Should Infants Watch T.V.

There seem to be are a lot of ideas and opinions as to what are the best ways to raise our children. Ideas range from what type of food is best, how to get them to sleep better, what is the best way to discipline, the amount of structure that they need, it is difficult to decide with all the opinions what is and isn’t right.

TV for babies

These days there is a huge assortment of baby DVDs and even the new BabyFirstTV which leads us parents to decide if our babies should watch TV. Is it healthy for them, or will it eventually leads to problems later on.   According to the AAP they state that-

“Don’t do it! These early years are crucial in a child’s development. The Academy is concerned about the impact of television programming intended for children younger than age two and how it could affect your child’s development. Pediatricians strongly oppose targeted programming, especially when it’s used to market toys, games, dolls, unhealthy food and other products to toddlers. Any positive effect of television on infants and toddlers is still open to question, but the benefits of parent-child interactions are proven. Under age two, talking, singing, reading, listening to music or playing are far more important to a child’s development than any TV show”

So, this poses the question again, should we let our infants watch TV? It is well stated that the first 2 years of a child’s life is crucial to their development. The interactions, skills, habits, etc that they learn will be carried throughout their life. Do we want our children in front of a TV during these crucial years?

Conclusion

As stated above there are a lot of ideas and opinions out there on what is best for our child. It is up to the parents to gather information and make an informed decision on what is best for their child. Some parents feel what is best for their child is not what works for another.

We should spend as much time as we have available to read, play, teach and  interact with them. Whether you stay at home, or work out of the home we do need to take the time with our children. It not only will help them with their learning skills, but will also help us to develop a bond with our child.

Being a new mom myself, there are times when a break is not only nice, but necessary. The TV however, should not be used as a babysitter for our children. That being said I do feel that 30 minutes or less is not going to be harmful. I do have some of the Baby Einstein DVDs and with my son not having the attention span to sit through a 30 minute program, it ends up that the classical music that plays in the background is pleasant. But when he does watch the TV for the moments that it catches his attention he likes the puppets, and objects that are on. I do enjoy the little breaks, but even more I love to watch my son grow and play, I enjoy being there every step of the way.