they say then. Gees.

The article was sent by "whos sarcastic".
BTW.....thanks for posting it. Helps alot.

Answer 1

There was an article published in the NY Times a few months ago that went ito depth on this subject. Here it is: OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR; The Genius of 'Baby Einstein'

By LISA GUERNSEY
Published: August 16, 2007
Alexandria, Va.

I know I shouldn't admit to playing baby videos for my children, but allow me to embarrass myself. ''Baby Mozart'' was part of my first child's life when she was all of 3 months old. She was a colicky baby, despite my hours of walking her, nursing her and singing to her. The video didn't always work -- and the calm never lasted much longer than 15 minutes -- but I was desperate.


Back then, in 2002, there was no research on whether these videos lived up to their billing of being good for babies' cognitive development. But now a survey by researchers at the University of Washington, just published in The Journal of Pediatrics, has found that for every hour of baby-video viewing per day, children ages 8 to 16 months knew six to eight fewer words than those who watched no videos.

The report conjured images of 8-month-olds strapped into bouncy chairs, forced to watch an endless loop of video flashcards while listening to the tinkling of classical piano.

It's not a pretty picture, but it's not the whole picture either, thankfully. Videos are indeed being shown in many households with young children. And yes, some parents mistakenly believe that the videos are going to ratchet up their children's I.Q. But watching hours and hours of baby videos is not the norm.

Only 17 percent of 384 babies in the survey were put in front of videos for an hour or more each day. The average baby watched only about 9 minutes a day. Data from the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that the national average may be a bit higher -- about 13 minutes a day. And babies' total screen time, including television, DVDs and even computers, according to Kaiser, is higher still -- about 49 minutes per day. But the alarming finding from the University of Washington survey applied only to baby videos. Television time, in contrast, seemed to have no effect, good or bad, on babies this young.

Meanwhile, today's babies also spend nearly an hour a day playing outside, on average, and more than 30 minutes being read to, according to the Kaiser data. Child advocates wish those numbers were higher, but even so, it's clear that most babies' routines are not dominated by videos.

Over the past two years, I've examined the research on how videos, television and other media affect young children and interviewed scores of parents from many walks of life, and I've learned that it helps to consider what I call the three C's: content, context and the individual child.

Most video content is nearly meaningless to babies less than a year old. (Though there is some evidence that they can imitate on-screen actions, it isn't until they reach 18 to 24 months that they really start to comprehend what they see.) What matters is context and the child's developmental needs.

Parents who think about context make sure that videos don't become a substitute for happy moments of interaction and play. They still take their babies to the playground, build towers with them on the floor and read to them. Many studies, including the new one about baby videos, show that a daily dose of reading helps with language development. It doesn't take a degree in rocket science to realize that babies need the social interaction that comes with reading -- the pointing and labeling, the back-and-forth conversation. Children left alone to watch objects flashing on the TV screen aren't getting that.

Yet in real life, not every minute of the day can be filled with reading, especially to babies who might rather put the books in their mouths. Sometimes parents watch along with their babies. Sometimes they use videos to get a quick break -- to take a shower, clean out the cat's litter box or steal a look at e-mail messages. Taking care of babies and toddlers is hard work. While videos aren't a perfect answer, I can tell you that once in a while, they have kept an exhausted mother from going off the deep end.

So just go easy on video flashcards and don't be misled into thinking they are going to turn your child into a prodigy. Read to and talk to your infant each day. It's a strategy that many parents already follow. Maybe I shouldn't be so embarrassed after all.

Lisa Guernsey is the author of the forthcoming ''Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children From Birth to Age Five.''

Answer 2

The only adversities are what children watch and how much TV time they have. Yes, there are alot of educational vids and programs but they aren't a substitution for one on one time to develop his learning, motor, communication skills. Some studies have shown that no televesion has harbored children from human interaction. At his age all he sees is colors & movement & hears funky & funny sounds that go with this "thing in front of me", which peaks his curiosity but remember that the TV is NOT a built in babysitter, which I'm sure you already realize. Autism has not been linked to television to date.

Answer 3

I dont think its a problem.I have a 5 month old daughter and she has been interested in the television since she could see that far.She watches spongebob with me and her older sister.She sat with me and watched the legend of tarzan..the whole movie!She has much more intrest in her toys,our dog,and random things like calculators and trying to eat anything she can get her hands on.Big deal.It gives you a few moments to take of care of random tasks.Since you read,sing and interact with your baby a little tv wont hurt.I wish I had more hard facts for you but Im sure you have been making the right decisions you seem like a good mommy.keep it up!

Answer 4

Beucase your baby is only 3 and a half months, he isn't able to really play yet-- babies that age can't even reach out and grasp at something yet. The TV is attracting his attention only do to flashing lights and colors-- at this age things like that are a good thing-- they help his eyes develop, and all the words coming out the tv are being heard/absorbed.

Once he is able to actually play, keep the tv off more to stimulate him, but right now it doens't mean much.

Answer 5

Babies love the TV because of its brightly flashing colors and all the sound, not to mention the changing pictures and faces. It can actually be quite stimulating for a baby to watch TV. Since they have no concept yet of language, storyline, content, etc. it really doesn't matter what is on the TV, but I know a lot of people leave it tuned to cartoon shows, Sesame Street, or one of those Baby Einstein videos when Baby is watching TV. Just give him little breaks from it for "quiet time," like before naps and before bedtime, because all that visual stimulation can get him all riled up and he won't sleep properly if you try to get him to sleep right after you shut off the TV.

Answer 6

my kids Loved to watch tv. I would set aside a time of day when i would turn on videos made for babies (baby einstien, boobah, etc. something with music and pictures and lots of color) they would watch it once through, and that was their tv time. at that point i would turn the tv off until they went to bed at which point the tv would come back on with grownup shows. (mommy needs a little tv time sometimes too) It's completely normal and my kids (2 and 3) are fine, in fact smarter than most kids their age. so in my opinion theres nothing to worry about, i would just get shows that stimulate his little brain.

Answer 7

i have heard about studies that watching even children's educational programming can be detrimental to development because that is time the baby could be spending with people actually interacting. It sounds like it really helps you out though, so maybe just let the baby watch as little as possible like when you need the time to do some stuff around the house.

Answer 8

This is really a question for those who have kids. I have a 3 year old, and he really is into T.V. It all depends on what you put on for them to watch. Such as all of the learning channels, like Noggin, Nick Jr. etc. My child watches T.V all the time and I also take time out to teach him things but the Televion has made him a smart little boy. I can't take all of the credit.

Answer 9

I don't know if it is normal but my daughter sure likes to watch. She has done this since she could see that far. I think it's because they like the lights and the movement. I don't think it will turn them into couch potatoes...yet. My daughter is so "in tune" to the tv that she will watch me change the channel with the remote and then looks back at the tv, and vise versa...like she knows what the remotes does...and she is only five mo. old! Dont worry about it yet. You have lots of time before it becomes a problem.

Answer 10

Recent studies have shown that young kids need a lot of human interaction. Watching TV without a lot of human interaction actually will stunt his vocabulary and therefore make it difficult for him to read later on. Reading has been dubbed an unofficial civil right because we need to read to function as adults. I would limit the TV as much as you can, until he gets older, and talk/interact/read with him as much as possible.