Unpopular Opinion...

... but I don't see a problem with letting my baby (5month now) watch tv amongst other activities And this is why.

Babies should hear about 2000 words a day. It's monumental for their development. As a stay at home mom, there's no way I talk to myself that much. Yes, I narrate to her what I do "let's wash dishes!!" Etc etc but after a while my mouth needs a break. This doesn't mean I don't read. I read to her at least 2 hours a day. But I can't motor off my mouth all day. It's not me.

There's so much education on kids tv!! SESAME STREET! My daughter loves Elmo. And they are so up to date on current issues. Other shows and great to! Music shows someone suggested baby einestine And baby Mozart. It's some of our favorites! I love introducing her to music and colors and all the cool stuff kids shows has to offer.

The language. I'm half Chinese but not nearly as fluent and I would like my daughter to be able to be as fluent or more fluent then me. I put on a lot of Chinese sing alongs in cartoon for her and at the same time I'm learning to. I don't have any of my Chinese family living nearby and a very small local community. There isn't much chinese I could expose her to. We also have books, and games in Chinese.

Do I watch it with her and interact with her while the tv is on? Yes, of course, mostly! But there isn't anything wrong with throwing laundry into the washer in the meantime, folding clothes on the couch next to her, or sweeping the floor. I'm. It. Electing her or leaving her alone. We are still interacting and talking about the show.

I do not leave her proped in front of the tv for hours of every day. We play together a lot, tummy time, go on walks, shop, do chores, read, sing and dance. I enjoy being with an taking care of my daughter and cuddling on the couch watching one of her shows or one of my (pg) shows is one of my favorite activities.

Overall I believe that a child is an extension of the family and unless you are living a very unhealthy lifestyle, there isn't anything wrong with raising your child the way you live. My husband and I happen to watch a lot of tv ourselves so cutting that out of our daughters life is unrealistic. Another example of this is daddy loves playing video games and will often have her in his lap while gaming :) I think it's sweet and as long as he's not playing anything with guns or gory it's fun to watch her "play" with him.

UPDATE: to everyone saying we shouldn't do HOURS AND HOURS of tv, we don't. To everyone saying I should do other things to increase word input, like radio, read, talk or music, WE DO. Tv is ONE out of a dozen activities I do with her and I'm just saying I feel absolutely 0 mommy guilt when all we need is a little cuddle time watching tv.

Update: reading these responses seriously makes me laugh. Y'all act like I dont do anything else except watch tv with my baby not put her in front of it all day. We do EVERYTHING. Maybe in not perfect like all you super mommies but after doing EVERYTHING with her I'm tired. I need a break and if tv can help with that to then that's an amazing tool. And realistically, shit around the house needs to get done sometimes. I don't have any problem sweeping the floor while we are watching dancing and belting out the lyrics to MOANA like fools.

I wrote this post because I do not feel no shame in stating that tv is part of our lifestyle. I'm a damn good mommy and my baby is extremely well taken care of, loved, nurtured. If it's not for you and your family then that's fine but it works for us and that's fine too! You