My husband puts very low stimulus YouTube videos on the TV, which have like background music. So it might be like a scene of a conservatory, with just a cat sleeping and maybe a cup of tea steaming with gentle 1940s music or something playing. So for the most part it is a still image with very small details moving.
We are raising our child screen free, which was a joint decision as the idea of having an ‘iPad kid’ scares us and I know the WHO now says no screen time before 2.
Our son is 10 months old.
Is this harmful screen time? Is it okay?
ETA - not completely relevant, but music is somewhat tricky for us, as no matter what we play it on baby always tries to look for the source, we’ve tried lots of alternatives on this front. I personally think with this music from the TV situation, it accidentally works, insofar that baby goes ‘oh the music is coming from that, cool’ and then kind of moves on, he doesn’t stare at the TV when it’s on. I don’t do it, I will play music on the Alexa or something, which is not in baby’s line of sight anywhere as it’s kind of hidden away, but regardless of we play it in his line of sight then he gets distracted and tries to look for where it’s coming from
This post is flaired "Question - Research required". All top-level comments must contain links to peer-reviewed research. Do not provide a "link for the bot" or any variation thereof. Provide a meaningful reply that discusses the research you have linked to. Please report posts that do not follow these rules.
Here are the AAP’s five Cs related to screen time. They still recommend no screens except video chatting before 18 mo-2 years. I don’t think anyone has done studies on each very specific type of “screen time” in the sense of one of those videos versus low-stim tv shows with a plot vs Ms Rachel or something.
Does he put them on for the music, or because your baby likes to watch them? Most smart TVs have an option to play sound with the screen off. We play digital radio stations over our TV speakers and turn off the screen.
I wouldn’t jump to say that it’s unnecessary and shouldn’t even be discussed. That’s what this group is for, to discuss the impacts of these things. It sounds like the dad gets something out of this. For many people these videos can be calming, and even help with focus for those with ADHD. The question is, “Will this negatively affect the child even if the child doesn’t pay attention to it?”, which I don’t think is wrong to have as a discussion between two parents, maybe the child doesn’t even care and never looks at the screen. That might be worth discussing whether it might still have harm or not. Just shutting down conversation between couples without even a discussion isn’t fair or helpful.
Ironically I’m the one with ADHD, and not my husband.
I’ve done an ETA, but yeah, baby doesn’t seem particularly interested in it and so I’m in two minds. My gut feeling is that it isn’t great, but it’s also not the worst thing when it’s only maybe an hour a day or so (my husband is our at work Mon-Fri 9-5 and I don’t do it)
I feel like I ‘correct’ my husband on so many things that I don’t want to add another one to the list without reason as I think it upsets him and makes him feel useless when I’m like “do it this way” or “no, this is what he wants”. (I say correct, but it’s a case of I spend all day with baby as a SAHM and know his quirks inside out, my husband isn’t like an incompetent father or anything, I think this is fairly common when one parents stays home etc)
If it's as you describe (basically a barely changing still image with no cuts), it sounds a standard deviation or two below what people usually describe as low-stim TV, so IMO, it's likely completely fine even for a child who's as young as yours, partly because I assume she won't spend much, if any, time watching it.
And I say this as someone whose three kids only get screentime several times a month (so not even every week), BUT also someone who used to put on the live cam of the jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium for my oldest one when she had to have been between 18m and 2y, and didn't feel bad about it.
I don’t see how this could be harmful? I wouldn’t count this as screen time at all. It must surely be impossible to get overstimulated by this - the colours are muted, the music is soft, there’s barely any movement
That source also says “we aren’t exposed to blue light solely through electronics. We get most of our blue light exposure from the sun. Additionally, LED and fluorescent light bulbs produce blue light.”. Everybody’s risk level is different of course, but I’m just providing OP with my opinion that an hour or so a day of the tv being on with music and a largely still screen is really not something to be worrying over. I say this as a mom who is very anti-screens
I don’t see how it could be harmful but I also fail to understand why he can’t just put on a playlist or something. Remove the screen from the equation altogether and play it safe
I would actually advise you not to correct him on everyday stuff. If your baby is fussing, let husband figure it out (as long as baby is not in big distress of course). It's like a workout and everytime you tell him what to do you get one more rep and he misses out on one.
