I was reading through my green book the other day (the green book that the health visiting team give you in the hope that you won’t ever need to phone them) that children under the age of two shouldn’t watch ANY telly. I have never and would never stick Iyla in front of the telly all day but I think to ban it altogether seems a little extreme.
Iyla is nearly 11 months old and has just started showing an interest in the telly which I have to admit pleased me a bit (okay a lot). I was starting to struggle to find ways to entertain her, I am with her for 13 hours everyday and I see telly as a little helper. It’s a difficult age because other than singing and Megablok building (I build them and she takes them apart), I am stuck for things to do. I am looking forward to when she is a bit older and we can do proper activities like cooking, drawing and painting but even then I am not going to spend all day doing those things so I know that I will still be putting the telly on sometimes.
Our morning ritual currently involves coming downstairs at 6am and putting The Hoobs on so Iyla can watch it while I go and eat my breakfast. The Milkshake presenters have far more energy then I ever could at that time in the morning so I leave it to them to entertain Iyla for a bit. Lazy parenting?! Maybe but anyone who can spend 13 hours entertaining a baby without any form of help deserves a medal.
- Hooble Doodle Do
I found an article about how the reason under twos shouldn’t watch telly is because it will make them ‘fatter, stupider and more likely to get bullied by other pupils’ which I just find slightly ridiculous. I mean watching telly can’t make them fatter – surely it’s about the amount of exercise they do outside of telly watching and how good their diet is?!
I think it’s about balance and I am not going to ban telly altogether until the age of two because I trust my judgement enough to know that it’s not going to make Iyla ‘fat and stupid’. I will always regulate what she watches and at the moment she only pays attention to it for a few minutes at a time anyway but I enjoyed watching programmes such as Noddy and Winnie the Pooh when I was little so I don’t see any harm in letting her watch them too.
Something I would like to know though is why they feel the need to change all the original kids programmes. Apparently Postman Pat has a helicopter now – why?! Real postmen don’t have helicopters, although I wish they did – it might mean I get my post before 1.30pm.
And just look what they have done to the Thomas the Tank Engine theme tune. I challenge anyone to watch it and not have it stuck in their heads for days on end – or FOREVER.
Before I let you enjoy this song, do your kids watch telly? If so, what are their ages and how much do they watch?
ENJOY!…… ZDZSVKJXHRVU
Isabel does not watch TV, I’m not sure why you think that’s extreme? :p
How refreshing to hear someone with some sense talking about children watching TV. It is all about moderation. Banning it all together is ridiculous. I have a cousin whose parents chose to not even have a TV in the house, the result was that when she went to anyone elses house she stared at the television like some sort of zombie and all she wanted to do was watch TV and videos. And she’s not the skinniest person in the world.
LittleMan watches TV for about 40 mins to an hour between his dinner and his bath time. At that time of day he is tired and very full of food, and I think we all know how that feels. And he loves it. I generally put it on Disney Jr which is full of songs and exciting colours.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not using the TV to babysit him. I sit with him and watch it, I join in with the songs and we dance along to various different bits. He clearly recognises some of the songs now because he will turn to smile at the TV when they are on. And I personally think that’s a great sign of his development.
And I think the updating of my old childhood favourites is just plain wrong. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I love the old Thomas theme because my little brother used to sing it to ask for Thomas long before he could talk.
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I can completely understand why that would happen, it does seem to be the case that anything kids weren’t allowed growing up will at some point be hugely appealing to them. I definitely think it’s about moderation. I think the programmes aimed at the very young ones appear to be harmless anyway – they focus on numbers, colours and words. Someone left a comment saying that they put the subtitles on as well so that when they are learning to read it can help them. I thought that was a good idea. I don’t know what they have done to Thomas! Awful! x
Mum2babyinsomniac recently posted..No Telly For The Under Twos? Thoughts?!
I totally agree with you, TV has not done any of my children any harm, none of them are fat and the four older children are all excelling in school. Its all about moderation!
