Baby and TV - What's your feeling on this?

 As a first time mommy I want to do what is best for my child (as we all do - first time or not....).

I get all kind of information about how TV is not good for children under 2.  I am so skeptical about what I read, as information changes so frequently.  I mean one day coffee is good for you and the next its not.  Wine/beer is good then its not. 

My 6 month old loves to watch baby Einsteins First Signs and pretty much watches what we watch.  So am I supposed to keep the TV off so he will no****ch? 

Wondering what your thoughts are on this?

the tv is on here most of the time.. usually nick jr or disney... the kids sometimes watch it.. most the time they are running around... its to quiet in the house (imagine that... with 3 kids) with the tv off.. so we have it on for background noise... i dont let them watch most adult tv.. esp with guns and sex inolved.

Diddo.. TV always on at our house and I often wonder if it just being on might have an impact on him.  We usually watch crime shows (Law & Order, CSI) so not very kid friendly... 

P.S. how is your house quite with 3 kids?  lol.............

its not... LOL... but well.. i cant explain it LOL

Although I try to make sure I do not allow the tv to act as a babysitter for me, we do allow our son to watch a considerable amount of tv (mostly Disney). Up until very recently my husband and I both worked full time on night shift and have not required daycare for our son. I think Disney has exposed him to some things (counting, words, etc) that we have unintentionally neglected. I will be interested to read other responses too. Take care, I am sure you are doing a great job!

I know what you mean about the babysitter.  My son does not sleep much during the day so I find it hard to get things done.  This is where the TV comes in handy and why I worry. 

rachel is correct.. i also use it esp the colors.. shapes... counting... as a "teaching tool".. esp when they pause and say "how many ducks does goofy have".. or "which bird is differnt from the rest"... we do those activities ( esp with my 3 yoa) and most the time he can pick it out and determine which patterns are correct and incorrect.. letters are still a struggle for jayson and im not really sure why... we go over them a few times day on everything we "Read" together... my daugher can count to 3 ( shes 18 months old)... but im not sure if thats because when shes doing something wrong i count to 3 so she stops.. or because of us working together ..she speaks alot better then my 3 yoa did at 18 months..

I like having the TV on for background noise like Lexa. I worry about that being "bad" for a baby or kids. THis is making me feel like perhaps its not such a big deal. :)

I have the TV on most of the day on PBS or other cartoons that have educational things to them and I know my son learns from them. He is very smart and talks very good for his age but for some reason he don't like me to sing abc's or spell with him. I like some of the shows on PBS because they expose him to words, letters and numbers....things he don't show much interest in when I try to teach him.

It's a hard decision, isn't it??!!  It's well proven too much of the wrong shows is harmful.  Those being things that are overstimulating... too many changes in what's going on, loud characters ect.  I find sponge bob one of the worst!!

The literature says to limit TV to 1 hour a day at most... but, I think things like PBS and disney Einsteins are ok for kids!  My kids learn alot from these kinds of programs as well as being entertained!

Do what you think is best for you and your child.... I think under 9 or 10 months, it's ok to have on what you watch and enjoy.  There is some school of thought that this can actually be helpful in vocabulary development.  I did this with both my kids as we speak German here and my hubby and I speak German, but I speak exclusively English to my kids.  It's been a great benefit.  Kids in single language household benefit too by hearing words they might not hear in 'normal' life. 

I think all in all it's alright if they're watching as long as it's limited somewhat....

I still struggle with it.  I have friends who choose no TV because they are so against their kids watching.... i think that's a bit far fetched.  Other truly limit it to half an hour or so a day....  For mine, TV is on after breakfast before we go to school and kindergarden and an hour in the evening.  Saturdays they get to watch more when they ask for it, but they often don't ask...

GOod luck with your decision!!