Fighting for no tv

when i spoke to my hv, babies can’t learn anything from the tv, even if it’s things like “miss rachel” or whatever, unless you’re also interacting with the baby/tv. baby needs to understand 2 sided interactions, not just staring at the television, and i think you need to explain this to your partner and mil. i know it’s easier to leave baby to watch shows, and it’s fine every now and again, but baby needs interaction from dad especially!

@Jade where is this study from?

@Taylor i’ll ask my family nurse next time i see her!

@Jade the amount of videos and children I have seen where they have learnt so much from ms Rachael is quite a lot. Even the mothers say that they can’t believe how much their babies have learnt just from watching her show. And if you go on TikTok on ms Rachael’s page she shares professionals opinions on watching ms Rachael and they’re always good, something to do with the face that it’s more like a FaceTime interaction rather than a programme :)

@Kirstie i think it’s just that they’re more likely to learn if you’re also interacting, the way she explained it was that if you just leave them to watch the telly by themselves then they’re learning a one sided interaction, i.e. telly speaks to you, you don’t speak back, whereas if you’re communicating too they’re learning a two sided conversation and interaction if that makes sense?

@Kirstie I also agree. And I also just watched a video the other day about a toddler/child, unsure how old - watching Bluey, he asked his mum if she needed 20 minutes to herself so she asked where he learnt that and he said he learnt on bluey that sometimes mums need time to their self. I do think kids learn a lot more from tv/shows than we think they do

I’ve heard about the dopamine hits they get trigger bad behaviour, adhd (tick) and also depression later

@Jade oh for sure I wouldn’t just leave my child to watch tv all day but a hour here and there for me personally is okay, definitely agree children need 1-1 interaction and play time.. I only allow ms Rachael as I’ve seen bad things about other shows like coco melon something to do with what the colours can do to the brain and how they can become quite addictive

@Kelston yess it’s amazing how they can help them understand stuff, like emotions, i seen a video of a child being frustrated and he stated some breathing techniques to help him and ms Rachael does those too

J I agree with that too. There’s a video on coco melon and how the colours can trick a baby brain into being addicted to the programme and it over stimulating the brain and can cause behaviour problems, I’m so paranoid about tv I try my best to do as much research as I can. As sometimes I need 30 minutes just to get some laundry and cleaning done so I allow my son to watch tv for an hour a day (2-30 minutes sessions) while I do cleaning and then while I cook tea.. so I want to make sure what he watches is only helping :)

@Kirstie @Jade it is partly about interaction, but also to do with stimulation and emotional regulation. Yes, kids can learn academic things from tv like colours, numbers, etc, but they don't learn any social habits. Kids learn social skills by interaction - they do a thing and watch how you respond. It's how they learn empathy If they are just watching it happen on a screen, they don't get the feedback they need to understand how to interact with people. That's why you see an increase in tantrums and emotional regulation in high screen time kids, although parents don't often make the connection because they only see the positives (my kid is learning her ABCs, which is good). There is also overstimulation and sleep problems. We're definitely not a hardline Zero Screen Time household, but I really just try to pay close attention to how my kid is responding and interacting with us and with it. If I start to see red flags in her behavior or sleep issues, TV will be first on the chopping block.

I don't get the need to put a baby in front of the tv while they should be participating in family life. Interaction is what a baby needs to learn. I would try to have a professional explain your partner and mil how bad this is for your baby. Maybe hearing it from a professional could help

Yup, it triggers bad behaviour for my child but my mum doesn’t listen. I will go and turn it off if she turns it on

@Melissa yeah exactly why I said I limit tv time to 30 mins and that’s only while I get washing done or dinner cooked. The rest of the day I do full 1-1 interaction with me. I’ve done research on tv so I already know quite a lot of what you’ve said and it’s the reason I don’t allow other programmes like coco melon etc only ms racheal and only For 30 mins max while I get stuff done as my child is currently teething and is extremely clingy so this allows me just to keep the house tidy quickly till dads home from work. But yes I’ve seen a lot of videos of behavioural problems stemming from different programmes or too much tv time. I’ve actually gotten a good few tips from ms Racheal on how to help with speech on certain words

@Kirstie yeah, I think if we're watching with the child, and we're using the tips ourselves to interact and teach speech patterns, it can definitely help! I'm just also very aware that these shows are designed to keep kids engaged. I get nervous when my daughter sits still for a long period to watch them because toddlers don't sit still. Her energy just accumulates and then comes out in ways that are not productive at all, so I make sure she has other outlets.

@Melissa yeah definitely. I know ms Rachael has got a lot of childcare education for the reasons of her shows as well she does a few interviews which I’ve also watched about what she’s studied 😂 oh absolutely they are, my child does not stay still for nothing 😂 even ms Racheal doesn’t get his full attention but yeah I 100% get where your coming from, I wasnt educated on this with my first born who is now 13 and she still loves watching tv but she’s extremely intelligent and only watches documentaries or musicals now but I wish I would have limited tv time with her more for sure as she watched tv from when she got home from school till 7pm everyday

https://www.bfohealth.com/features/is-cocomelon-damaging-our-kids-brains/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

We have this issue with my partners dad. He is addicted to the tv & his phone & when he babysits our son he’s glued to the tv the whole time. It’s annoying af and we’ve tried to have conversations about it but he’s the type of man who will just do what he wants & no one can tell him anything. So we just try to have him babysit as infrequently as possible & have our nanny do any weekend babysitting needs when she’s available. Also for context we aren’t a no-screen time family, my partner & I are okay with it in small doses/when it’s needed, we just have an issue when it becomes an excess

I use to have my son watch Ms Rachel 30m a day but ever since he started saying “I love you,” to her I blocked her channel from our Youtube feed. I find it weird that she says i love you to her viewers, I don’t like it. A good alternative has been listening to children books on spotify. He’s engaged and I can see him using his imagination, and he doesn’t say i love you to them 😅

My kids don’t watch tv. They love being outside and I love that I decided not to stick them in front of a television

@Ivany I love that you brought this up because one of the TV issues (even with shows like Ms Rachel) is that kids form emotional attachment to these fictional characters instead of their own parents. Very unhealthy for the kids! Medical professionals are saying how they are seeing drastic increase in parents using screans to comfort their kids because they can't provide comfort and calm the kid down. It's very sad to even hear that, let alone to be in that situation. A lot of people, even nowadays with all the research we have available, still can't even begin to comprehend how harmful screens are to kids'brains. With this being said, I'm not a perfect mum, I don't have the village, so my child watches TV, but I am constantly reading and educating myself and I try to minimise his screen time as much as possible, and to choose carefully what he is watching.. It's hard but it's really important.