NBR Poll: Kids and TV

nocturnalintimacy · August 2013

Since none of my IRL friends have kids, I don't have a sounding board on this. Well, that's not true. I have found that most people without kids have the strongest opinions about child rearing. But, since a lot of you have small children, I think you're probably a better group to poll.

At what age did you let your kid(s) watch TV/Videos?

EliStar · August 2013

Liam has been interested in the TV since he was tiny. It's constantly on at our house, so that was no surprise. I make a conscious effort to turn it off and engage him in other stuff.

I do let him watch an episode of Sesame Street every day. He LOVES it.

nocturnalintimacy · August 2013

Collin is 18 months, and he's never been allowed to watch TV. I just downloaded a couple of Fisher Price apps for him, and he loves them. I'm thinking that we should introduce him to half an hour of TV or a video a day or something. I'm just afraid of zombie children.

Ali2b1g · August 2013

nocturnalintimacy said:

Since none of my IRL friends have kids, I don't have a sounding board on this. Well, that's not true. I have found that most people without kids have the strongest opinions about child rearing. But, since a lot of you have small children, I think you're probably a better group to poll. At what age did you let your kid(s) watch TV/Videos?

Sadly, so true!

Alex watches tv while I make supper, but that's pretty much it. Even then though, he tends to come into the kitchen with me and play with his toys instead of watching it.

pinkybooklover09 · August 2013

My kid is almost 10. She has watched TV since she was a baby. I used to let her watch the 15 minute Elmo's World segment on Sesame Street when she was 6 months old or so. Now she's allowed 2 hours of TV per night provided her chores are done and she's done her 30 minutes of reading.

She's a bright, engaging, delightful, non-zombied child.

angelrx4 · August 2013

Kathryn started early too because it's always on in our house. She watches one episode of Sesame Street in the morning while I'm getting ready for work. She watches 1/2 an episode or an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba or The Backyardigans while I'm cooking dinner. Most times it's background noise and she doesn't pay attention unless they are singing.

SnShne322 · August 2013

Wes is only 10 months, but he doesn't watch much TV. It's not by design, the TV is always on in the house. He will watch about 10-15 minutes of the news with me in the morning. He plays on the bed while I get ready in the morning. I'm not sure he's all that thrilled with it, but he will watch a bit.

I think I'll continue like this until he's showing an active interest in the TV and we'll go from there.

jackiback · August 2013

We started watching the occasional youtube video with Izey when he was about 9 months old but didn't let him sit down and watch shows until he was about 1.5 years. Now he watches about 20 minutes before nap and 20-30 minutes before bed. Sometimes a bit more if we're having a tough day or if Jude needs extra attention.

Jude hasn't shown the slightest interest in watching anything yet, but when he does, we'll let him watch with Izey.

AshleyT121 · August 2013

Adelaide has been interested in watching TV since she was tiny, but still rarely sits in front of the TV. It's on while I make dinner, but it's mostly background noise while she plays in the living room.

It has become part of our bedtime routine to do bath, book and then snuggles in my bed while we watch 10 or 15 minutes of whatever is on Treehouse. It settles her so that we can make the transfer to her own bed.

sweetrhythms · August 2013

@nocturnalintimacy I think if you want zombie children the best thing to do is NEVER let them watch TV because then it becomes so much more interesting. I think it's one of those You Want It More Because You Can't Have It Situations.

SnShne322 · August 2013

Ooh, I think @sweetrhythms has a point. I had tv growing up, but we didn't have cable. When I went to friends houses, all I wanted to do was watch MTV and Nickelodeon. Same with AOL. We always had stuff no one else used, like ICQ and Compuserve.

This is dating me, isn't it. :-S

sweetrhythms · August 2013

It's true! DH's cousins weren't allowed to watch TV EVER and they were TV junkies whenever they came to visit him or their other cousins.

