Before Isabella was born, we decided we would not let her watch TV when she was little and would limit her viewing as she got older. I'm glad we have stuck to that after reading all sorts of articles like this. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV before the age of two. This includes "educational" videos such as Baby Einstein. To summarize many articles that I have read - the fast scene changes on TV are damaging to a child's developing brain. After watching TV, children become bored with real life. Many experts feel this is causing a huge increase in ADD, ADHD, and other neurological disorders. It is much, much better for them to interact with people. I will admit, Isabella gets to watch the 5 minute show "Go Baby" every few days while I clip her nails. It makes her sit still so I can clip them.
So just when I thought I was being a good parent for not letting her watch TV, I learned something new. My new issue of Parenting magazine came in the mail today, the first page I opened it to (I was obviously supposed to read the article) was about babies and TV. It said that having a TV on in the background, even if kids aren't paying attention to it, is worse than the baby actually watching TV. Monte and I are guilty of this, not that we have it on all the time. I do love to have the Today show on in the morning (all three hours of it). And it's not that I necesarily watch it either, sometimes I just like some background noise. The article stated that having a TV on in the background makes the child lose his/her ability to focus as well as giving them poor language skills. Our TV is in a cabinet that allows us to close the doors and "hide" it. So that is exactly what I did today, I shut the doors. They will not be opened until 7:00 tonight when Isabella goes to bed.
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