Those who dont let you lo see/watch the tv...

[Gemie]

Oh garwd if you believed everything you read you'd do nothing!

Life is for living! Enjoy it and stop worrying that 'one study says so and so' etc!

Live, love, laugh, watch TV

 

[fides]

We don't let the children watch TV at home, in fact we got rid of ours. As to why, we have lots of reasons but here are just a few of our personal reasons:
- TV is passive, I prefer my children to be active (most of the time anyway!)
- to avoid the influence of adverts and consumerism
- to be in control of when and what my children are exposed to
- to reduce overstimulation
- to avoid sensationalism, fearmongering and violence that could cause anxiety
- a huge amount of brain development occurs during the first two years and is optimised by three types of stimuli: interaction, manipulation of environment and problem-solving activities; TV provides none of these
- studies have shown that the risks of TV include encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over-excitedness, trouble with sleep and concentration, and dependence on screens
- the average child will witness 200,000 acts of violence on TV by age 18 and studies have shown that violent TV can cause increased anxiety and sleep disruption, increased verbal and physical aggression, decreased empathy and decreased self-control
- EEG studies show diminished mental activity during TV viewing and the passivity and lowered alertness continues for a while after switching the TV off
- TV can cause neural hyperstimulation by conditioning the brain to expect high levels of input from the orienting reflex, resulting in boredom and inattentiveness in real life
- TV decreases the opportunities for children to mentally conjure a world with creative imagination
- TV is a time waster, by the time the average person is 70 they will have spent 7-10 years watching TV.

hat's off to you guys!

we still have a tv and only use it for movies, so LO will see movies when he's older.

 

[alicemummy]

I still stand by my previous post.

You can control it for so long, and then you can't...as I said I watched plenty of TV (couple of hours a day- shock horror!) And im fine.

I just think it may cause aggravation later on but who knows

Each to their own

 

[whit.]

We don't let the children watch TV at home, in fact we got rid of ours. As to why, we have lots of reasons but here are just a few of our personal reasons:
- TV is passive, I prefer my children to be active (most of the time anyway!)
Are children who watch some tv not active?
- to avoid the influence of adverts and consumerism
Do you take your children to stores during the Holidays?
- to be in control of when and what my children are exposed to
What will you do when they are in school and there are tons of other people influencing what they are doing?
- to avoid sensationalism, fearmongering and violence that could cause anxiety
I agree with this - as sometimes it sets off my anxiety.
- a huge amount of brain development occurs during the first two years and is optimised by three types of stimuli: interaction, manipulation of environment and problem-solving activities; TV provides none of these
There are quite a few shows that provide problem solving activities. Sophia doesn't "watch" tv but I usually have it on. Majority of the time it's on cartoons because of the music. This morning there was a show on that was about problem solving and it had to do with putting letters together to make words to help them.
- studies have shown that the risks of TV include encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over-excitedness, trouble with sleep and concentration, and dependence on screens
What about computers?
- the average child will witness 200,000 acts of violence on TV by age 18 and studies have shown that violent TV can cause increased anxiety and sleep disruption, increased verbal and physical aggression, decreased empathy and decreased self-control
I wonder what other influences these people had in their lives, though. Surely the studies didn't put children in a room from birth and test them with only watching tv their whole life without other interaction.


I'm not attacking you so I hope you don't feel that way, just curious. Also, do you let your children see your computer screen? Could this cause the same things?

 

[princess_vix]

When in my TV is always on in the background on low on any old channel or the kids channel

He doesnt pay much attention to it unless it's something he's interested in (peppa pig,Ben and Holly and a few others) He prefers to play with me and read books ect so just runs around doing his own thing but he likes to have it on in the background.

And his speech and development is no slower than any other childs,infact he repeats the words he hears off cbeebies which i believe has helped him.

He's always had a TV on in the background since he was born.

 

[sequeena]

My TV is usually always on but Thomas will only watch it for 5 minutes if he notices it. He LOVES interacting with people, bouncing on our laps, standing up, talking etc. So I don't think it's going to hinder him at all. He's a nosey little thing

 

[Cattia]

I still stand by my previous post.

You can control it for so long, and then you can't...as I said I watched plenty of TV (couple of hours a day- shock horror!) And im fine.

I just think it may cause aggravation later on but who knows

Each to their own

I'm sure when my children are older they will watch some TV after school etc. However when I was growing up my dad was pretty strict about what we watched. We weren't allowed to watch soaps or programmes like Neighbours or Grange Hill when we were young (we did watch them once we were teenagers).At the time I hated it, but now looking back I respect him for it because I realised that he just wanted to stop us from soaking up a lot of negative influences. I think I will be strict about limiting the time spent watching TV and the content of what they watch, because at the end of the day it is part of my job as a parent to make decisions about what I think is best for my children. They won't always like those decisions, but that's parenting for you I guess! When my children are at friends' houses and the TV is on, I don't stress about it. It isn't going to kill them, but I can control the influences that they are exposed to at home, same way as I don't give my toddler chocolate but if she goes to someone's house and gets given some I don't stop her eating it, if that makes sense.

 

[pandacub]

What age to babies/toddlers usually start properly watching tv? Because my LO never sits still long enough to watch anything!
If ive got the tv on, the only thing he'll pay attention to is the national accident helpline advert.
I put cartoons on saturday morning but thats cause i like watching Arthur and Phineus and Pherb *embarrassed face*

 

[Pixoletta]

I was adamant that my LO wouldn't be watching TV and i even made a post about it on here. LO watches a little bit of tv and it doesn't hurt him, i think people go way OTT on things in this century. We don't have the tv on when he's eating, as it distracts him.