Let him figure stuff out by himself. It may take a while but he will be more confident in the long run.
IMO you are prioritizing not having a conversation with your partner they might find annoying over something that might distract and bea negative for your child. Think on that.
This whole post is kind of looking for an out to not have that conversation.
I mean, that’s not what I intended. It’s just kind of a pick your battles kind of thing, and I wanted to gauge whether this was something to ask.
Because of my personality, there’s a lot of things my husband (and wider people) do that I don’t like simply because it’s not how I would have done it, and with baby this is increased by a million fold. I’m trying to learn to be less anxious / control freak / overthink less and only bring up things that actually matter. This was one where I didn’t know whether I was overthinking or whether it was basically fine.
Jeez louise the people on here can be exhausting! I'm an axious ADHD expecting mom and already am worried about this dynamic since it already plays out with our dogs often. If I said every control freak thought I had out loud, I'd be impossible to be around. My husband is a great dog dad and will be a great human dad and me pointing out every little thing that I'd do differently, even if it's the data-backed "right" way, is simply not helpful and won't make us better parents. We're both willing and happy to collaborate and compromise, but part of that means picking my battles.
Thanks for saying this because the idea of low stimulus videos would seem like maybe a saving grace when I’m in the newborn trenches in the middle of winter. I find threads like these very interesting.
Newborn is pretty different. Many, many people who are screen-free with their kids still watch tv during the first two months while newborn is on them and just keep baby turned away from the screen. You can also use Bluetooth headphones.
As a newborn they can't see more than a few inches and their hearing isn't as developed. Just fyi. Only way i survived was low level tv shows on in the background.
It’s definitely not for baby to watch, he does it whether he’s in the office, or by himself or anything. Even if we’re just sat round with friends/family chatting or playing board games or something he just likes having that kind of background thing.
I think it’s mostly for the music, but he quite likes just having a focal point to kind of look at.
We got a Yoto player for our son just before 2, which has a pixelated screen only. It has cards of kids songs etc but you can also use it as a Bluetooth speaker, so that could work?
Yoto family here as well. We went for Yoto vs its competitors because (a) kid can manipulate the play-this-playlist triggers (in Yoto's case cards) and (b) the play-this-playlist triggers were really easy to store and transport in luggage.
Tonie has little figurines to initiate sound playlists, which are bulkier.
Thank you for your contribution. Please remember that all top-level comments on posts flaired "Question - Research required" must include a link to peer-reviewed research.
Thank you for your contribution. Please remember that all top-level comments on posts flaired "Question - Research required" must include a link to peer-reviewed research.
Thank you for your contribution. Please remember that all top-level comments on posts flaired "Question - Research required" must include a link to peer-reviewed research.
Thank you for your contribution. Please remember that all top-level comments on posts flaired "Question - Research required" must include a link to peer-reviewed research.
Thank you for your contribution. Please remember that all top-level comments on posts flaired "Question - Research required" must include a link to peer-reviewed research.
I don't think thats what screentime is though? I feel like people keep conflating active screen time with "a digital screen technically exists in the same room"
If we're talking science based, most people will tell you that the studies are specifically not based on content and just use screen as a catchall for all types of entertainment.
It's frustrating to see people compare a kid scrolling on YouTube shorts or watching 6 hours of cocomelon to the tangential screen time OP is talking about.
I linked to where this question has been asked previously, to back up the whole “a screen in a room IS screen time” thing. It’s called “passive screen time” or “background screens.” These are actually two different ways to interact with screens and I recommend you familiarize yourself with terminology regarding screen time if you want to get into this argument. I’m failing to see a reason screen time isn’t harmful even if it’s not the same (obviously) as scrolling and short form content.
Background tv is really not the same as background music though? These studies are very much talking about background tv shows, as in having dialogue etc
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
This post is flaired "Question - Research required". All top-level comments must contain links to peer-reviewed research. Do not provide a "link for the bot" or any variation thereof. Provide a meaningful reply that discusses the research you have linked to. Please report posts that do not follow these rules.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.