I also knew a girl in HS that was never allowed sugar so when she went to anyone else's house she'd down sodas and candy like it was her JOB.

pinkybooklover09 · August 2013

sweetrhythms said:

It's true! DH's cousins weren't allowed to watch TV EVER and they were TV junkies whenever they came to visit him or their other cousins.

I also knew a girl in HS that was never allowed sugar so when she went to anyone else's house she'd down sodas and candy like it was her JOB.

I had a friend JUST like this. Her parents kept her on a strict diet and she couldn't eat any processed food. She used to mainline M&Ms and Diet Coke at lunch. It was hilarity.

myJunegirls · August 2013

pinkybooklover09 said:

sweetrhythms said:

It's true! DH's cousins weren't allowed to watch TV EVER and they were TV junkies whenever they came to visit him or their other cousins.

I also knew a girl in HS that was never allowed sugar so when she went to anyone else's house she'd down sodas and candy like it was her JOB.

I had a friend JUST like this. Her parents kept her on a strict diet and she couldn't eat any processed food. She used to mainline M&Ms and Diet Coke at lunch. It was hilarity.

This was my friends growing up. They'd get to my house and EAT IT ALL because they couldn't at home. When they got to HS they ate crap every day too. Where I ate healthy. If it is around you- you don't tend to crave it.

I see this already with the Ashlee's friends. They come home and Ashlee wants an apple for snack but her friends dig in for the crap we have- and I have to stop them. It is crazy!

Let a kid have "bad stuff" in moderation and it doesn't become an issue or obsession for them.

packfan20 · August 2013

I'm one of the oddballs. The only thing Audrey has ever watched has been sports and that's because we are watching it. I hate all the kids' shows and I don't want her to watch them. I did try to put on Sesame Street for her a few times so I could get some stuff done and she was like "WTF is this mom?" and had no interest. There's really no reason for her to watch TV now. She can maybe watch Disney movies when she's a little older.

AshleyT121 · August 2013

Ashley T said:

Adelaide has been interested in watching TV since she was tiny, but still rarely sits in front of the TV. It's on while I make dinner, but it's mostly background noise while she plays in the living room.

It has become part of our bedtime routine to do bath, book and then snuggles in my bed while we watch 10 or 15 minutes of whatever is on Treehouse. It settles her so that we can make the transfer to her own bed.

I've started to try to put a children's CD on instead of the television. That way she's getting the noise, the songs, etc.... without the distraction of the television.

Nova726 · August 2013

I have no real opinion on this since I don't have kids, I just want you to know that it's killing me that I can't see the leader on the clicky poll answers without voting.

Jen748 · August 2013

Sammie's only recently become any sort of tv watcher. We'd have it on from her babyhood, but she would only watch for like 2 minutes and then go play. It was more on for me/us as some sort of noise. Even now she'll watch longer, but she's almost always still doing something else - coloring, playing, dancing, whatever. She rarely ever sits in front of the TV.

nocturnalintimacy · August 2013

sweetrhythms said:
@nocturnalintimacy I think if you want zombie children the best thing to do is NEVER let them watch TV because then it becomes so much more interesting. I think it's one of those You Want It More Because You Can't Have It Situations.

@sweetrhythms That's what I'm afraid of.

krispy83 · August 2013

We've tried showing Andy some Sesame Street, Curious George, etc. and most of the time he watches for a minute or two and then goes on playing with his toys. We don't have the tv on much during the day (just the news if something major is going on) so he doesn't watch much, but we're introducing it more as he gets older.

Agree with @sweetrhythms said - I had a friend in HS whose mom was a nutritionist and she never allowed any sort of junk food in their house. She used to come to our house and go CRAZY. We always had a certain amount of sweets and stuff in our house (nothing crazy.. just normal amounts) and I swear she'd polish off a full bag of chips or package of cookies in an afternoon.