I was always reluctant to use the TV to entertain, (the way I was brought up)however when we first got the courage to use a childminder, she said the outrageously over the top kids tv shows would actually help stimulate my little girls brain at a young age. Now we watch the Tv together before bed to relax. It was great advice
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That is interesting and I can imagine that it’s true, the baby programmes seem to focus on colours, numbers and words which must help them learn. As long as they aren’t in front of a telly for 8 hours a day, I can’t see that there is anything wrong with it! x
Mum2babyinsomniac recently posted..No Telly For The Under Twos? Thoughts?!
My LO isnt too fussed with telly yet but he loves In the night garden. As long as they don’t sit in front of it for 12 hours/ a very long time, I dont think there’s anything wrong with it. Not sure how you would stop an under 2 watching TV if you have one in the house!
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As a gamer who has children I recognise the importance of balancing a childs entertainment by mixing ingredients such as the television alongside other things.
Yes a child who stares at a television set all day is likely to get ‘goggle eyes’, however also children learn alot from the television whether it be simply the names of their favourite characters or of course animal names/sounds etc, allowing them to watch a couple of hours of television a day doesn’t do them any harm and can benefit their education as well as their imagination.
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I completely agree, that is a really interesting point about helping their imagination as well. A lot of the programmes for very young children focus on numbers, colours and words so it must help them with their education. I think once they get older and just want to watch cartoons for eight hours a day it becomes a problem. I loved watching Noddy and Winnie the Pooh when I was younger and it hasn’t done me any harm!(I don’t think!)
Mum2babyinsomniac recently posted..No Telly For The Under Twos? Thoughts?!
moral panics about children’s television viewing have been around since the first children’s programmes were made. Claims that TV can make children fat and stupid are themselves rather stupid. Feeding children too much of the wrong foods and not giving them chances to play vigorously (what adults could call exercise), makes them fat. If they spend the entire day watching TV instead of doing some physical work, then perhaps TV has contributed to making them fat. But the real culprits are the carers or parents who let this behaviour develop.
As for the stupid part, I can’t agree with this either. TV in appropriate amounts can stimulate children. It is has bright colours, music and language and children’s programming nowadays often has the input of child psychologists and development experts. If you deprive your child of TV you are shutting down a valuable and easy to access source of extra learning in my opinion.
I have let my daughter watch TV since birth. She now watches around 1 to 2 hours a day, and at the age of 2 is starting to find favourite programmes she will settle down and watch.
Here’s a tip too, put the subtitles on. As the child gets to the age where they are ready to read, the use of subtitles reinforces the link between words and spoken language.
My advice to parents is to trust your instincts, banning or heavily restricting television is too draconian. Keep an eye on your child’s viewing habits, encourage them to do other activities and also talk to them about the programmes they watch so they get a chance to develop other skills.
I completely agree, that is a really good tip about the subtitles too, especially when they are starting to read. Amazing idea! I think to ban it totally as with anything would result in them thinking they have been deprived and then becoming a telly addict in there teenage years! My mum never used to let me eat sweets and as soon as I was old enough to buy them, I used to eat gross amounts every day. The same thing happened to my friend who was brought up by strict vegetarian parents. I definitely think it is all about everything being in moderation! Thanks for your comment.
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Oh dear, oh dear. My first comment was a bit of leg pulling aimed at the original post, but reading the follow up comments I can’t help twitch somewhat.
If I’d commented saying that those of you who let your children watch TV are lazy parents breeding reliance on the box for stimulation, I’d have been called out for being judgemental / OTT / whatever (rightly so – and I don’t believe that, for the record). But it’s open season on those of us who choose to avoid it?
Never mind. I guess my poor deprived zombie child will rebel against my ridiculous, draconian parenting some day and prove you all right, huh?
