In the News: The First TV Channel for Babies

You knew it would happen eventually, right? DirectTV has launched BabyFirstTV, the nation’s first channel geared 24/7 to children under age three. According to its Web site, the station will offer 15-minute segments and aims to become a “a reliable and trusted source of information for parents on topics related to the early stages of parenting.”

I let my 10-month-old, Ava, watch Baby Mozart three or four times a week. By doing so, I could be jeopardizing her brain development, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. It recommends that children under age two watch no television, pending further research on its effects.

In reality, though, 68 percent of kids under two do watch TV or videos most days, a 2003 Kaiser Family Foundation study found. “According to their parents," the report says, "43 percent of all children under age two watch TV every day, and 26 percent have a TV in their bedroom.”

My daughter, I know, gets plenty of "real world" interaction and stimulation every day. Will 20 minutes a day or less of baby-centered programming do her harm? I doubt it. Some research has shown that age-appropriate, curriculum-based educational shows won't hurt -- and may even help -- young children develop language. Still, it is hard not to worry about babies who spend hours watching TV every day.

I don't plan to subscribe, but for a few weeks Ava and I will have more variety. BabyFirstTV will be free until May 31st, according to its Web site. After that, it will cost $9.99 per month.

What do you think about BabyFirstTV? Did you let your kids watch any TV before age two?

Kris is a thirtysomething stay-at-home mom who lives north of Boston with her family.

Comments

[gail]

I am a Baby First TV Subscriber, and I have to say a proud one, for less then the price of a single DVD, my 18 month old gets a verity of shows that I can truly see their impact on her, she is signing and learning words, what can I say other then what took them so long?

[nicole]

I have to admit, my toddler and I have viewed quite a bit of BabyFirst TV together this month since it was free. I also admit that I was quite curious about what could be shown on a 24 hr baby channel (I am both an early child educator and a reading specialist). I was pleased with the segments titled "Black and White" and some vocabulary snip-its. Those annoying tick-tock mice are really only a couple steps up from Teletubbies. At least they can talk correctly. The soothing pictures and music were nice to rock to when my son was up sick all night.
However, I finally decided not to order the channel this morning. There were two segments shown on phonetics that were too far advanced for my toddler. The two sounds of /g/, /c/, and the vowels are more for advanced preschoolers. I'm still working on the concept with my kindergarden group. They need to call the channel something else (young children first?)if segments that deal with such advanced language concepts are shown. I'm not into pushing kids and my toddler only liked the music anyway. I think I will teach him the sounds of the alphabet when it is time and turn the TV off.

[mothergoosemouse]

I wouldn't subscribe. But my girls have always been fascinated by TV, and I find it to be an opportunity for snuggling and learning.

[Chris]

Our daughter watches no TV, although she's fascinated by the concept. I tuned into the channel a couple days ago and I honestly almost went insane after only five minutes of viewing. It might be good for kids but for adults? Not so much.

[Goldberry]

Ever since my daughter was 3 mo. old, she has been watching Baby Einstein movies. As she got older, they became part of her bedtime routine. Now, she would rather be outside and playing with friends than watching TV. She still gets Dragon Tales, Clifford or Wiggles on occasion. My new 5 mo. old has been watching Baby Einstein movies as well.

[Mary Tsao]

I'm totally "guilty" of letting my kids watch TV. Although I'm not that guilty. They watch Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, and Blue's Clues. And they learn things. So while I do think it's an electronic babysitter (on a good day), I also think it's teaching them Spanish and how to count and about bouncing Js.

I'd pay any amount of money to get a break, but I don't think I need to spend extra to get even more baby programming. I think it's already available in shows like Sesame Street and in videos like Raffi and Baby Einstein.

[wwwmama]

I for one let my 22 month old watch videos, and she has done so for quite some time. I have all the tortured guilt that comes with this, but I think it's important to be honest and not pretend to be something I'm not just to avoid someone else's notion of bad mommies.
The truth is, this issue isn't straightforward. My daughter is very advanced for her age in language and physical skills, but even if she weren't, I'd still let her watch TV because frankly I'm not a supermom. But I am a good mother. For me, it all comes down to what the alternatives are--a little TV time saves a lot of parents from going crazy and taking their fatigue out on their kids...
Let's stop beating ourselves up over this issue. I think I stopped doing so when I saw my daughter signing words she learned from a Baby Einstein video and I had to watch it again myself to figure out what she was telling me. Kids learn all kinds of things from all kinds of sources. It's more important to teach them media awareness than to cut off all TV.

