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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Screen time can distract sitter, harm baby

Armin Brott McClatchy-Tribune

Dear Mr. Dad: My baby just turned 1, and I went to pick him up a little early from his day care to celebrate. When I got there, the kids were crawling around but the TV was on and tuned to some kind of reality show. I asked the sitter why, and she said, “So what?” and told me that the TV is often on in the background and that it’s no big deal. My gut says she’s wrong. But before I fire her, I need something to back me up. What’s so bad about TV?

A. Honestly, do you really need an excuse to fire a sitter who shouldn’t be caring for kids? But since you asked – and since you’re not the only parent out there who’s not sure whether it’s OK for babies to watch TV – here goes.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends zero screen time for children under 2 (TV, DVDs, computers, tablets and smartphones). Great advice, but it’s just not practical for everyone. If you desperately need a shower or you have to make a call that can’t wait till your child goes to bed, letting your child watch TV or play on your tablet for a few minutes once in a while won’t do any long-term damage. And if you’re dealing with a colicky or difficult child, a screen of some kind might give you the only break you get all day. The key is to not go overboard. Unfortunately, way too many parents and child care people ignore my “a few minutes once in a while” rule.

According to studies from Common Sense Media and the Kaiser Family Foundation:

• Twenty percent of babies 0-12 months have a TV in their bedroom; so do 44 percent of kids 2-4, and 47 percent of kids 5-8.

• On a typical day, 47 percent of those infants and babies under 1 watch TV or DVDs, and those who do watch spend an average of nearly two hours (1:54) doing so – that’s twice as much as they spend reading.

• Thirty five percent of children live in a home where the TV is on all the time, even if no one is watching.

Now let’s answer your baby sitter’s question: So what?

According to research, kids who watch TV (or have it blaring in the background) before age 2 may have smaller vocabularies and lower cognitive performance. Older kids are more likely to have behavioral problems and do worse in school.

When TV is on in the background, parents and caregivers are distracted, meaning that the kids aren’t getting the one-on-one, face-to-face interactions they need.

Screen time can interrupt children’s sleep cycles and reduce their ability to focus when they’re awake.

Most kids aren’t watching age-appropriate programming.

The solution? There are several:

• If there’s a television in your baby’s room, take it out.

• Turn off the TV if you’re not watching.

• If you absolutely need to put your baby in front of a screen, at least make sure he’s watching something appropriate. BabyFirstTv.com is a network aimed at 6- to 18-month-olds. They have an advisory board of child development experts who vet all the programming. But again, this is a “just for a few minutes once in a while” thing.

As your baby gets older, watch appropriate programming with your baby. Make it an engaging experience by stopping frequently to talk about what’s happening on the screen or in the game. If you need suggestions for what’s appropriate for what ages, Common Sense Media (www.commonsensemedia.org ) has extensive listings and reviews movies, apps, games and everything in between.

Read Armin Brott’s blog at www.DadSoup.com, follow him on Twitter, @mrdad, or send email to armin@mrdad.com.