My eigth months plus old baby can't stopt watching television. She can be so glued to the TV, that she moves her body(dancing) nods her head at times vigorously and claps when people are dnacing in any music chanel. She stops cry when ever she is brought close to the TV. Please I want to know if it is bad for a child of her age or if it would have any effect on her health and upbringing. I kind need your informe and educative

Nothing wrong with it.

At that age she can't really recognize anything. She's just awed by the illumination and noise coming from the TV.

She would outgrow it. If are however concerned about it, you can subtly replace it with yoy dancing and singing for her. I read a research says kids respond well to such "interactive display" in comparison to recorded media which just relays the content without recourse to the child's reaction.

onegig:
Nothing wrong with it.

At that age she can't really recognize anything. She's just awed by the illumination and noise coming from the TV.

She would outgrow it. If are however concerned about it, you can subtly replace it with yoy dancing and singing for her. I read a research says kids respond well to such "interactive display" in comparison to recorded media which just relays the content without recourse to the child's reaction.

. Thanks, we do dancing and singing for her, to the extent that she starts put on dancing mood when ever she sees us and at timeas she mimics our clapping and singing. Thanks for you input

It is very good for the toddler, as it would help develop her cignitive abilities. Just make sure she doesn't sit too close, and have the volume low.
And of course, colorful cartoons are preferable.

My child started watching early o and i can't see anything wrong with him.

Op, me donno sha but so long as she participates in other activities and isn't too tied to tv, no qualms. Hope you spend quality time with her, as in its not like you'd just dump her in front of d tv n carry on with your own thing.

Nothing wrong with it. Put it on a nice channel with good learning programs (CBBC or Nick Jr), keep her a bit far away from the tv and keep the sound not too high.

Give her breaks away from the tv, interact with her by reading her books (with lots of colours and pictures). Lots of games exist for that age, as long as it is bright and colouful and makes noise (and gives parents a headache , kids like it)

Take her out once in a while, let her start identifying animals.

I need to share my experience with my last child that just turned three.

When he was at that age, even younger he loved music and I would put on nursery rhymes and music an he would dance.

Because I was rather busy in the afternoons with the other kids- home work and all . It got very convenient to "keep him busy" and also it made him happy.
Somewhere at age two, it was amazing, he could sing songs in English and German, he could recognize so many things on the screen and he could operate my mobile. It got to the extent that he would cut off my in coming calls just to keep watching the you tube videos. And everyone thought he was so smart.
However somewhere along the line I noticed that something was not "right". My son could sing in two languages, recite in two languages but he was not talking much to others. He was not really communicating and he would also get very angry or start crying when he was not allowed to watch the TV or have the mobile. He also was not really interested in playing with the other kid`s and also not much interest in toys.
I spoke to his nursery schoolteacher and she observed him and came to the same conclusion. Because he was constantly singing in both languages everyone assumed he was talking, but he was not communicating.
- So I had to make a radical change! No more Mobile and very rarely watching those videos or TV. This happened before the christmas holidays. When he started school this January the nursery school asked me what I did to get him talking. I told them I just kept talking to him whenever I was doing anything with him and asked them to talk to him allot. I was too ashamed to tell them that I had actually contributed to the problem, however I would have to tell them that the next time the development/ assessment comes up. He has now started communicating with others but still i need to watch the development the next six months, to make sure it is in the norm. Since there is no mor screen to entertain him, he now plays more with his toys and allot with the other kid`s. It is certainly louder and more difficult when doing homework with the other kid`s but we can`t compromise his own development for theirs.
So while it can be very educative, be careful it does not become too much.

As long as it isnt the only thing shes doing.....besides it helps develop their abilities. Just make sure she doesnt spend d whole day in front of the TV.

[size=16pt]You people should inform yourselves first before sharing so much crap! TV is not for kids, especially those younger than three. It is harmful.[/size]

kendraloops:
My child started watching early o and i can't see anything wrong with him.

Op, me donno sha but so long as she participates in other activities and isn't too tied to tv, no qualms. Hope you spend quality time with her, as in its not like you'd just dump her in front of d tv n carry on with your own thing.

Thank you

MsPat:
As long as it isnt the only thing shes doing.....besides it helps develop their abilities. Just make sure she doesnt spend d whole day in front of the TV.

Yea, she doesn't. Thanks

carefreewannabe:
[size=16pt]You people should inform yourselves first before sharing so much crap! TV is not for kids, especially those younger than three. It is harmful.[/size]

Thanks, kindly explain how

nickxtra:
Thanks, kindly explain how

TV Watching at Age 2 Spells Trouble Later
Study Finds Early TV Exposure Linked to Problems at Age 10


By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

May 3, 2010 -- Television watching at age 2 1/2 boosts a child's risk of having multiple school and health problems later in life, according to a new study.

The effects of too much TV too early was far-reaching and long-lasting, says study author Linda Pagani, PhD, professor of psycho-education at the Universite de Montreal and a researcher at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center in Montreal, Canada.