[kristin]

i let my kids watch tv when they were babies...sesame street, the wiggles, and the like.

i'm not opposed to a baby channel, but personally if i won't pay for HBO or Showtime for myself and my husband, i certainly wouldn't subscribe to a channel for my infant.

[Robin P]

I don't believe in statistics when it comes to how demented t.v. will make our kids.
I watched so much t.v. as a kid and I'm ok......I think!

I watched soap operas with my Nana starting at age 4. I was also a huge fan of Dark Shadows at age 5. I never missed Bewitched or That Girl. I watched those shows every single day.

I'm 43...by the time Sesame Street rolled around I wasn't interested in it. I didn't have any "kid shows" to educate me. School did that! My parents didn't teach me anything....they didn't really do that back in the olden days.

With that in mind,I let Lillianna watch t.v. as long as her homework is done. She is well rounded so I don't worry at all about how much t.v. she watches. She can read for hours and hours. She plays outside.She is very active.

I love t.v. so how can I tell her not to watch? I'm certainly not giving up t.v.!!! When she told me that it was "give up t.v. for a week" time a few weeks ago I told her good luck and I asked her if she was going to live with another family. She laughed. She knows I love my t.v.

[Elena]

I want my little ones to learn to actively engage with aesthetic experiences. We have a wonderful time together with the Baby Einstein videos. As a musician, I'm really pleased with their stuff. But after a while, they sort of get used to it, and start passively absorbing it, rather than interacting. At that point, it's time for the television to go off for a few weeks until it's fresh and new again. It's the drug-like trance, eyes glazed over, that we must avoid.

But every once in a while, when I'm at the very end of my rope and I just can't take it any more, I use it as an electronic babysitter. It's not good for them, I know... yet I don't think it's a bad thing to have around as a back-up, as a very last resort. Because a little television on their own every once in a while is far better for their development than a mommy who's going off the deep end. Electronic babysitting comes at a high developmental price, but sometimes, those few precious minutes to catch your bearings and get some perspective are completely worth it. But seldom, seldom.

[pasadenamom]

My husband and I have discovered that we are in the minority when it comes to tv - no baby einstein, no movies, no dvds for our son. How shocked was I when I was telling a friend that he could now count to 12, and her response was, "wow, where did he learn that, Sesame Street?" Um, no, from us and his caregivers. Also the abc song, and some spanish and a pretty amazing vocabulary, all without the aid of tv.
He's two now, and we're starting to explore what's out there, as I know some of it can be good but our philosophy is that as he gets older he will have plenty of opportunities to watch tv, movies, and there's really no need for it as this stage in life. I'd rather help him discover other ways to entertain himself, so he doesn't learn to rely on the all the easy "turn on the tv" route.

[abogada]

I must be a bad mommy, because I let my 20-month old daughter watch television. My daughter and I watch about 1/2 hour of Sesame Street every day, fast forwarding a lot so that Elmo's World will be included in the time allowed. My husband will watch a DVD (Baby Einstein or Signing Times) with her as well, which is another 20-30 minutes.

I credit the Signing Times DVDs in part with giving my daughter her large vocabulary. She feels comfortable speaking, signing, or speaking and signing more words than I can count now.

I don't have an opinion on BabyFirst TV yet. I think mechanical babysitters are bad, but I don't think that quality programming, shared with mommy and daddy, is a bad thing.

[Amy]

I let Isabelle watch certain shows like Sesame Street before she was two. I also admit to letting her watch Finding Nemo. she LOVED it and I just couldn't say no to something that seems so harmless. However, now I don't have cable. Twice a week after dinner we watch either beauty and the beast or whatever movie she picked off of netflix. We read every night and after daycare we come home and work in her educational workbooks. I don't think watching the occasional fun movie or Little Einstein will hurt her. I watched Sesame Street and Electric Company...and I'm not a moron...:)