I completely understand that you didn’t mean any harm by your original comment, I think it is just one of those issues that causes controvesy. I personally do think that banning it altogether is as drastic as letting a kid watch it all day long but every parent is entitled to do what they think is best for their children. I do know from my experience that after having been banned from eating sweets growing up, as soon as I was old enough to buy them, I used to eat a disgusting amount everyday whereas my friend who had grown up with a box in her kitchen was never bothered about eating them. It’s a tricky one but I just don’t think that having telly as part of a balanced lifestyle can do any harm x
Mum2babyinsomniac recently posted..No Telly For The Under Twos? Thoughts?!
If by controversy you mean “gives those insecure in their opinion justification to judge others for theirs” then yes, I guess you’re right!
How on earth could watching some age appropriate TV harm a child? That’s just ridiculous. The harm comes from excessive TV watching leading to a child missing out on other things like exercise, developmental play and interaction with adults and other children. Like most things, its all about moderation, isn’t it?
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Completely agree, it’s all about moderation. I just don’t see the need to ban it altogether x
Mum2babyinsomniac recently posted..No Telly For The Under Twos? Thoughts?!
Not only is it already a great activity for my baby (now 9 months but a tv watcher since week 1) but I find the people who are anti tv for babies are perfectly happy to go to parent and baby cinema and watch a film with them which is effectively two hours of tv on a very big screen. It’s jar a snobby classist thing.
Great post and some great comments too. My 2 have watched TV since they knew what the TV was. My 4 yr old really picked up everything he watching and it helped him develop his numeracy and literacy skills. At the age of 17 months he was counting to 10 and now at the age of 4 he recognises numbers in the 1000s and can read and write. Of course, I don’t believe this is all down to TV (he’s just very smart!) but watching age appropriate programs with me and talking about them really helped him. My daughter is 2 and she just likes Peppa Pig LOL but I don’t think a little bit of TV does them any harm. I don’t agree with the TV being on all day in the background though. That’s ridiculous!
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Thanks. Yep I am sure it must help them pick things up quickly because the programmes for the young ones are full of colours, numbers and words which are going to help them learn. No I don’t think the telly should be on in the background. I don’t have it on at all in the day (well until Deal or No Deal starts!) but I think for them to watch a bit in the morning and evening after having a done activities in the day is not a prob! x
Mum2babyinsomniac recently posted..No Telly For The Under Twos? Thoughts?!
Balance is vital I think. I’m a bit ‘anti-TV’ as I’ve seen some kids who are hooked to it and don’t want to go down that line, but having an ill baby this week I was so grateful to be able to cuddle up and let her watch In the night garden with me (at 11 months old) – it definitely helped her rest and put her to sleep, and hopefully took her mind of being ill a wee bit!
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I think once they get older there is definitely grounds for them to get hooked on it, I wouldn’t let Iyla have a telly in her room until she was a teenager as I would want to keep an eye on how much and what she is watching. But if telly is bad then are they not allowed to watch films either?! Surely Disney films are part of every childs life but are they not meant to watch them either?! I am definitely going to be introducing Iyla to The Sound Of Music as it’s my fave! x
Mum2babyinsomniac recently posted..No Telly For The Under Twos? Thoughts?!
Each to their own I say. F watches a bit of TV at certain points in the day – she has about 5 minutes of CBeebies with her milk in the morning and then about 10 minutes (64 Zoo Lane) after her tea and before her bedtime bath. I don’t have a “TV rule”, but when she’s awake and I’m at home with her I’d prefer to be doing “activities” or be out and about than watching TV. That said, whenever she’s “watching” TV she tends to be doing something else at the same time – banging a drum along to a theme tune or shaking her marrakahs etc. Funny to watch her get her groove on to Rasta Mouse!
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Rasta Mouse is fab, I made my OH watch it on Youtube this morning! To be honest at this age I don’t really think anything can catch their attention for very long anyway. Once they get older and want to watch telly instead of doing anything else then I think it becomes and issue. I need to start building up a Disney DVD collection so I can watch them with Iyla when she is a bit older – exciting! x
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