Writen by Jessica Holdaway
It's an age-old question: Should you let your baby watch TV? Well, the answer depends on who you ask. Pediatricians, teachers, and parents are just some of the people who've weighed in on this debate.
As varied as the opinions are, the consensus is pretty clear. Many parents, myself included, that allow their babies to watch TV don't condone using it as a baby sitter for hours on end. Often, moms need 15 minutes to take a shower or 10 minutes to clean the sticky apple juice off the kitchen floor. Many are also looking for high quality, short educational shows that they can watch with their babies.
There are a lot of companies that cater to developmental needs of babies, such as Brainy Baby and Baby Einstein (both companies offer high quality books, DVDs, and toys for young children.)
Now there is also a television channel geared towards babies called Baby First TV.
This channel is geared for babies 6 months – 3 years old. It offers a commercial-free line up of over 40 programs that air 24 hours a day. Their shows are developed by child development experts, and explore different areas including math, language, and creative play.
Baby First TV subscribers pay a monthly fee. It's also currently open to DirecTV and Dish Network Subscribers only. The company does, however, plan to offer the channel through other cable providers in coming months. You can visit their site for more details.
Keep in mind, though, that you don't have to subscribe to a channel like Baby TV, to find a program that might be appropriate for your baby for a few minutes. PBS offers programs like Sesame Street that offer the same type of benefit. And, PBS comes with a basic cable subscription, so no extra expense!
As a busy mom with young children, I know there are those days when you need a few minutes to get something specific done. Of course, I try to get as much done during nap time as I can, but sometimes for whatever reason you can't get it all done. That's where baby-appropriate programming comes in. If your baby is watching something educational and entertaining, and you can tend to your task for 10 or 15 minutes, it's a win/win situation.
Jessica Holdaway is mother to 3 children and writes for Baby Talk Radio, a podcast radio show for the baby crazy crowd. |
1 comments:
Great comment by Jessica Holdaway. She really struck a balance on the subject and had good common sense.
For those that are still concerned about the use of DVDs, let me offer my comments.
Everybody keeps talking about the AAP and this DVD "study". Actually, the "study" was nothing more than a phone survey! (It's buried in the fine print of the "study" and available to anyone who will do a little research). This phone survey has been called "Junk Science" by leading scientists and completely debunked. See: www.junkscience.com/ByTheJunkman/20070823.html
The phone survey asked a small sample of parents if their children had seen videos “LIKE Baby Einstein or Brainy Baby (it could have been any senseless video). From the parents response on the phone, a less than scientific comparison was made and of course, the lingering headline that the media has promoted (and parents hear) is that baby videos are bad and there is a loss of vocabulary for children.
Nothing could be farther from the truth and I implore you as parents... do not succumb to the hidden agenda of a popularized media article under the guise of a scientifically endorsed “study”.
This story regarding the “study” and the erroneous facts surrounding it, have been promoted as a fear based agenda for far too long. There are scores of positive and real scientific research available to suggest that media viewing for children can actually have a very positive influence. In fact, when you count and look at all the research on this subject, there is an overwhelming amount of positive research that other Universities have performed, in contrast to this one “phone survey” that gets all the media attention. There is even a NEW study out that scientifically proves the educational value of Brainy Baby videos.
The key is content. My children were raised on quality, educational videos. DVD’s are just one more tool in the parent’s learning bag and should be viewed as a healthy component to assist in developing a “love of learning” for their child. I believe in parental interaction and other forms of imaginative play, however to completely dismiss DVD’s in view of all the positive research is really throwing out the baby with the bath water.
Even the AAP has said that their policy on media viewing is “just to be on the safe side” and states that it cannot support their policy scientifically (see AAP web site for exact quote).
I wouldn’t exactly cut the cord off the TV yet. DVDs used with common sense and moderation are perfectly fine... and healthy.
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