According to my mom, I started watching TV from three months old, and loved it. I have perfect 20:20 vision today, so it can’t have affected my eyes. My wife thinks kids shouldn’t watch TV until they are three years old, which I think is a little excessive, as I believe TV can help in a child’s development. Perhaps three months old is a little early but waiting until they are in kindergarten also feels like too long. What age did you start allowing your kids to watch cartoons and what effect did it have?
It was a useful babysitter during showers, etc from…perhaps three or four months?
I think that it depends on the kind of TV and if limitations whatsoever are established.
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Afaik, There is no evidence that supports vision loss from watching TV at any age.
I’ve had screens all my life and my sight is still 20:10.
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I always read that kids shouldn’t watch TV until they are around two years old, so that’s what we did. It had more to do with concerns around development issues and we figured they don’t really need TV when they’re that young. We just kept them occupied with other stuff.
From what I read, TV does not help with development and is of no educational value with children under two.
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TV can be problematic, but for other reasons. I’m more concerned with suitable content, addiction, potential lack of socialization and others…
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In utero.
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Belly button peep hole?
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My oldest was glued to the TV whenever we turned it on. My oldest started showing interest in TV at about the time he turned 1.
My youngest has shown zero interest in TV at all. And my youngest is just turning 2.
Not all kids react the same to the same things. The TV helped occupy my oldest for a few minutes so I could get needed work done. Have to do other things to keep my youngest busy.
As with almost everything, moderation is key. Of course don’t let your kids binge anything. Pay attention to content too. We have a kids account on Netflix our oldest can choose from. YouTube is strictly off limits.
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The guidance these days is no tv (no passive screentime, including tv, phones, tablets, etc. Passive as opposed to things like facetime with relatives) at all for 2 and under, and very limited tv after. It has essentially no educational value for preschoolers (exception if you’re being an otherwise relatively horrible parent and not exposing them to anything, then they might pick up a thing here or there), and very little after that.
We have a kindergartner, no screentime at all until 3, no tv still, but they see a few youtube videos now and then,.and has seen a total of ~5 movies.
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I grew up watching novelas and drinking coffee from a spoon since I was 3 months old. I think I did alright.
In all seriousness, I think it depends a lot on the child. My 10-month daughter watches some cartoons while I wash her bottles but she gets bored after a few mins or too many ads. I know other children who can’t survive without youtube and even rewatch the same thing over and over again the entire day.
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I always found that Baby-TV channel to be creepy. Those big staring eyes seem to be perfect for indoctrination in something. May come from watching Serenity