Is NPR OK?

[frzgrl2008]

I am due to deliver in the next few weeks and my DH is a huge NPR addict. The radio comes on at 5:30 when the alarm goes off and it stays on until 7:00 at night. I know that there are studies that say that too much TV isn't good for child development but has anyone heard anything about having a radio on?

[egoldber]

Well there's radio and then there's NPR. ;)

[Melanie]

I would imagine it depends upon what they're saying.

[deannanb]

I think it would be just fine...
your child would be learning English -
and then there are the music segments which would increase your child's intellegence! =)

[caheinz]

I wouldn't worry about it unless you're perching DC in front of the radio and letting it babysit them for hours at a time... which I don't particularly see working... ;)

[s7714]

I listened to NPR all the time until my DDs got old enough to start asking questions about death/war related issues that were being discussed. Now I just choose to limit my listening to when they're not in the room or car.

[mommy111]

NPR is A-OK (just a personal opinion). YOur child will end up imbibing some very good values and have a stupendous vocabularly by the time she goes to school.

[elliput]

My local NPR station plays classical music most of the day. I'd say that is definitely good for a child's development. Morning Edition and All Things Considered would probably go right over a baby's head though. :p

[kijip]

It better be, since we listen to to constantly. :) Toby does not seem damaged. There is no swearing, not much in the way of angry commentary and no name calling. Would I want my kid to listem to Al Franken all day or Rush and hear words like ugly, stupid and dumb tossed around? No. But it's just basic, low key news.

[shilo]

i personally am fine with NPR in general, tho i'm not sure i'd leave it on 14 hours a day straight... i'd say sam probably hears about an hour a day, mostly in the car and at my parents house a few days a week. i think once the baby is here, and a bit older, you'll probably find that even if you guys are listening for longer periods of time, the baby probably isn't getting as much as you are between naps, playtime in another room, time out and about, etc.

all that said, i know i've read at least once study somewhere (but don't remember where) that talk radio in general should be in moderation (duh) in households with children if for no other reason than they need to be exposed to normal conversational dialog as well. they need to have the give and take of a conversation modeled for them as well as just listening to a mostly one sided 'show' format where one person talks for long periods of time (generalization, i know, varies greatly by show, etc).

but as long as you're doing things like reading to him/her from an early age, having normal 2 way conversations in front of them (ie, we have a no radio or tv at the table rule in our house) so they learn the patterns of speech, etc. i don't see it as a big deal. maybe talk with your DH about some agreed upon times when the radio should be off or on some music instead to balance it out.

hth, lori

[BeachBum]

It's funny, I had forgotten about worrying about this when my son was small too. I did read that infants have a hard time telling the difference between background and foreground sounds. It's been a while, but I remember that it was important not to have the tv or radio going all day.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I probably wouldn't have it on all the time just so they had some quiet moments for variety.

Beth

[maestramommy]

I wouldn't worry about radio. Just don't turn it up too loud or have it on all the time.

[ThreeofUs]

Sounds like a friend of mine - NPR on all the time from waking to sleeping.

We listen, too, but not to that extent....

I think it all boils down to the attention you give your DC, and how much interactive talking you do with him/her. Attention, talking, reading against a noisy background? I don't know how distracting that will be, but you can always turn the radio down or have "quiet rooms".

[JTsMom]

A lot (but not all) of the concern about TV viewing in the very young has to do with the rapidly changing images, so definitely not the same as a radio playing softly in the background.