When did your DC first watch TV?

[momm]

I've not yet let DS watch TV even when we're watching or to distract him to feed him - both things I've seen others do. I was wondering if I am being too much of a stickler? Thought I'd take a poll here to see the norm

[BeachBum]

We didn't let me oldest watch until he was almost 2. Now at almost 6, he is totally obsessed with it.
My younger kids have always been able to watch it, and they couldn't care less.

[weech]

DS is 15 months and has not really watched "TV" at all. He's watched a sign language DVD, so I voted after first, but before second birthday. He may have glanced at the TV while DH was watching baseball, but he's never been engaged or paid any attention.

[infocrazy]

This should be multiple choice...it got progressively earlier with each kid...however, I don't think any of them actually "watched" anything until after 2...

[janine]

I let her watch Nick Jr around 18 mo's. I was aware of the 2 yr "rule" and fet a bit guilty but honestly I think it's fine if it's not dominant and to be frank, it does help with distraction/calming down and she has learned a great deal (learned the alphabet before aged 2). Of course not saying it has replaced us in educating her, but it taught her things that I would have otherwise thought was too advanced.

[hillview]

My oldest was almost 3 when we let him watch TV. Youngest started at 2.

They watch about an hour in the am and 30 mins at night. Although sometimes they aren't actually watching it, the TV is on. It is more this summer since camp doesn't start til 9 (school starts at 8).
/hillary

[BabyBearsMom]

DD is 15 months and we don't let her watch tv. We also don't have the tv on when DD is awake, so she doesn't see tv at home. She will occasionally see tv in restaurants or when we are at someone else's house and the tv is on. I don't really have a plan as to when DD will start watching tv. I'm sure it will happen at some point, probably when we have a second baby and DH and I can't be around to constantly entertain DD.

As an aside, not letting DD watch TV drives my MIL insane (she thinks we are somehow depriving her granddaughter of some great thing, and it is causing DD to be slow lingually even though DD isn't remotely slow with language, etc. etc.). She constantly harps on me about it...which kind of makes me want to forbid tv for life just to mess with MIL:icon_twisted:

[cvanbrunt]

The oldest first watched at two. The second was probably one. They are five and three now and will ask to watch but if I say no, they don't freak out about it. You aren't a bad mom if they watch something. Plus, the stuff on PBS kids is awesome!

[twowhat?]

Oh, by around 6 months. Baby Einstein would hold their attention for about 10 min - enough for me to give one a quick bath and then swap out. By 2 years I was starting to get annoyed that they WOULDN'T watch more than 5 min at a time!! Finally at almost 3 they will sit still and watch a 20 min show. And I love it. They're only allowed to watch 30-45 min worth after their baths. Flame me now!!! :)

[♥ms.pacman♥]

ds started watching tv (baby einstein) at 7mos, when i got preggo with DD and had horrible morning sickness. i needed like 20 minuts to eat something before i got sick or passed out. even then though, it didn't always hold his attention. then once dd was born and i felt better he very rarely watched any tv (like maybe 30mins-1 hour of a dvd every 2 weeks).

nowadays he is almost 18 mos and we do let him watch maybe 1-2 hours of TV a week. never when he's eating a meal though. it's always an educational DVD so when it's over, it's over and that is that. usually it's before bed and it does a really good job of calming him down. we do make an effort to watch these shows with him and talk to him while he watches it and explain things, etc so it is somewhat interactive.

ive heard of the recommendation of the no-TV before 2 thing, and how too much TV at an early age can cause speech delay and other things but for me i wasn't too concerned about it since i made sure he didn't watch too much and i watched if it made him cranky or whatever. now at almost 18mos DS is speaking really well (almost spekaing in sentences), so i don't think he was harmed by it at all.

with these kinds of things i really think moderation is key. the only time i get annoyed and really strict about tV watching is when the ILs babysit DS (rare because they don't live in town). the TV is practically always on as background noise, while he is being fed, and they let him watch whatever show he wants and i really hate that. we really do make watching TV as a special treat/privelege, not something he gets to do everyday.

[PMJ]

ds started watching tv (baby einstein) at 7mos, when i got preggo with DD and had horrible morning sickness. i needed like 20 minuts to eat something before i got sick or passed out.

I agree w/ this -- you do what you gotta do when you are not feeling well.

with these kinds of things i really think moderation is key. the only time i get annoyed and really strict about tV watching is when the ILs babysit DS (rare because they don't live in town). the TV is practically always on as background noise, while he is being fed, and they let him watch whatever show he wants and i really hate that. we really do make watching TV as a special treat/privelege, not something he gets to do everyday.

:yeahthat: MODERATION!

[Gena]

Do you mean sitting down and watching kid shows? Or being in the room while the TV is on?

When DS was an infant, we would have the morning news on while we were both getting ready for work and DS was often in the room in his PNP or bouncy seat.