MrsJenE · August 2013

I don't have kids, but my nephew was two before my SIL started letting him watch YouTube clips (very rarely) on her iPad. She still hasn't broken down and let him watch tv yet. Because he's not exposed to any of this too often, he's becomes completely absorbed whenever we let him watch something. For me, it's a last resort when he's being really cranky and won't let up. I'll let him watch a few Sesame Street clips on my iPhone. Even though he's absorbed, he's pretty good about letting it go when I make it clear that we're only going to watch one more video.

sweetrhythms · August 2013

nocturnalintimacy said:

@nocturnalintimacy I think if you want zombie children the best thing to do is NEVER let them watch TV because then it becomes so much more interesting. I think it's one of those You Want It More Because You Can't Have It Situations.
@sweetrhythms That's what I'm afraid of.

Yep, everything in moderation! If you allow him to watch some TV, he won't be nearly as interested in it than he would be if he was never allowed to watch it. At least, that's what I think anyway...

Stefibeth · August 2013

DS was between 18mo-2yrs when I started letting him watch some TV. We started out with Sesame Street. After his 2nd bday he started watching more like 2hrs of TV per day and he startd watching full length movies.

Prior to 18mo I did turn the TV on, but it was music videos. He never really watched them, it was more to listen to the music than anything.

Stefibeth · August 2013

sweetrhythms said:

nocturnalintimacy said:

@nocturnalintimacy I think if you want zombie children the best thing to do is NEVER let them watch TV because then it becomes so much more interesting. I think it's one of those You Want It More Because You Can't Have It Situations.
@sweetrhythms That's what I'm afraid of.

Yep, everything in moderation! If you allow him to watch some TV, he won't be nearly as interested in it than he would be if he was never allowed to watch it. At least, that's what I think anyway...

I think the 'everything in moderation' thing is true to a certain extent. I was never NO TV BEFORE X AGE!!! And we're not super strict about it now, but at the same time, prior to 18mo-2yr when DS started watching his shows he didn't know that they existed. I just think it's one of those things that you don't have to introduce early because they're probably better off just being in the dark about it for a while. Once you break the seal it opens up a whole new world of them wanting to watch TV and realizing their shows are on and kids shows are accessible 24/7 now, definitely not like when we were kids! It's a slippery slope is all and something you have to be contentious about.

CeeCeeSugaPie · August 2013

I was so paranoid about this for a while. DS almost never watched TV. When he was around 14 months old or so, I let him start watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I got ready for work in the morning. Once he started walking, it was the best way to keep him occupied during that time. He is 2.5 now and I still let him do this, even though he mostly wants to come "help me" with my makeup (aka fool around with all my stuff). Occasionally I will let him watch a Disney movie. He only likes the ones with dogs (Lady & The Tramp, 101 Dalmations). I agree that moderation is best.

BabyRN2006 · August 2013

We don't purposefully set her down in front of the tv, but it is almost always on in our house so she watches it sometimes. She has always been interested in it though. When she had colic sometimes rocking her in front of the tv was the only thing that made the screaming stop. Her favorite was Big Bang Theory

CeeCeeSugaPie · August 2013

BabyRN2006 said:

We don't purposefully set her down in front of the tv, but it is almost always on in our house so she watches it sometimes. She has always been interested in it though. When she had colic sometimes rocking her in front of the tv was the only thing that made the screaming stop. Her favorite was Big Bang Theory

She has good taste!

SRodi811 · August 2013

With Isabella we waited a little longer (probably 6-9 months before introducing shows like Elmo, Mickey Mouse and Blue's Clues), but with Hunter, he was introduced pretty much at birth because his sister was watching it. He'll sit down and watch some morning cartoons and then a little when winding down before bed, but that's about it. Isabella on the other hand, would watch princess shows all day if I let her.

SnShne322 · August 2013

Oh yes, I do remember there being a time when TV would calm Wes down. I forgot about that. He loved Glee. Especially the singing. Come to think of it, he still likes it when I sing to him.

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