When do I need to start worrying about screen time?

Question

My little guy is 7 weeks old and today is just kind of dawned on me that I almost always have the tv on in our living room during the day. It’s not like I ever sit him in front of the tv, but we spend a lot of time in there. Should I leave the tv off while he’s in the room? I am on maternity leave so I’m not really sure what I would do other than clean the house all day if I can’t watch tv haha. I don’t want him to have any screen time until he is at least two years old.

Answer

Lol. Never. 
I remember the "guidance" I got when I had my first and subsequent children advising me against more than 15 min a day and even admonishing against "zoom calls" with grandparents becuase "any and all time in front of a screen is harmful and can cause issues". With each child the guidance got longer and more restrictive. I scratched my head wondering how all of us who were raised in decades foregone and literally raised by our TVs not only managed but thrived enough to have our own children, hold down jobs, persue higher education and the like. I listened anyways...thinking well..."they know better than me".
Then the same entities that released that told us as a whole that sitting our young children in front a computer screen for "online school" and "play dates"  for up to 8 hours a clip, every day for a year was not only ok, but preferable. Maybe we will do it again this year....and the follwing too. Why not?
Yeah, no. From that point on I "grained of salted" that and have been using common sense and what works in my household which is a nice healthy mix of play, outdoor time and yes....screen time. So far...my kids are well adjusted, happy little beings with nary a "mashed potato brain" in sight. 
I suggest you do the same.

Answer

For the first two years the children shouldn't have any screen time.
So yes, it's not good... 
I understand your needs though...
You can try:
- a laptop (put it higher so your child doesn't see it
- radio
- music (no videos, just voice)
You've written you would clean all day long- but the fact is- you would also talk to your child more and do more stuff with him... so maybe just try for a week without the background noise...?
(I'm not saying here that you don't do stuff with your baby! I saw a documentary where they did a research and counted words when parents were talking to babies with and without tv on (also for thw white noise- that was a declaration). And they say the parents with tv on tend to talk with the baby much less and the vocabulary of the child will be smaller after)
Also- I need a lot of white noise but I try to limit it and I've discovered that I start to feel more comfortable with silence lately- so maybe it's something you can learn?

Answer

Once our baby started to notice it, we turned it off. I watched tv while on maternity leave and snuggling with baby.

Answer

Try music or podcast instead! At least while baby is awake.

Answer

My daughter is 19 months and the tv is always on. I can’t stand a quiet house. My daughter rarely pays attention to it though. We’re constantly playing in the yard or chasing each other around the house or she’s playing with her toys. When she’s tired she likes to sit on the couch and drink some water and watch cocomelon or blippi, but it’s just until she catches her breath and she’s back to playing. I don’t necessarily “limit” screen time but she’s also just not super interested. The only time she likes to sit and watch her shows for long periods of time is when she’s sick, and I just let her because it takes her mind off of not feeling well. 
I wouldn’t worry too much about it! Most babies would rather play than sit still and watch tv lol.

Answer

I leave my tv on all day and have ever since my son was born (unless I can’t find the remote, like today!) he barely pays attention to it. If he does, it’s about 5 minutes until he gets bored with it. He’s 7 months now.

Answer

My tv is on often too. But my son doesn't watch it. If he does then mostly ontro music or commercials only. I don't worry about it personally.

Answer

My tv is on all day🤷🏻‍♀️ I don’t worry about it. My kids ‘watched’ with me, not really lol. I’d go insane if we never watched with them around. I don’t personally think it’s a big deal, I’m not worried.

When do I need to start worrying about screen time?

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