We sometimes put kid shows on (Noggin) when DS was a little under 2. But he really didn't pay much attention to anything on TV until he got his first pair of glasses a few months after turning 2.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

As an aside, not letting DD watch TV drives my MIL insane (she thinks we are somehow depriving her granddaughter of some great thing, and it is causing DD to be slow lingually even though DD isn't remotely slow with language, etc. etc.). She constantly harps on me about it...which kind of makes me want to forbid tv for life just to mess with MIL:icon_twisted:

hehe dh and i were talking about this earlier, as DH's parents always have the TV on, and they would be totally flabbergasted if i asked them to turn the TV off while DS was there or requested to limit his tv watching. our t heory was that n the 1970s TV was touted as the best thing ever and i think that is part of the reason the grandparents these days think TV is so great and they don't see why some parents want to limit it. same thing with formula vs. nursing...many comments like "i don't get it, why do'nt you just give a bottle?? formula is just soo much easier" etc etc.

which makes we wonder what we are doing this generation that in a few decades will be discovered by the experts to be less than ideal or whatever. i'm sure there will be something.

[wencit]

ive heard of the recommendation of the no-TV before 2 thing, and how too much TV at an early age can cause speech delayI heard of that recommendation as well, so DS1 didn't watch TV until he was about 2 1/2, when I was in the throes of nasty morning sickness with DS2, AND my lovely son decided to drop his naps at the same time. Funny thing is that DS1, although technically not speech delayed, is on the lower end of normal for expressive speech, whereas DS2, who started watching TV between 12-18 months, is much more advanced than his big brother. Go figure! :shrug:

[AnnieW625]

With DD1 I tried showing her a Baby Einstein video when she was about 5-7 mos. old, she wanted nothing to do with it. That year at Christmas her DCP said she showed the kids The Snowman by Raymond Briggs and so I bought that for DD1 (she was almost 9 mos. old) and she enjoyed it. She didn't really get TV until she was 2 yrs. old though which I think was due to hearing issues. We did start showing her Sesame Street, and Little Einsteins at about 18 months because she is an early riser (6:30 am) and we needed to get ready for work. I know I know.

With DD2 she probably saw her first images at 2 months old because I didn't feel it was right to tell DD1 she couldn't watch a show when DD2 was awake. We have a small house, and are a 1 TV household by choice so it's just one thing that I'd rather just not fight. Most of the time though until she was about 10 months old I would put DD2 in the Bumbo seat and turn her around when the TV was on, and she'd look at me while I was on the computer. DD2 is 14 months old and I have yet to specifically sit her down in front of the TV to watch a show. I will most likely formally introduce Sesame Street about the same age as I did with DD1.

DD1 did have speech delay and needed tubes, but I do not believe that in any part that was due to introducing the TV before 12 mos. old or letting her watch a full episode of something before she was 2 yrs. old, but that's just me and I am sure that the speech delay wouldn't have been an issue if she didn't have the recurrent ear infections she had between 18 mos. and 2 yrs. old.

TV is definitely a treat as DD1 gets older. The minute she misbehaves the TV and or the computer are the first things to go privelidge wise and we are very firm with it. She gets at most an hour a day, and when she starts kindergarten in the fall she'll get none in the AM because we will have to leave the house by 7 am.

[alirebco]

With DS he was was over 2.5 and I was super sick, nauseous, and faint in my first trimester so he started with some PBS then. Before that, the tv was not on until he was in bed.

Even now, I notice he is much better behaved on the days he doesn't watch tv.

[tribe pride]

I'm voting other. We don't own a tv, so if by "watching" it, you mean sitting down to watch a kids' show like on PBS or Nick Jr., then never (DSs are 3 and 1). But when we're visiting relatives or friends, the tv is sometimes on, so they occasionally see a few minutes of the news, sports games, etc.

However, we do watch sporting events (mainly college basketball) online sometimes, and DS1 will watch that for a few minutes, so I guess that counts as screen time. And we also let him watch a children's video on the computer when we cut his hair to help him sit still. So no tv shows for us, but maybe 30 minutes of screen time per month on the computer, starting around age 2.

[BabbyO]

Baby Einstein videos were probably introduced somewhere around 7-8 mo...but they didn't hold DS' attention for long. I know he was exposed to TV before his first birthday because the kids at the sitters are allowed to watch 1-2 shows/day. Somewhere around the 18 mo mark, though he actually became interested in TV. He loves watching Blues Clues and Dora. I'll admit that I've been known to let him watch a full week of DVR'ed Dora on the weekend just so I can get laundry and cleaning done. But then he won't get anything (except whatever is allowed/seen at the sitters - and she's stricter than I am) until the following weekend.

This past weekend after 2 VERY long busy days without a nap I actually encouraged DS to sit and watch Tangled...just so he would have some down time. (ETA: We tried books and a nap first, but DS wasn't having any of it. We try to watch TV in moderation.)

