Hi Mommies!
With all the hype over the super bowl last night (can you say AMAZING half-time show?) I got to thinking a lot about TV. Daniel and I discussed prior to Sofia Grace being born that we really wanted to try and not let TV become a main past-time for SG when she got older. We were both raised to be outdoors a lot and we would like to do the same with our daughter. However, SG noticed the TV about 2 months ago. I think the main attraction to her were the bright colors and lights. She used to just stare at it. It got so bad that there were days she would try to refuse her bottle to watch TV. I couldn’t believe it! I thought she was way too young for that. But apparently even infants will stare off into lala land with the TV on (kind of like how they stare at ceiling fans---you never knew a ceiling fan could be so interesting). Anyhow, I was a bit disturbed by this and began turning the TV off. However, one of the only things that would calm her down during her “witching hour” (you know, that joyous fussy time between 4 PM-7 PM) would be the television. So one day I decided that if she was going to watch TV it had to at least be something for kids.
Now this is when I became REALLY shocked. I turned the TV to the cartoon network and some of the other kids channels and was disturbed to find less than kid friendly cartoons on TV. I almost died when one character called another an idiot. Really?! So I did what I always do and logged onto the Amazon website and purchased two Baby Einstein videos. I didn’t show SG the videos for a couple of weeks until one particularly fussy day when nothing seemed to work. So I popped in the DVD and wa-la! Magic! Immediately she was engrossed and watching. She even started babbling a bit. I could not believe she was watching. Even more amazing was the fact that she watched an entire DVD which was 30 minutes long! That’s like 2 hours in mommy time! She loved it---see below.
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| Gettin her Baby Mozart on. |
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| Watching some Veggie Tales with daddy and sister. |
Now a couple of things to keep in mind. First, these videos are SUPER simple. Seriously, I could have filmed these at home but the colors and fast paced changes keep baby interested. Second, there are tons of different options to choose from. I bought Baby Einstein-Baby Beethoven and Baby Mozart. Third, if you're are not a TV fan like us but your baby is, this might be a healthier approach to TV. I also hear that Veggie Tales is great and we allowed SG to watch one on Netflix. The colors are very vibrant and I don’t have to worry about the veggie characters cussing each other out!
So for all you mommies looking for a way to distract your little one this is a great option. Now that SG is older she sits in her bouncy chair and watches. I don’t use it all the time but for those rainy or fussy days this can be a life saver.
Enjoy!
I'm a big "NO TV/COMPUTER/PHONE" kind of mom. Now, that doesn't mean Kaylee doesn't get to watch TV. She gets to watch Mickey Mouse in the mornings before school. So 3x a week, for a 20 minute show. That's it. It's only while I fix her lunch and get the baby fed because we are on such a tight schedule in the mornings. The TV stays on the music station otherwise. The TV was introduced a little after she turned 2. As for phones and computers, I'm still against it.I've seen a few videos where babies can't even use a real magazine/book because their parents give them their iPad all day.
ReplyDeleteI want my kid to have real thinking skills... I just don't think you can get that from TV. I also don't think their brains are ready for it. And the commercials? OMG... please... I can't stand it!
However... I'm very careful not to judge others for it. Different folks, different strokes. I can only control my household. Some kids are learning neat things on TV... I just want to be the teacher for a little while longer. I guess I think the kids will have plenty of time to veg out in front of the TV/computer.. why start so soon?
Agreed...we feel the same way. TV was not a big part of our lives and we really don't even watch much at home. We usually try to keep activities to reading, playing or going outside. I think I felt less guitly with Baby Einstein because I at least felt like she was listening to some good music while watching. Our goal is to have be an avid reader (we both LOVE to read). We also would like to limit tv time and computer time (no computer or tv in her room). I know some people will say we are paranoid but there is just way too much out there that can influence your child in a way we would not prefer.
DeleteThanks for the comment Kristal!