''You get a child who's more sedentary, has a higher BMI, is not eating properly, and not doing well in school socially and academically in the fourth grade," Pagani tells WebMD.

Numerous other studies have focused on the effects of television viewing on children, linking too much screen time to poorer school work and excess weight later. But Pagani says her new research is more comprehensive -- it looked at a variety of potential effects, not a single one. And she followed up on the children longer -- until age 10, or fourth grade.

Evaluating the effects of early TV viewing is important, she says. "From birth to age 5, you have enormous brain expansion. We're talking exponential."


And, according to her research, early television viewing is not doing the toddler brain any favors.

Television and Kids: Study Details

For the study, Pagani and her colleagues gathered data on 1,314 children born in Quebec, Canada, between 1997 and 1998.

Parents reported how many hours a week their children viewed television at 29 months and again at 53 months. The researchers gathered teacher and parent reports on academic performance, psychosocial and health habits, and the children's body mass index or BMI.

At age 29 months, the average TV viewing was 8.82 hours a week, Pagani found. At 53 months, the average was 14.85 hours.

Although that may not sound high, Pagani notes that the range was wide. ''This is an average,'' she says, so many children watched more.

At 29 months, 11% of the toddlers were watching more than two hours a day. By age 53 months, 23.4% of the children were watching more than two hours a day.

Current recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics discourage television viewing for children under age 2 and suggest no more than one or two hours of ''screen time" (TV, computers) daily for older children.

Television viewing had undesirable effects, even after the researchers adjusted for a number of variables that might account for the effects, such as family configuration and education of the mother, and the amount of TV they viewed as fourth graders.

"We considered all kinds of competing explanations," Pagani tells WebMD. But even after taking all the factors into account, the effects remained, she says.

"Basically we saw kids who watch excessive TV at 29 months were more likely to be less productive in class [in fourth grade] as rated by their teachers," she tells WebMD. "They were performing less well in mathematics. We also saw negative effects in anything that required effortful exercise -- how often they exercised, whether they liked to do anything that requires effort. And their body mass index was greater."[/]

The children exposed to too much TV were also likely to be victimized, she found, explaining that social relationships take practice and effort. "Kids who do too much media, studies have shown this, tend to be socially isolated."

Not having social skills, she says, may make the kids targets for being teased and insulted by classmates.


Each additional hour of TV viewing at age 29 months (over the average for each child) was linked to a range of effects, Pagani found, including:

(...)

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20100503/tv-watching-at-age-2-spells-trouble-later?page=2


Hope, it helps.

It must also be noted that you don't want your child to develop bad habits and become a lazy couch potato. The earlier they get used to watching TV, the more they will want to watch later and the older they get, the more difficult it will be to control WHAT they watch and there is a lot of unhealthy stuff on TV.

carefreewannabe:
[size=16pt]You people should inform yourselves first before sharing so much crap! TV is not for kids, especially those younger than three. It is harmful.[/size]

Learn to respect people's opinion and don't insult people who don't agree with your point of view! Just because some psychologists think TV isn't good for kids makes it bad? My little niece learnt how to talk from the things she watched on TV.....she will then repeat whatever she heard. That is why its important that parents should regulate whatever their wards are exposed to. Besides too much TV makes anyone sedentary whether kid or not, so parents should balance the equation. After all same psychologists argue that children who aren't exposed to play with their peers or watch some kid friendly TV programs grow up to be socially unfit adults.....so what are we saying? Balance is key jare.

MsPat:


Learn to respect people's opinion and don't insult people who don't agree with your point of view! Just because some psychologists think TV isn't good for kids makes it bad? My little niece learnt how to talk from the things she watched on TV.....she will then repeat whatever she heard. That is why its important that parents should regulate whatever their wards are exposed to. Besides too much TV makes anyone sedentary whether kid or not, so parents should balance the equation. After all same psychologists argue that children who aren't exposed to play with their peers or watch some kid friendly TV programs grow up to be socially unfit adults.....so what are we saying? Balance is key jare.

This is not a matter of opinion so there is nothing to respect. Psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians and teachers agree that TV has negative effects on kids. A baby does not need to watch TV and several studies have proven that it has negative effects on babies and toddlers, even on teenagers and adults but that's a different topic. Spare me the stories about how the TV taught your niece how to talk. You don't know what I do for a living and the number of kids I have already seen that have been negatively affected by TV.

I know it's convenient and cheap for adults to place their kids in front of the TV but some people KNOW better.

I won't respect what is wrong. Now move on and raise your own kids the way you want but don't complain later.

carefreewannabe:


This is not a matter of opinion so there is nothing to respect. Psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians and teachers agree that TV has negative effects on kids. A baby does not need to watch TV and several studies have proven that it has negative effects on babies and toddlers, even on teenagers and adults but that's a different topic. Spare me the stories about how the TV taught your niece how to talk. You don't know what I do for a living and the number of kids I have already seen that have been negatively affected by TV.

I know it's convenient and cheap for adults to place their kids in front of the TV but some people KNOW better.

tI won't respect what is wrong. Now move on and raise your own kids the way you want but don't complain later.