 

[freckleonear]

Are children who watch some tv not active?
See my other points about studies about passivity continuing even after watching TV. Also there is a known link between childhood obesity and TV, along with the fact that any time taken up by watching TV is obviously not being used for active play. Obviously it isn't a problem with responsible parental limitation, but it can be a slippery slope so personally I'm going to avoid it altogether.

Do you take your children to stores during the Holidays?
My children get one bought Christmas present each if that lets you know where I stand about consumerism. We tend to follow the ideas of Simplicity Parenting.

What will you do when they are in school and there are tons of other people influencing what they are doing?
We are home educating. By the time my children are significantly influenced by others I hope they will be old enough to make up their own minds (although of course adverts still have a huge effect even on adults).

I agree with this - as sometimes it sets off my anxiety.

There are quite a few shows that provide problem solving activities. Sophia doesn't "watch" tv but I usually have it on. Majority of the time it's on cartoons because of the music. This morning there was a show on that was about problem solving and it had to do with putting letters together to make words to help them.
It's good but they won't necessarily engage, so I don't think it's quite the same as actually doing the problem solving themselves. I'm not denying that there are some great children's programs out there.

What about computers?
Computers do have some of the same risks as TV, although not quite to the same extent as it requires user input and so the brain doesn't switch off in the same way.

I wonder what other influences these people had in their lives, though. Surely the studies didn't put children in a room from birth and test them with only watching tv their whole life without other interaction.
Studies aren't infalible but when a huge amount of studies come up with similar results it suggests that there must be some truth behind it.

I'm not attacking you so I hope you don't feel that way, just curious. Also, do you let your children see your computer screen? Could this cause the same things?
I'm happy to let the children see my screen when I'm typing, as it's pretty boring and they look away quickly. Apart from that computer time is and will be limited.

Hope that answers your questions.

 

[freckleonear]

Oh garwd if you believed everything you read you'd do nothing!

Life is for living! Enjoy it and stop worrying that 'one study says so and so' etc!

Live, love, laugh, watch TV

I am living thank you very much, and I intend to do so in a way that I believe is best for me and my children. And just for the record, I don't believe everything I read. I'm a scientist so I only believe the stuff with proper evidence backing it up.

 

[lisaf]

I am not extremely strict about it... but I don't like to encourage the behavior.

I make sure those who watch him are good about this too. For example, when he was less than 3 months old, my SIL told me how he liked watching NCIS... umm, no, he was just mesmerized by the flashes and lights etc... he stares at light fixtures too... I'd much rather you sing to him etc.

 

[whit.]

Hope that answers your questions.

Thank you for answering and it did. With such strong opinion about it I'm glad to see you actually having reasonings why and detouring yourself and your children from the things that could interfere, like homeschooling instead of public school if you know what I mean.

Not that I'm judging anyone else - the tv is on the majority of the time at my house.

 

[OmarsMum]

What age to babies/toddlers usually start properly watching tv? Because my LO never sits still long enough to watch anything!
If ive got the tv on, the only thing he'll pay attention to is the national accident helpline advert.
I put cartoons on saturday morning but thats cause i like watching Arthur and Phineus and Pherb *embarrassed face*

Omar didn't start to watch TV until he was almost 15 months, he wasn't interested earlier. Until now the only show he watches is Mickey club house & only in the morning when he eats his breakfast & sometimes in the evening if he's tired from playing.

The TV was always off when he was a baby. Until now he doesn't really sit & watch TV, he moves around while watching most of the time

 

[Gemie]

Oh garwd if you believed everything you read you'd do nothing!

Life is for living! Enjoy it and stop worrying that 'one study says so and so' etc!

Live, love, laugh, watch TV

I am living thank you very much, and I intend to do so in a way that I believe is best for me and my children. And just for the record, I don't believe everything I read. I'm a scientist so I only believe the stuff with proper evidence backing it up.

Too each their own my love... Just sayin'

 

[Natsku]

Maria doesn't want tv but we don't have a tv anyway. I don't think she'd sit still long enough to watch anything anyway!
But I'm not such a great fan of tv anymore anyway, most of whats on it is crap. I just download the programs I like and we watch them when Maria is sleeping - occasionally we watch when she's awake but she just goes off and plays so she's clearly not interested anyway.

 

[Gen79]

But I'm not such a great fan of tv anymore anyway, most of whats on it is crap. I just download the programs I like and we watch them when Maria is sleeping - occasionally we watch when she's awake but she just goes off and plays so she's clearly not interested anyway.

WSS

 

[summer rain]

We don't have a TV either but sometimes the kids are watching something (we only let them watch a small selection of more educational programmes) on iplayer on the computer and sometimes myself if LO is overstaying his welcome past bedtime; but we try not to have it on too much in the background when he is around. He usually gets bored and walks out of the room anyway. We are also home educating and there is a massive difference between the attention span of our kids and the other kids in OHs family around the same age (they have 24/7 TV on in the background and no guidance as to what they can watch) xx

 

[Brookey]

i dont think its so much of a problem now...when leo gets older i will be more strict about tv. i think people can go a bit over the top with it really.

none of us can really slag technology off because we are all sitting here staring at a computer screen! (im joking btw)

seriously though, TV is not high on my list of things to worry about with my baby.

 

[Miss_Bump]

When Evie was a baby I always had the radio on. When I nursed her I used to put the TV on or me and he couldn't see it anyway.

As she got older we still listened and when we went to other peoples houses and they had the TV on she didn't pay much attention to it anyway and it was hardly on at home so didn't bother me.

Now she is older we watch TV during breakfast (usually Fireman Sam or Peppa Pig) and then we go out or if we are at home it's the radio

I don't mind her watching some TV but she doesn't take much interest tho, she would rather build blocks or try and wrap the cat up in a blanket


As long as TV isn't the main source of entertainment/stimation