Screen time: what does it really mean?

Question

I'm about to have my first and I've been wondering, what does screen time for baby mean?
Seems like a dumb question but here's what I mean: my husband and I watch a lot of movies/YouTube. We like background noise so it's not useually active watching, just something on while we cook or clean. And I can totally see myself catching up on some YouTube once in a while while kiddo breast feeds. But what counts as screen time for baby? Because we don't intend to plop him in front of the TV (especially brand new and against pediatrician advice. We want to be responsible with his tech consumption and follow what his doctor says) but we watch things a lot. We wouldn't be putting something on TV for baby but for ourselves, but does that count as screen time for him?
Just curious. Maybe I'm over thinking it.

Answer

You’re not overthinking it. I’d say screentime counts when baby is watching a screen. 
Also be aware that studies have shown that even when the tv is on as background noise, adults tend to talk less. And babies learn language by hearing adults talk/use more words.

Answer

Kids don’t pay attention for long anyways.
My son is 6.5 and he watches a lot of YouTube.
My daughter watches YouTube on her phone she’s 4 (phone doesn’t work except the internet)
Bed time my son and daughter are allowed to have the tv on watching movies and kids tv shows, once they fall asleep I turn it off.
My 3rd is 7 months and it catches his attention but he doesn’t watch for long so it doesn’t matter to me.
I don’t regulate tv that much because a lot of the ones they watch are educational anyways. Most times I don’t let them on and have them go play, we do family day like go on bike rides, take a trip over night to our grandparents and playing outside.
I know you’re new but you will learn, tv isn’t that big of a deal and kids actually learn a lot trust me.
My daughter had a hard time counting, one day she was watching a counting video on YouTube that had cartoons singing and dancing. Next thing I know she is counting too 10 by herself with no problems Surprised us all! As long as you pay attention to what they watch and how much then there will be no issues.☺️
Also don’t let people tell you what works, you will have people coming on here shaming those that let their kids watch tv; you know the “perfect” parent but you will also be surprised at how many actually don’t care how much tv their kids watch which is fine. It’s what works for YOUR family!

Answer

We counted screen as as...any screen being on where she could see it.   She's 15 months old and has never watched TV or played with my phone or any of that (although there have been times she glanced at it at the doctor's office or we went to my mom's and she caught 30 seconds of the news before it was turned off).   
We have chosen to not let her have screen time until she's 18 months, and then it will be family time or to do an exercise video with me, something like that.   We've chosen this because we want her to learn to play and entertain herself, not to just look at the TV or whatever and have that do the entertainment.   It's working so far!   Earlier she meandered to her room to have some quiet time and play with her stacking cups by herself.  🤷🏼‍♀️
But, like you, I need some noise, and sometimes I need to catch up on my shows!   So we use out tablet, placed where she can't see it, to put on Netflix, music, etc.   I try not to let her see me staring at it because she mimics what we do.  
You will find what works best for your family.  ♥️

Answer

We have music on when baby is awake instead for background noise. When they are little little they can't see that far anyways so no big deal but we started watching our babies screen time a lot more around 10-12 months. She will zone on the tv or a cell phone and will get mad if you take said screen away. As soon as she threw her first fit because I had dad put his phone away we started to be careful. So now while awake its music and we try to keep phones out of sight. We watch stuff while baby is asleep. And we have watched a few family movies like Sing or Trolls all together but that's it. Everyone is different but that is what works for us.

Answer

Everyone has a different opinion and approach. Personally, we had the tv on quite a bit when he was first born, especially when he was cluster feeding and I never seemed to leave the couch. Once he started noticing it, we turned it off. Around age 1, he would watch an episode of furchester (10 min) from time to time. Now at 2, he watches about 30 min at daycare while she prepares lunch and about 30 min at home when we prepare dinner. He pretty much only wants to watch Sesame Street at home and they watch various kids shows at daycare. He sometimes watches himself on our phones (he laughs at himself laughing), but he doesn’t play games on our phones. Different approaches work for different families.

Answer

You’re greatly overthinking this. If baby is watching a tv/tablet/phone then it’s screen time. Background noise is not screen time.

Answer

We leave our tv on all day. My toddler really doesn't watch it often. Even as a baby, we left the tv on all night. The kiddo got used to having sound on. Even now we can do things like run the vaccum during nap time. Your baby isn't going to know what you are watching. They can't really see till they are around a year old.

Screen time: what does it really mean?

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