Spare me your "studies this....." "studies that....." My own study has shown that you dont respond well to someone else's opinion. Besides those kids you claim to have seen must have irresponsible parents for them to have TV related issues or did u miss the part where i said balance is key.....what does a baby understand sef except pictures and noise? Science people and their wahala....very soon studies will show that if wr breathe too much we will grow fat! :x

MsPat:

Spare me your "studies this....." "studies that....." My own study has shown that you dont respond well to someone else's opinion. Besides those kids you claim to have seen must have irresponsible parents for them to have TV related issues or did u miss the part where i said balance is key.....what does a baby understand sef except pictures and noise? Science people and their wahala....very soon studies will show that if wr breathe too much we will grow fat! :x

Like I said, your kids can watch TV, mine won't. Good luck.

Oga, abeg for the sake of GOD and mankind free "little madam" let her enjoy herself. As she begins to grow and start attending creche, the "tv addiction" will reduce.

You should be thankful your precious little angel can see, ear, and talk. Some parents are ready to give up the whole world for theirs to be like your daughter.

My regards to your daughter and please don't dare switch off the station or change the channel on her. I have my eyes or you oh!

Cheers

carefreewannabe:


TV Watching at Age 2 Spells Trouble Later
Study Finds Early TV Exposure Linked to Problems at Age 10


By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

May 3, 2010 -- Television watching at age 2 1/2 boosts a child's risk of having multiple school and health problems later in life, according to a new study.

The effects of too much TV too early was far-reaching and long-lasting, says study author Linda Pagani, PhD, professor of psycho-education at the Universite de Montreal and a researcher at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center in Montreal, Canada.

''You get a child who's more sedentary, has a higher BMI, is not eating properly, and not doing well in school socially and academically in the fourth grade," Pagani tells WebMD.

Numerous other studies have focused on the effects of television viewing on children, linking too much screen time to poorer school work and excess weight later. But Pagani says her new research is more comprehensive -- it looked at a variety of potential effects, not a single one. And she followed up on the children longer -- until age 10, or fourth grade.

Evaluating the effects of early TV viewing is important, she says. "From birth to age 5, you have enormous brain expansion. We're talking exponential."


And, according to her research, early television viewing is not doing the toddler brain any favors.

Television and Kids: Study Details

For the study, Pagani and her colleagues gathered data on 1,314 children born in Quebec, Canada, between 1997 and 1998.

Parents reported how many hours a week their children viewed television at 29 months and again at 53 months. The researchers gathered teacher and parent reports on academic performance, psychosocial and health habits, and the children's body mass index or BMI.

At age 29 months, the average TV viewing was 8.82 hours a week, Pagani found. At 53 months, the average was 14.85 hours.

Although that may not sound high, Pagani notes that the range was wide. ''This is an average,'' she says, so many children watched more.

At 29 months, 11% of the toddlers were watching more than two hours a day. By age 53 months, 23.4% of the children were watching more than two hours a day.

Current recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics discourage television viewing for children under age 2 and suggest no more than one or two hours of ''screen time" (TV, computers) daily for older children.

Television viewing had undesirable effects, even after the researchers adjusted for a number of variables that might account for the effects, such as family configuration and education of the mother, and the amount of TV they viewed as fourth graders.

"We considered all kinds of competing explanations," Pagani tells WebMD. But even after taking all the factors into account, the effects remained, she says.

"Basically we saw kids who watch excessive TV at 29 months were more likely to be less productive in class [in fourth grade] as rated by their teachers," she tells WebMD. "They were performing less well in mathematics. We also saw negative effects in anything that required effortful exercise -- how often they exercised, whether they liked to do anything that requires effort. And their body mass index was greater."[/]

The children exposed to too much TV were also likely to be victimized, she found, explaining that social relationships take practice and effort. "Kids who do too much media, studies have shown this, tend to be socially isolated."

Not having social skills, she says, may make the kids targets for being teased and insulted by classmates.


Each additional hour of TV viewing at age 29 months (over the average for each child) was linked to a range of effects, Pagani found, including:

(...)

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20100503/tv-watching-at-age-2-spells-trouble-later?page=2


Hope, it helps.

It must also be noted that you don't want your child to develop bad habits and become a lazy couch potato. The earlier they get used to watching TV, the more they will want to watch later and the older they get, the more difficult it will be to control WHAT they watch and there is a lot of unhealthy stuff on TV.

Thank you for your time and the education

acidtalk:
Oga, abeg for the sake of GOD and mankind free "little madam" let her enjoy herself. As she begins to grow and start attending creche, the "tv addiction" will reduce.

You should be thankful you precious little angel can see, ear, and talk. Some parents are ready to give up the whole world for theirs to be like you daughter.

My regards to your daughter and please don't dare switch off the station or change the channel on her. I have my eyes or you oh!

Cheers

Wao! Thanks very much. Got you very well. She will hear

What an informative post! ............, moderator, educative and informative posts like this should not beg for front page. Pls bring to front page.