[SnuggleBuggles]

We are a TV family, and I am kind of loathe to admit that. But, the TV has been on his whole life and kid programming before 12m.

Beth

[Roni]

We're trying really hard not to let dd3 watch tv until she's 2, but it's hard to keep her from watching what we're watching. We do try to block her but are not always successful. But, we're not plopping her down in front of Sesame Street, Disney, or even the Wiggles. (She does, however, perk up when she hears the Phineas and Ferb theme song.) We were much more lax with the first two, and we're paying the price now--they are tv addicts. DH is pretty adamant about not letting her watch tv until she's 2.

She did, however, go to the movies with us last week. I couldn't leave her at home, so it is what it is.

[waitingforgrace]

We've always had the tv on periodically throughout the day. I watch a little bit of the Today show first thing in the morning and then at 4 Extra is on and Mommy needs a mental break before DH gets home. Yea, yea I know Extra, Hollywood gossip trash, not appropriate for a toddler I know, I know.

So DD has been "exposed" her whole life but she couldn't care less about it. I turned on Sesame street once and she wouldn't even look at the tv. The only thing that has caught her attention is the Huggies commercial where the little boy pees all over - she loves seeing other babies.

I'm actually hoping she'll start to like something on tv so I can use it as a treat the first few weeks when we bring DC2 home.

[Roni]

We've always had the tv on periodically throughout the day. I watch a little bit of the Today show first thing in the morning and then at 4 Extra is on and Mommy needs a mental break before DH gets home. Yea, yea I know Extra, Hollywood gossip trash, not appropriate for a toddler I know, I know.

So DD has been "exposed" her whole life but she couldn't care less about it. I turned on Sesame street once and she wouldn't even look at the tv. The only thing that has caught her attention is the Huggies commercial where the little boy pees all over - she loves seeing other babies.

I'm actually hoping she'll start to like something on tv so I can use it as a treat the first few weeks when we bring DC2 home.

Dd3 loves that commercial, too! (Really, I'm trying not to let her watch!)

[KrisM]

Voted other because I couldn't do multiple answers. DS1 was 2.5, DD about 1.5 and DS2 was just under 1.

[kijip]

2 for each son for videos (no TV with commercials for either yet) but the older son was much less interested in TV than his peers and he rarely watched much at all. Whereas F, now 2.5 LOVES shows and would watch most of the day if allowed. So we have to take a different approach with his viewing than we did with T. He has limits and days he is allowed to watch and not watch. We try to limit it with us because I know the 1-2 days per week he is with grandpa for 5-8 hours, grandpa is far more indulgent and lets him watch whole movies.

[mommylamb]

We started letting him watch Leap Frog DVDs around 19-20 months, but he wasn't really too interested until after he turned 2. When we have a second child, the no TV rule is probably going to go out the window though because DS, now at age 4, likes his Sprout.

[citymama]

DD1 is 5 and we don't have a TV so I guess never?

But she has been watching clips of things and streaming Netflix shows on my laptop since around 2.5 or 3.

[kijip]

But she has been watching clips of things and streaming Netflix shows on my laptop since around 2.5 or 3.

All of our TV is pretty much DVDs or streaming from Netflix or from iTunes. That is what I call TV as except for a short time, we never had a TV with reception and when we did, we only used the DVR or on Demand and did not watch commercials.

[blondflava]

I voted 'Before 1st Birthday' and was shocked to see it was the most common choice out there.. But our case was a bit unique, DD has been struggling with non-eating since being born basically, and we discovered that we can bottle feed her much easier in front of Spongebob (she was 6-7 months?), otherwise, it was dreamfeeding, walking, rocking, singing, bouncing, dancing, you name it, her aversion to bottle (reflux) was that bad... Now she's 2 and eats in front of the TV, which was actually reinforced by our Feeding Team. I try to limit TV time and she usually doesn't care if it's on, she plays and sometimes glances on when a song comes on or such (my DH is much more pr-TV :/).

[llama8]

I am a big fan of tv in moderation. My DD started loving Yo Gabba Gabba and the Wiggles around 6 months old and Sesame street around 1 year old. She never really liked the Baby Einstein DVD's that much.

She is limited to 1 hour a day. She has learned so much from tv as an enrichment to her normal learning. She socializes with kids and adults all day, so tv is a nice change of pace for her.

At 19 months old, she knows 10 letters of the alphabet, most colors, can count to 4, and speaks in small sentences. She picks up letters from Sesame street and new ideas from Elmo.

I see nothing wrong with it as long as it is used in moderation. I truly see my daughter learning while watching educational shows.

[Multimama]

We have a TV, but it is in storage. DS does not watch it. He has of course seen a few snippets of TV at restaurants and so forth, but he's never watched a TV program. I don't see a need and I don't like the way it hypnotizes him when he does see it. We watch "TV" on the computer when he's asleep.

DH did pull out the TV when the World Cup was on last summer, but I had no problem with it since it was a social thing for the two of them and it only happens once every four years. :)