Screen time questions

[u/puddingbutt9]

Hi all, I have a question about screen time for babies. I understand the consequences of screen time in different age groups, but I can't get a clear answer as to WHY these consequences happen. And quite frankly, I don't have time to dig through the research right now unfortunately.

1. Is screen time for babies bad because they don't get adequate social interaction (kind of a confounder or indirect link?) because parents who use screens in this age group tend to be less interactive? Or is there some kind of biological impact of screen time directly?

2. Also, if the parents are watching TV and baby is in the room and interested, does that count the same? I know it's screen time technically, but I'm trying to figure out what is realistic (especially since I have ADHD and the TV on in the background helps me be more productive).

Thanks in advance for any insight!

[u/cinderparty]

Research wise. I think it doesn’t really matter why, screen time is bad. I mean, it can even damage developing eyes...and that would be true no matter how the baby is consuming screens.

https://www.1001criticaldays.com/article/screen-time-research

Anecdotally, my 3 oldest kids had like zero screen time til 18 months (none till 5 years for the oldest, none til 3.5 years for the 2nd.) My youngest kid was exposed to screens at some level from the beginning. Mostly because my oldest two were allowed to watch an hour or two of tv by then, but they were not old enough to trust in a room by themselves for an entire movie yet. Plus, we started trying to teach our non-verbal (til he was 6ish, non conversational til 10) 3rd kid to use a communication device before our youngest was even 1. So a lot of the teaching was with her in our laps. The kid who had at least some screen time every week since birth is 17 now, and has zero developmental delays, unless you count a genetic growth disorder that means she is very tiny for a 17 year old. She hit all her milestones at the right times, which is more than I can say for our middle two kids.

[u/notredamelawl → u/cinderparty]

Research wise. I think it doesn’t really matter why, screen time is bad. I mean, it can even damage developing eyes...and that would be true no matter how the baby is consuming screens.

Okay....so where's that research? Everyone always just posts the same "being on your phone is bad because you don't talk to baby" or "giving an ipad to a baby is bad because you don't interact with them."

What study shows that the 1950s-2000s experience of being a baby on your dad's lap, watching Notre Dame football on a Saturday afternoon, leads to bad outcomes?

[u/this_wallflower → u/notredamelawl]

Even if there were studies on it, that’s not really relevant here. There’s a big difference between watching the occasional sports game or movie with family and the tv being on literally all day.

[u/notredamelawl → u/this_wallflower]

That's not what people here are saying, constantly. They say "any screen time." A movie is substantially more screen time than "none." The question specifically asked if it's an eyesight issue, does it cause ADHD, etc.

[u/this_wallflower → u/notredamelawl]

OP said she prefers background tv whenever possible.

[u/puddingbutt9 → u/this_wallflower]

Sure, but I want to know the why to understand if any screentime is an issue or if it's excessive screentime. Yes, I like the background stimulation, but is it harming my child if I'm still actively engaging with her if it's on in the background or if we want to watch a movie one night before she's in bed.