Some people are so weird about not letting their babies watch television. As if it really makes that big of a difference?! I have found it to be a great soother for my baby; when she’s fussy, when I need to get ready for work, or just in general when I need a break! As soon as I turn it on, she starts laughing — how could it be that bad?!
No Big Deal
My six-month-old daughter loves television and I totally let her watch it –not all day every day, not even for more than an hour, and definitely not the news, but kid shows and appropriate things, why not? In the morning when I have to get ready for work, I give her a bottle, turn the television on and she sits and watches until it’s time for me to go. She loves it — I’m sure she doesn’t really know what’s going on anyway, so I don’t really understand why people think it’s that bad, and some people definitely do!
The “No-TV” Crowd
My sister-in-law for example: The other day I put my daughter in front of the computer and put on a baby tv show, with music and shapes — she goes crazy for it. My sister-in-law stopped by with her three year old daughter and of course started in on me: “O.M.G, you let her watch TV — I would NOT do that, we won’t let our kids watch TV even now and they are much older.” I told her I thought Baby Einstein and baby programs were great for kids and her eyes bulged out of her head: “Baby Einstein??? That is evil!” Ok, come on seriously — you’re probably going to prevent your kid from eating a hot dog at a baseball game too, aren’t ya?!
TV is Good!
There’s a wonderful daycare at the gym, and when I drop my daughter off she absolutely loves it. They play games, the kids socialize and they have lots of kiddie tv programs to watch — perfect, especially when they get fussy. The other day though, I was dropping my daughter off and overheard a mom tell the daycare caretaker: “Absolutely NO baby Einstein or television, please just try to play blocks or do something educational.” HUH? Why no Baby Einstein? If your kid gets super fussy and starts to scream, you want them to play blocks? Nothing is going to happen to your child from watching 20 minutes of television — what is really the difference between watching a mobile go around and watching a program like Baby Einstein?
Lighten Up Moms
My daughter loves tv, and I love that she loves it. It gives me time to clean the dishes, straighten up, get ready for work — nothing wrong with it. We all need a few minutes to ourselves and if putting her in front of the television allows me to do that, fabulous. Do you let your kid watch tv? If not, why?
